j/dʒ/
Touch the front of your tongue to the roof of your mouth, then release into a 'zh' position. Add vocal cord vibration.
How to pronounce joey in American English
JOH·ee
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Americans pronounce joey as JOH-ee (/ˈdʒoʊi/). Stress falls on the first syllable — keep everything else short and quick. You'll hear it in sentences like "The kangaroo carries its joey in its pouch".
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Sound by sound
Every sound in "joey".
2 syllables, 3 sounds. Tap a syllable to jump to its row, then explore each sound's mouth shape and how it's made.
oh/oʊ/
Start with your mouth slightly open, then close your jaw slightly as your lips round. Shift your tongue back slightly, then stretch the back up.
ee/i/
Pull the corners of your lips back slightly. Arch the middle-front of your tongue high toward the roof of the mouth.
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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
Stressing the wrong syllable.
Stress falls on the first syllable, not the others. Stretch JOH — keep everything else short and quick.
joh·EE→JOH·ee
Questions
Questions people ask about this.
How is "joey" stressed in American English?
Stress falls on the first syllable — say "JOH" with a longer, fuller vowel and keep every other syllable short and quick. The respell "JOH-ee" marks the stressed syllable in capitals so the rhythm is easy to read at a glance.
Is the American pronunciation of "joey" 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 "JOH-ee" reflects the casual American form; British dictionaries typically print a citation form with crisper consonants and different vowel choices.
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