ih/ɪ/
Drop your jaw slightly with relaxed lips. Touch the tongue tip behind the bottom front teeth and arch the top-front toward the roof.
How to pronounce interview in American English
IHN·ter·vyoo
Start here
Americans pronounce interview as IHN-ter-vyoo (/ˈɪntərˌvju/). In "interview", 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 why Americans sound more relaxed than the textbook. It comes out as IHN·ter·VYOO. Stress falls on the first syllable — keep everything else short and quick. You'll hear it in sentences like "I was very worried about the interview" or "The interview is scheduled for Tuesday afternoon" — more examples below.
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Sound by sound
Every sound in "interview".
3 syllables, 6 sounds. Tap a syllable to jump to its row, then explore each sound's mouth shape and how it's made.
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.
er/ər/
Relax your mouth and lift the tongue back and up. Keep the lips neutral.
v/v/
Lift your bottom lip so its inner edge (where the wet part meets the dry part) touches the very bottom of your top front teeth. Add vocal cord vibration as you blow air through.
yoo/ju/
Start with the tongue mid-front raised high, almost touching the roof of the mouth (but not touching). Glide into a tight lip circle as the tongue back lifts.
In real conversation
Hear "interview" in the wild.
Click any sentence to see the full breakdown — every link, every reduction, every flap-T.
"I was very worried about the interview."
ahy wuhz VEH·ree WUR·eed uh·BOWT dhee IHN·ter·vyoo
"She radiated confidence when she walked into the interview room."
shee RAY·dee·ay·duhd KAHN·fuh·duhns wehn shee WAHKT ihn·too dhee IHN·ter·vyoo ROOM
"The interview is scheduled for Tuesday afternoon."
dhee IHN·ter·vyoo ihz SKEH·joold fer TOOZ·day af·ter·NOON
"We need to project confidence during the interview."
wee NEED tuh pruh·JEHKT KAHN·fuh·duhns DUUR·uhng dhee IHN·ter·vyoo
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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 "interview", 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.
interview→IHN·ter·VYOO
02
Stressing the wrong syllable.
Stress falls on the first syllable, not the others. Stretch IHN — keep everything else short and quick.
ihn·TER·VYOO→IHN·ter·VYOO
03
Pronouncing the "R" too clearly.
Americans use a relaxed retroflex R — the tongue curls back rather than rolling. The R is one continuous sound with the vowel before it, not two separate sounds.
… (no R)→… r (curl the tongue)
Questions
Questions people ask about this.
How is "interview" stressed in American English?
Stress falls on the first syllable — say "IHN" with a longer, fuller vowel and keep every other syllable short and quick. The respell "IHN-ter-vyoo" marks the stressed syllable in capitals so the rhythm is easy to read at a glance.
How do I pronounce the R in "interview"?
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.
Is the American pronunciation of "interview" 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-ter-vyoo" reflects the casual American form; British dictionaries typically print a citation form with crisper consonants and different vowel choices.
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