ahy/aɪ/
Start with your jaw open wide and your tongue resting low and flat. Glide the front of your tongue up toward the roof of your mouth as your jaw closes halfway.
How to pronounce identify in American English
ahy·DEHN·tuh·fahy
Start here
Americans pronounce identify as ahy-DEHN-tuh-fahy (/aɪˈdɛntəˌfaɪ/). In "identify", the "t" right after N is dropped — the tongue skips the T stop and moves directly from the N position to the next sound. This is called the Silent T after N, and it's one of the defining features of casual American English. It comes out as ahy·DEHN·tuh·FAHY. Stress falls on the second syllable — keep everything else short and quick. You'll hear it in sentences like "Identify the item definition and type politely" or "He checked the security cameras to identify the perpetrator" — more examples below.
Now you try.
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Sound by sound
Every sound in "identify".
4 syllables, 8 sounds. Tap a syllable to jump to its row, then explore each sound's mouth shape and how it's made.
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.
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.
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.
t/t/
DroppedThe T is skipped entirely. Your tongue doesn't make contact at the T position.
uh/ʌ/
Relax your lips, jaw, and tongue completely. Drop your jaw slightly and keep the tongue neutral.
f/f/
Lift your bottom lip to touch the very bottom of your top front teeth. Blow air through this contact point without voicing.
ahy/aɪ/
Start with your jaw open wide and your tongue resting low and flat. Glide the front of your tongue up toward the roof of your mouth as your jaw closes halfway.
In real conversation
Hear "identify" in the wild.
Click any sentence to see the full breakdown — every link, every reduction, every flap-T.
"He checked the security cameras to identify the perpetrator."
hee CHEHKT dhuh suh·KYUUR·uh·dee KA·muh·ruhz too ahy·DEHN·tuh·fahy dhuh PUR·puh·tray·der
"I highlighted key points while reading to identify important concepts."
ahy HAHY·lahy·duhd KEE POYNTS WAHYL REE·duhng tuh ahy·DEHN·tuh·fahy uhm·POR·tuhnt KAHN·sehpts
"Identify the item definition and type politely."
ahy·DEHN·tuh·fahy dhee AHY·duhm deh·fuh·NIH·shuhn and TAHYP puh·LAHYT·lee
"Let's identify any potential roadblocks and address them proactively."
LEHTS ahy·DEHN·tuh·fahy EH·nee puh·TEHN·shuhl ROHD·blahks and uh·DREHS dhuhm proh·AK·tuhv·lee
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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
Pronouncing the silent T after N.
In "identify", the "t" right after N is dropped — the tongue skips the T stop and moves directly from the N position to the next sound. /t/ is completely silent — the tongue skips the T stop and moves directly from the N position to the next sound.
identify→ahy·DEHN·tuh·FAHY
02
Stressing the wrong syllable.
Stress falls on the second syllable, not the others. Stretch DEHN — keep everything else short and quick.
AHY·dehn·TUH·FAHY→ahy·DEHN·tuh·FAHY
03
Pronouncing the unstressed syllable too fully.
Don't pronounce the second syllable too fully. The unstressed syllable reduces to a schwa — the lazy "uh" sound — in casual speech.
ahy·DEHN·TUH·fahy→ahy·DEHN·tuh·FAHY
Questions
Questions people ask about this.
How is "identify" stressed in American English?
Stress falls on the second syllable — say "DEHN" with a longer, fuller vowel and keep every other syllable short and quick. The respell "ahy-DEHN-tuh-fahy" marks the stressed syllable in capitals so the rhythm is easy to read at a glance.
Why does the third syllable in "identify" reduce to "uh"?
Unstressed syllables in American English collapse toward a schwa — a lazy, neutral "uh" sound. The full vowel is what textbooks teach, but in actual American speech every unstressed vowel reduces. The respell "ahy-DEHN-tuh-fahy" shows the reduced form so you can hear the casual rhythm directly.
Is the American pronunciation of "identify" 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 "ahy-DEHN-tuh-fahy" reflects the casual American form; British dictionaries typically print a citation form with crisper consonants and different vowel choices.
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