How to pronounce its in American English
ihts
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Americans pronounce its as ihts (/ɪts/).
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Why it sounds different
Why "its" sounds like ihts.
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, a connected-speech trick that makes phrases flow. It comes out as ihts.
In real conversation
Hear "its" in the wild.
Click any sentence to see the full breakdown — every link, every reduction, every flap-T.
"Although it's difficult, it's worth doing."
ahl·DHOH ihts DIH·fuh·kuhlt ihts WURTH DOO·uhng
"Everyone agrees that it's a sad ending."
EHV·ree·wuhn uh·GREEZ dhuht ihts uh SAD EHN·duhng
"He criticized the film for its slow pacing and lack of character development."
hee KRIH·duh·sahyzd dhuh FIHLM fer ihts SLOH PAY·suhng and LAK uhv KEH·ruhk·ter duh·VEH·luhp·muhnt
"He's going to put on a jacket because it's cold."
heez GOH·uhng tuh PUUT AHN uh JA·kuht buh·KUHZ ihts KOHLD
"I still think it's a really good deal."
ahy STIHL thihngk ihts uh REE·lee GUUD DEEL
"I'll send you the report when it's done."
ahyl SEHND yuh dhuh ruh·PORT wehn ihts DUHN
Questions
Questions people ask about this.
Is the American pronunciation of "its" 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 "ihts" reflects the casual American form; British dictionaries typically print a citation form with crisper consonants and different vowel choices.
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