h/h/
Push a stream of air from your throat through your open mouth. No tongue or lip contact.
How to pronounce headphones in American English
HEHD·fohnz
Start here
Americans pronounce headphones as HEHD-fohnz (/ˈhɛdˌfoʊnz/). Stress falls on the first syllable — keep everything else short and quick. You'll hear it in sentences like "He's wearing a new pair of headphones".
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Record yourself saying "headphones" and play it back. The mic stays on your device — nothing's uploaded.
Sound by sound
Every sound in "headphones".
2 syllables, 7 sounds. Tap a syllable to jump to its row, then explore each sound's mouth shape and how it's made.
eh/ɛ/
Drop your jaw moderately. Touch the tongue tip behind the bottom front teeth and lift the mid-front part slightly toward the roof.
d/d/
Touch the tip of your tongue to the roof of your mouth just behind your teeth. Add vocal cord vibration as you release.
f/f/
Lift your bottom lip to touch the very bottom of your top front teeth. Blow air through this contact point without voicing.
oh/oʊ/
Start with your mouth slightly open, then close your jaw slightly as your lips round. Shift your tongue back slightly, then stretch the back up.
n/n/
Touch the tip or front edge of your tongue to the roof of your mouth behind your teeth. Air flows through your nose.
z/z/
Same position as S, but add vocal cord vibration. Feel the buzz.
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Watch out
Common pronunciation mistakes in American English.
The textbook way isn't wrong — it's just not how anyone actually says it.
01
Releasing the final consonant with a puff of air.
In "headphones", the "d" is not released — the articulators get into position but hold without the burst of air. Air stops but there's no release burst — the articulators hold position.
headphones→HEHD·FOHNZ
02
Stressing the wrong syllable.
Stress falls on the first syllable, not the others. Stretch HEHD — keep everything else short and quick.
hehd·FOHNZ→HEHD·FOHNZ
Questions
Questions people ask about this.
How is "headphones" stressed in American English?
Stress falls on the first syllable — say "HEHD" with a longer, fuller vowel and keep every other syllable short and quick. The respell "HEHD-fohnz" marks the stressed syllable in capitals so the rhythm is easy to read at a glance.
Is the American pronunciation of "headphones" different from British English?
American English uses different vowel shapes, a relaxed retroflex R, and connected-speech tricks like flap-T and glottal-stop T that British Received Pronunciation generally avoids. The respell "HEHD-fohnz" reflects the casual American form; British dictionaries typically print a citation form with crisper consonants and different vowel choices.
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