uh/ʌ/
Relax your lips, jaw, and tongue completely. Drop your jaw slightly and keep the tongue neutral.
How to pronounce important in American English
uhm·POR·tuhnt
Start here
Americans pronounce important as uhm-POR-tuhnt (/əmˈpɔrʔənt/). In "important", the "t" between vowels sounds like a quick "d" — the tongue briefly taps the ridge behind the upper teeth. This is called the Flap T, a hallmark of natural-sounding American speech. It comes out as uhm·POR·tuhnt. Stress falls on the second syllable — keep everything else short and quick. You'll hear it in sentences like "It's important to get enough rest" or "This is an important announcement" — more examples below.
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Sound by sound
Every sound in "important".
3 syllables, 8 sounds. Tap a syllable to jump to its row, then explore each sound's mouth shape and how it's made.
m/m/
Press your lips together. Air flows through your nose. Vocal cords vibrate.
p/p/
Press your lips together to stop the air, then release. No vocal cord vibration.
or/ɔr/
Start with the 'aw' jaw drop and rounded lips. Pull the tongue back and up while keeping the lips rounded for the R.
t/t/
GlottalStop the air at your vocal cords (like the catch in 'uh-oh'). Your tongue doesn't need to touch the roof.
uh/ʌ/
Relax your lips, jaw, and tongue completely. Drop your jaw slightly and keep the tongue neutral.
n/n/
SyllabicThe schwa before N disappears — N becomes the vowel of the syllable. Go straight from the previous consonant to N.
t/t/
Touch the tip or front edge of your tongue to the roof of your mouth just behind your teeth. Keep your jaw relaxed. Stop the air, then release with a puff.
In real conversation
Hear "important" in the wild.
Click any sentence to see the full breakdown — every link, every reduction, every flap-T.
"I have an important appointment today at eleven."
ahy hav uhn uhm·POR·tuhnt uh·POYNT·muhnt tuh·DAY uht uh·LEH·vuhn
"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
"It's important to get enough rest."
ihts uhm·POR·tuhnt tuh GEHT uh·NUHF REHST
"It's important to make a good first impression."
ihts uhm·POR·tuhnt tuh MAYK uh GUUD FURST uhm·PREH·shuhn
"She brought up several important issues that had been overlooked."
shee BRAHT UHP SEH·ver·uhl uhm·POR·tuhnt IH·shooz dhuht huhd bihn oh·ver·LUUKT
"She keeps all her important legal documents in a fireproof safe."
shee KEEPS AHL her uhm·POR·tuhnt LEE·guhl DAH·kyuh·muhnts ihn uh FAHY·er·proof SAYF
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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
Saying a hard "T" in the middle.
In "important", the "t" between vowels sounds like a quick "d" — the tongue briefly taps the ridge behind the upper teeth. /t/ or /d/ becomes a quick tap [ɾ] — sounds like a soft D. The tongue briefly taps the ridge behind the upper teeth.
uhm-POR-tuhnt→uhm·POR·tuhnt
02
Releasing the final consonant with a puff of air.
In "important", the "t" 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.
important→uhm·POR·tuhnt
03
Inserting a vowel before the syllabic consonant.
In "important", the short unstressed vowel before "n" disappears — the schwa is absorbed and the "n" becomes the syllable nucleus on its own. Schwa is absorbed — consonant becomes the syllable nucleus.
important→uhm·POR·tuhnt
04
Stressing the wrong syllable.
Stress falls on the second syllable, not the others. Stretch POR — keep everything else short and quick.
UHM·por·TUHNT→uhm·POR·tuhnt
Questions
Questions people ask about this.
How is "important" stressed in American English?
Stress falls on the second syllable — say "POR" with a longer, fuller vowel and keep every other syllable short and quick. The respell "uhm-POR-tuhnt" marks the stressed syllable in capitals so the rhythm is easy to read at a glance.
Why does the T sound silent in "important"?
It isn't fully silent — the T closes off into a tiny throat catch called a glottal stop, then the next sound comes through. The respell "uhm-POR-tuhnt" reflects the audible result. Americans use this glottal-stop T whenever a /t/ sits between a stressed vowel and an N (or another /t/-like consonant) at the end of a word.
Why does the first syllable in "important" 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 "uhm-POR-tuhnt" shows the reduced form so you can hear the casual rhythm directly.
How do I pronounce the R in "important"?
Americans use a relaxed retroflex R: the tongue curls back rather than rolling, and the R is one continuous sound with the vowel before it — not two separate sounds. Don't try to pronounce a separate vowel followed by a separate R. Treat them as a single shape.
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