How to pronounce mean in American English

IPA /min/ Syllables 1 · meen Stress 1st syllable

MEEN

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Americans pronounce mean as MEEN (/min/). You'll hear it in sentences like "You know what I mean, don't you?" or "I didn't mean to give you the wrong keys" — more examples below.

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Sound by sound

Every sound in "mean".

1 syllable, 3 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.

ee/i/

Pull the corners of your lips back slightly. Arch the middle-front of your tongue high toward the roof of the mouth.

n/n/

Touch the tip or front edge of your tongue to the roof of your mouth behind your teeth. Air flows through your nose.

In real conversation

Hear "mean" in the wild.

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

"I did not mean to hurt your feelings and I deeply regret it."

ahy dihd NAHT MEEN tuh HURT yer FEE·luhngz and ahy DEE·plee ruh·GREHT iht

"I didn't mean to give you the wrong keys."

ahy DIH·duhnt MEEN tuh GIHV yoo dhuh RAHNG KEEZ

"I didn't mean to insult you with my comment."

ahy DIH·duhnt MEEN tuh uhn·SUHLT yoo wihth mahy KAH·muhnt

"You know what I mean, don't you?"

yoo NOH wuht ahy MEEN DOHNT yoo

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Questions

Questions people ask about this.

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