How to pronounce increase in American English

IPA /ɪnˈkris/ Syllables 2 · ihn·krees Stress 2nd syllable

ihn·KREES

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Americans pronounce increase as ihn-KREES (/ɪnˈkris/). Stress falls on the second syllable — keep everything else short and quick.

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Sounds

75%

Clarity

68%

Stress

78%

Intonation

65%

Fluency

62%

Overall assessment

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72% Noticeable accent

Common mistakes

Stressing the wrong syllable.

Stress falls on the second syllable, not the others. Stretch KREES — keep everything else short and quick.

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Why it sounds different

Why "increase" sounds like ihn·KREES.

The "" at the end of "" flows directly into the vowel starting "" — the consonant migrates to the next word with no pause between. This is called the Consonant-to-Vowel Linking, the way sentences stop sounding like a list and start sounding like speech. It comes out as ihn·KREES.

In real conversation

Hear "increase" in the wild.

Click any sentence to see the full breakdown — every link, every reduction, every flap-T.

"The central bank announced an increase in interest rates yesterday."

dhuh SEHN·truhl BANGK uh·NOWNST uhn IHN·krees ihn IHN·truhst RAYTS YEH·ster·day

"The cost of living increase affected how much I could save monthly."

dhuh kahst uhv LIH·vuhng IHN·krees uh·FEHK·tuhd HOW muhch ahy kuud SAYV MUHNTH·lee

"The senator proposed a bill to increase funding for education."

dhuh SEH·nuh·ter pruh·POHZD uh BIHL tuh ihn·KREES FUHN·duhng fer eh·juh·KAY·shuhn

Watch out

Common pronunciation mistakes in American English.

The textbook way isn't wrong — it's just not how anyone actually says it.

Stressing the wrong syllable.

Stress falls on the second syllable, not the others. Stretch KREES — keep everything else short and quick.

IHN·krees→ihn·KREES

Questions

Questions people ask about this.

How is "increase" stressed in American English?

Stress falls on the second syllable — say "KREES" with a longer, fuller vowel and keep every other syllable short and quick. The respell "ihn-KREES" marks the stressed syllable in capitals so the rhythm is easy to read at a glance.

Is the American pronunciation of "increase" 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 "ihn-KREES" reflects the casual American form; British dictionaries typically print a citation form with crisper consonants and different vowel choices.

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Overall assessment

Common mistakes

Stressing the wrong syllable.

Why "increase" sounds like ihn·KREES.

Hear "increase" in the wild.

Words that work the same way.

Common pronunciation mistakes in American English.

Stressing the wrong syllable.

Questions people ask about this.

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