How to pronounce know in American English
NOH
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Americans pronounce know as NOH (/noʊ/).
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Why it sounds different
Why "know" sounds like NOH.
Between "" and "", a brief "" glide bridges the two vowels for smooth flow. This is called the Vowel-to-Vowel Linking, how Americans glue words together so they sound like one phrase. It comes out as NOH.
In real conversation
Hear "know" in the wild.
Click any sentence to see the full breakdown — every link, every reduction, every flap-T.
"As far as I know, the meeting is still scheduled for ten."
uhz FAR uhz ahy NOH dhuh MEE·duhng ihz STIHL SKEH·joold fer TEHN
"He didn't know that was a secret."
hee DIH·duhnt NOH dhat wuhz uh SEE·kruht
"I also want to know the result."
ahy AHL·soh WAHNT tuh NOH dhuh ruh·ZUHLT
"I bet you already know the answer."
ahy BEHT yoo ahl·REH·dee NOH dhee AN·ser
"I cannot commit to anything until I know my work schedule."
ahy KA·naht kuh·MIHT tuh EH·nee·thuhng uhn·TIHL ahy NOH mahy WURK SKEH·jool
"I don't know what to tell you."
ahy dohn NOH wuht tuh TEHL yoo
Questions
Questions people ask about this.
Is the American pronunciation of "know" 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 "NOH" reflects the casual American form; British dictionaries typically print a citation form with crisper consonants and different vowel choices.
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