m/m/
Press your lips together. Air flows through your nose. Vocal cords vibrate.
How to pronounce majority in American English
muh·JOR·uh·tee
Start here
Americans pronounce majority as muh-JOR-uh-tee (/məˈdʒɔrəɾi/). In "majority", the "t" between vowels sounds like a quick "d" — the tongue briefly taps the ridge behind the upper teeth. This is called the Flap T, and it's why Americans sound more relaxed than the textbook. It comes out as muh·JOR·uh·tee. Stress falls on the second syllable — keep everything else short and quick. You'll hear it in sentences like "I tend to agree with the majority opinion on this matter" or "The ruling party maintained its majority in the recent elections" — more examples below.
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Sound by sound
Every sound in "majority".
4 syllables, 7 sounds. Tap a syllable to jump to its row, then explore each sound's mouth shape and how it's made.
uh/ʌ/
Relax your lips, jaw, and tongue completely. Drop your jaw slightly and keep the tongue neutral.
j/dʒ/
Touch the front of your tongue to the roof of your mouth, then release into a 'zh' position. Add vocal cord vibration.
or/ɔr/
Start with the 'aw' jaw drop and rounded lips. Pull the tongue back and up while keeping the lips rounded for the R.
uh/ʌ/
Relax your lips, jaw, and tongue completely. Drop your jaw slightly and keep the tongue neutral.
t/t/
FlapQuickly bounce the front of your tongue against the roof of your mouth. Don't stop the airflow — just a quick tap.
ee/i/
Pull the corners of your lips back slightly. Arch the middle-front of your tongue high toward the roof of the mouth.
In real conversation
Hear "majority" in the wild.
Click any sentence to see the full breakdown — every link, every reduction, every flap-T.
"I tend to agree with the majority opinion on this matter."
ahy TEHND tuh uh·GREE wihth dhuh muh·JOR·uh·tee uh·PIHN·yuhn ahn dhihs MA·der
"The constitutional amendment requires a two-thirds majority to pass."
dhuh kahn·stuh·TOO·shuh·nuhl uh·MEHND·muhnt ruh·KWAHYRZ uh TOO THURDZ muh·JOR·uh·tee tuh PAS
"The ruling party maintained its majority in the recent elections."
dhuh ROO·luhng PAR·tee mayn·TAYND ihts muh·JOR·uh·tee ihn dhuh REE·suhnt uh·LEHK·shuhnz
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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
Saying a hard "T" in the middle.
In "majority", the "t" between vowels sounds like a quick "d" — the tongue briefly taps the ridge behind the upper teeth. /t/ or /d/ becomes a quick tap [ɾ] — sounds like a soft D. The tongue briefly taps the ridge behind the upper teeth.
muh-JOR-uh-tee→muh·JOR·uh·tee
02
Stressing the wrong syllable.
Stress falls on the second syllable, not the others. Stretch JOR — keep everything else short and quick.
MUH·jor·UH·TEE→muh·JOR·uh·tee
03
Pronouncing the first syllable too fully.
Don't pronounce the first syllable too fully. The unstressed syllable reduces to a schwa — the lazy "uh" sound — in casual speech.
MUH·JOR·uh·tee→muh·JOR·uh·tee
04
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 "majority" stressed in American English?
Stress falls on the second syllable — say "JOR" with a longer, fuller vowel and keep every other syllable short and quick. The respell "muh-JOR-uh-tee" marks the stressed syllable in capitals so the rhythm is easy to read at a glance.
Why doesn't the T sound like a T in "majority"?
In American English, when /t/ sits between two vowels with the second one unstressed, it turns into a quick D-like flap. So "majority" sounds closer to "muh-JOR-uh-tee" than to a crisp-T pronunciation. This is the flap-T rule, one of the most distinctive sounds of casual American speech.
Why does the first syllable in "majority" reduce to "uh"?
Unstressed syllables in American English collapse toward a schwa — a lazy, neutral "uh" sound. The full vowel is what textbooks teach, but in actual American speech every unstressed vowel reduces. The respell "muh-JOR-uh-tee" shows the reduced form so you can hear the casual rhythm directly.
How do I pronounce the R in "majority"?
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.
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