m/m/
Press your lips together. Air flows through your nose. Vocal cords vibrate.
How to pronounce mountains in American English
MOWN·tuhnz
Start here
Americans pronounce mountains as MOWN-tuhnz (/ˈmaʊntənz/). In "mountains", the "t" right after N is dropped — the tongue skips the T stop and moves directly from the N position to the next sound. This is called the Silent T after N, and it's why Americans sound more relaxed than the textbook. It comes out as MOWN·tuhnz. Stress falls on the first syllable — keep everything else short and quick. You'll hear it in sentences like "Our corporate retreat is in the mountains" or "She enjoys skiing in the mountains during the winter" — more examples below.
Now you try.
Record yourself saying "mountains" and play it back. The mic stays on your device — nothing's uploaded.
Sound by sound
Every sound in "mountains".
2 syllables, 7 sounds. Tap a syllable to jump to its row, then explore each sound's mouth shape and how it's made.
ow/aʊ/
Start with a dropped jaw and flat tongue. Glide into a relaxed, slightly rounded lip position as the back of the tongue stretches up.
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.
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.
uh/ʌ/
Relax your lips, jaw, and tongue completely. Drop your jaw slightly and keep the tongue neutral.
n/n/
SyllabicThe schwa before N disappears — N becomes the vowel of the syllable. Go straight from the previous consonant to N.
z/z/
Same position as S, but add vocal cord vibration. Feel the buzz.
In real conversation
Hear "mountains" in the wild.
Click any sentence to see the full breakdown — every link, every reduction, every flap-T.
"He explained how mountains are formed by tectonic forces."
hee uhk·SPLAYND HOW MOWN·tuhnz er FORMD bahy tehk·TAH·nuhk FOR·suhz
"Our corporate retreat is in the mountains."
OWR KOR·per·uht ruh·TREET ihz ihn dhuh MOWN·tuhnz
"She enjoys skiing in the mountains during the winter."
shee uhn·JOYZ SKEE·uhng uhn dhuh MOWN·tuhnz DUUR·uhng dhuh WIHN·ter
"The eagle soared high above the mountains looking for prey."
dhee EE·guhl SORD HAHY uh·BUHV dhuh MOWN·tuhnz LUU·kuhng fer PRAY
"The lake is calm and reflects the surrounding mountains."
dhuh LAYK ihz KAHM and ruh·FLEHKTS dhuh suh·ROWN·duhng MOWN·tuhnz
Find another
Looking for a different word or sentence?
Search the entire library
/
Press / anywhere to focus the search box.
Watch out
Common pronunciation mistakes in American English.
The textbook way isn't wrong — it's just not how anyone actually says it.
01
Pronouncing the silent T after N.
In "mountains", the "t" right after N is dropped — the tongue skips the T stop and moves directly from the N position to the next sound. /t/ is completely silent — the tongue skips the T stop and moves directly from the N position to the next sound.
mountains→MOWN·tuhnz
02
Inserting a vowel before the syllabic consonant.
In "mountains", the short unstressed vowel before "n" disappears — the schwa is absorbed and the "n" becomes the syllable nucleus on its own. Schwa is absorbed — consonant becomes the syllable nucleus.
mountains→MOWN·tuhnz
03
Stressing the wrong syllable.
Stress falls on the first syllable, not the others. Stretch MOWN — keep everything else short and quick.
mown·TUHNZ→MOWN·tuhnz
04
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.
MOWN·TUHNZ→MOWN·tuhnz
Questions
Questions people ask about this.
How is "mountains" stressed in American English?
Stress falls on the first syllable — say "MOWN" with a longer, fuller vowel and keep every other syllable short and quick. The respell "MOWN-tuhnz" marks the stressed syllable in capitals so the rhythm is easy to read at a glance.
Why does the second syllable in "mountains" 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 "MOWN-tuhnz" shows the reduced form so you can hear the casual rhythm directly.
Is the American pronunciation of "mountains" 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 "MOWN-tuhnz" reflects the casual American form; British dictionaries typically print a citation form with crisper consonants and different vowel choices.
Stop reading about "mountains". Start saying it.
SayWaader is the AI pronunciation coach for American English. Practice 5 minutes a day. Get a 5-axes accent assessment. Sound like you live here.