m/m/
Press your lips together. Air flows through your nose. Vocal cords vibrate.
How to pronounce market in American English
MAR·kuht
Start here
Americans pronounce market as MAR-kuht (/ˈmɑrkət/). Stress falls on the first syllable — keep everything else short and quick. You'll hear it in sentences like "Are we far from the smart market?" or "The real estate market is still strong" — more examples below.
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Sound by sound
Every sound in "market".
2 syllables, 5 sounds. Tap a syllable to jump to its row, then explore each sound's mouth shape and how it's made.
ar/ɑr/
Open wide for the 'ah' vowel. Lift the tongue back and up while flaring the lips for the 'r'.
k/k/
Raise the back of your tongue to touch the soft palate (velum). Stop the air, then release.
uh/ʌ/
Relax your lips, jaw, and tongue completely. Drop your jaw slightly and keep the tongue neutral.
t/t/
Touch the tip or front edge of your tongue to the roof of your mouth just behind your teeth. Keep your jaw relaxed. Stop the air, then release with a puff.
In real conversation
Hear "market" in the wild.
Click any sentence to see the full breakdown — every link, every reduction, every flap-T.
"Are we far from the smart market?"
ar wee FAR fruhm dhuh SMART MAR·kuht
"Arthur charged the smart card at the market."
AR·ther CHARJD dhuh SMART KARD uht dhuh MAR·kuht
"He sells his produce at the weekly farmers market."
hee SEHLZ hihz PROH·doos uht dhuh WEE·klee FAR·merz MAR·kuht
"Rising inflation has affected commodity prices across the global market."
RAHY·zuhng uhn·FLAY·shuhn huhz uh·FEHK·tuhd kuh·MAH·duh·tee PRAHY·suhz uh·KRAHS dhuh GLOH·buhl MAR·kuht
"The company continues to progress in the market."
dhuh KUHM·puh·nee kuhn·TIHN·yooz tuh pruh·GREHS ihn dhuh MAR·kuht
"The market research supports our decision to pursue this direction."
dhuh MAR·kuht REE·surch suh·PORTS ar duh·SIH·zhuhn tuh per·SOO dhihs duh·REHK·shuhn
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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
Releasing the final consonant with a puff of air.
In "market", the "t" is not released — the articulators get into position but hold without the burst of air. Air stops but there's no release burst — the articulators hold position.
market→MAR·kuht
02
Stressing the wrong syllable.
Stress falls on the first syllable, not the others. Stretch MAR — keep everything else short and quick.
mar·KUHT→MAR·kuht
03
Pronouncing the unstressed 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.
MAR·KUHT→MAR·kuht
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 "market" stressed in American English?
Stress falls on the first syllable — say "MAR" with a longer, fuller vowel and keep every other syllable short and quick. The respell "MAR-kuht" marks the stressed syllable in capitals so the rhythm is easy to read at a glance.
Why does the second syllable in "market" 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 "MAR-kuht" shows the reduced form so you can hear the casual rhythm directly.
How do I pronounce the R in "market"?
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.
Is the American pronunciation of "market" 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 "MAR-kuht" reflects the casual American form; British dictionaries typically print a citation form with crisper consonants and different vowel choices.
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