How to pronounce no in American English

IPA /noʊ/ Syllables 1 · noh Stress 1st syllable

NOH

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Americans pronounce no as NOH (/noʊ/). You'll hear it in sentences like "No, not now" or "We have no fear" — more examples below.

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Sound by sound

Every sound in "no".

1 syllable, 2 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.

oh/oʊ/

Start with your mouth slightly open, then close your jaw slightly as your lips round. Shift your tongue back slightly, then stretch the back up.

In real conversation

Hear "no" in the wild.

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

"Long time no see."

lahng TAHYM NOH SEE

"No, I do not know."

NOH ahy doo NAHT NOH

"No new news is nice news now."

NOH noo NOOZ ihz NAHYS NOOZ NOW

"She organized the closet and donated clothes she no longer wears."

shee OR·guh·nahyzd dhuh KLAH·zuht and DOH·nay·tuhd KLOHZ shee NOH LAHNG·ger WAIRZ

"The actor forgot his lines but improvised so well no one noticed."

dhee AK·ter fer·GAHT hihz LAHYNZ buht IHM·pruh·vahyzd SOH wehl NOH wuhn NOH·duhst

"The control group showed no significant changes during the study."

dhuh kuhn·TROHL GROOP SHOHD NOH suhg·NIH·fuh·kuhnt CHAYN·juhz DUUR·uhng dhuh STUH·dee

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Questions

Questions people ask about this.

Is the American pronunciation of "no" 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 "NOH" reflects the casual American form; British dictionaries typically print a citation form with crisper consonants and different vowel choices.