How to pronounce nights in American English

IPA /naɪts/ Syllables 1 · nahyts Stress 1st syllable
NAHYTS
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Americans pronounce nights as NAHYTS (/naɪts/). It's 4 sounds in 1 syllable. The vowel glides through two positions, not one fixed shape — keep both halves audible.

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Sound by sound

Every sound in "nights".

1 syllable, 4 sounds. Explore each sound's mouth shape and how it's made.

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.

Mouth position for /n/ as in NET
ahy/aɪ/

Start with your jaw open wide and your tongue resting low and flat. Glide the front of your tongue up toward the roof of your mouth as your jaw closes halfway.

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.

Mouth position for /t/ as in TEN
s/s/

Place your tongue tip near the roof of your mouth behind your top teeth. Push air through the narrow gap. No voicing.

Mouth position for /s/ as in SUN
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Questions

Questions people ask about this.

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

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