How to pronounce may in American English

IPA /meɪ/ Syllables 1 · may Stress 1st syllable

MAY

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Americans pronounce may as MAY (/meɪ/). You'll hear it in sentences like "May I offer a suggestion?" or "Please accept my apologies for any inconvenience this may have caused" — more examples below.

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Sound by sound

Every sound in "may".

1 syllable, 2 sounds. Explore each sound's mouth shape and how it's made.

m/m/

Press your lips together. Air flows through your nose. Vocal cords vibrate.

ay/eɪ/

Start with your jaw slightly open and the front of your tongue forward and slightly up. Glide upward, your jaw closes a little more and your tongue arches higher toward the roof of the mouth.

In real conversation

Hear "may" in the wild.

Click any sentence to see the full breakdown — every link, every reduction, every flap-T.

"Before we conclude, I would like to address any questions you may have."

buh·FOR wee kuhn·KLOOD ahy wuud LAHYK tuh uh·DREHS EH·nee KWEHS·chuhnz yoo MAY hav

"May I offer a suggestion?"

MAY ahy AH·fer uh suhg·JEHS·chuhn

"May I offer my congratulations to the happy couple on their engagement?"

MAY ahy AH·fer mahy kuhn·gra·chuh·LAY·shuhnz tuh dhuh HA·pee KUH·puhl ahn dhair uhn·GAYJ·muhnt

"Please accept my apologies for any inconvenience this may have caused."

PLEEZ uhk·SEHPT mahy uh·PAH·luh·jeez fer EH·nee uhn·kuhn·VEEN·yuhns DHIHS MAY huhv KAHZD

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Questions

Questions people ask about this.

Is the American pronunciation of "may" 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 "MAY" reflects the casual American form; British dictionaries typically print a citation form with crisper consonants and different vowel choices.