m/m/
Press your lips together. Air flows through your nose. Vocal cords vibrate.
How to pronounce money in American English
MUH·nee
Start here
Americans pronounce money as MUH-nee (/ˈmʌni/). Stress falls on the first syllable — keep everything else short and quick. You'll hear it in sentences like "Make more money" or "I didn't say he stole the money" — more examples below.
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Sound by sound
Every sound in "money".
2 syllables, 4 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.
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.
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 "money" in the wild.
Click any sentence to see the full breakdown — every link, every reduction, every flap-T.
"Does the judge have enough money for lunch?"
duhz dhuh JUHJ hav uh·NUHF MUH·nee fer LUHNCH
"I didn't say he stole the money."
ahy DIH·duhnt SAY hee STOHL dhuh MUH·nee
"Make more money."
MAYK MOR MUH·nee
"She clips coupons every week to save money on groceries."
shee KLIHPS KOO·pahnz EHV·ree WEEK tuh SAYV MUH·nee ahn GROH·suh·reez
"She opened a savings account to set aside money for emergencies."
shee OH·puhnd uh SAY·vuhngz uh·KOWNT tuh SEHT uh·SAHYD MUH·nee fer uh·MUR·juhn·seez
"The small claims court handles disputes involving limited amounts of money."
dhuh SMAHL KLAYMZ KORT HAN·duhlz duh·SPYOOTS ihn·VAHL·vuhng LIH·muh·tuhd uh·MOWNTS uhv MUH·nee
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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
Stressing the wrong syllable.
Stress falls on the first syllable, not the others. Stretch MUH — keep everything else short and quick.
muh·NEE→MUH·nee
Questions
Questions people ask about this.
How is "money" stressed in American English?
Stress falls on the first syllable — say "MUH" with a longer, fuller vowel and keep every other syllable short and quick. The respell "MUH-nee" marks the stressed syllable in capitals so the rhythm is easy to read at a glance.
Is the American pronunciation of "money" 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 "MUH-nee" reflects the casual American form; British dictionaries typically print a citation form with crisper consonants and different vowel choices.
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