How to pronounce next in American English
NEHKST
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Americans pronounce next as NEHKST (/nɛkst/).
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Why it sounds different
Why "next" sounds like NEHKST.
The "" at the end of "" and the "y" starting "" blend together into "" — natural in casual conversation; in formal or careful speech, the two sounds stay separate. This is called the Y-Merging (gotcha, didja), a connected-speech trick that makes phrases flow. It comes out as NEHKST.
In real conversation
Hear "next" in the wild.
Click any sentence to see the full breakdown — every link, every reduction, every flap-T.
"Are you available this week or next week?"
ar yoo uh·VAY·luh·buhl dhihs WEEK or NEHKST WEEK
"Could we possibly reschedule to sometime next week instead?"
kuud wee PAH·suh·blee ree·SKEH·juhl tuh SUHM·tahym nehkst WEEK uhn·STEHD
"He is training for a triathlon next summer."
hee ihz TRAY·nuhng fer uh trahy·ATH·lahn NEHKST SUH·mer
"He scheduled a follow-up appointment for next month."
hee SKEH·juhld uh FAH·loh UHP uh·POYNT·muhnt fer NEHKST muhnth
"He's planning a trip to California next year."
heez PLA·nuhng uh TRIHP tuh ka·luh·FORN·yuh NEHKST YEER
"I am thrilled to announce that we are getting married next summer!"
ahy am THRIHLD tuh uh·NOWNS dhuht wee er GEH·duhng MAIR·eed nehkst SUH·mer
Questions
Questions people ask about this.
Is the American pronunciation of "next" 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 "NEHKST" reflects the casual American form; British dictionaries typically print a citation form with crisper consonants and different vowel choices.
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