How to pronounce is in American English

IPA /ɪz/ Syllables 1 · ihz

ihz

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Americans pronounce is as ihz (/ɪz/). You'll hear it in sentences like "It is hot" or "Bob is back" — more examples below.

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Sound by sound

Every sound in "is".

1 syllable, 2 sounds. Explore each sound's mouth shape and how it's made.

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.

z/z/

Same position as S, but add vocal cord vibration. Feel the buzz.

In real conversation

Hear "is" in the wild.

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

"A banana is a good source of potassium."

uh buh·NA·nuh ihz uh GUUD SORS uhv puh·TA·see·uhm

"A large bar of chocolate is harsh on the heart."

uh LARJ BAR uhv CHAH·kluht ihz HARSH ahn dhuh HART

"A literal liberal label is likely illegal."

uh LIH·der·uhl LIH·ber·uhl LAY·buhl ihz LAHY·klee uh·LEE·guhl

"A plateau is a high, flat area of land."

uh pla·TOH ihz uh HAHY FLAT AIR·ee·uh uhv LAND

"A supernova is the powerful explosion of a dying star."

uh soo·per·NOH·vuh ihz dhuh POW·er·fuhl uhk·SPLOH·zhuhn uhv uh DAHY·uhng STAR

"Absolute beauty is better than basic belief."

AB·suh·loot BYOO·dee ihz BEH·der dhuhn BAY·suhk buh·LEEF

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Questions

Questions people ask about this.

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