How to pronounce notes in American English

IPA /noʊts/ Syllables 1 · nohts Stress 1st syllable

NOHTS

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Americans pronounce notes as NOHTS (/noʊts/). You'll hear it in sentences like "She took detailed notes throughout the entire meeting" or "She has a wide vocal range and can hit very high notes" — more examples below.

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Sound by sound

Every sound in "notes".

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.

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.

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.

s/s/

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

In real conversation

Hear "notes" in the wild.

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

"He reviewed his notes within twenty-four hours of the lecture."

hee ruh·VYOOD hihz NOHTS wih·DHIHN TWEHN·tee FOR OW·erz uhv dhuh LEHK·cher

"I need to review the notes before the exam next Thursday."

ahy NEED tuh ruh·VYOO dhuh NOHTS buh·FOR dhee uhg·ZAM NEHKST THURZ·day

"She has a wide vocal range and can hit very high notes."

shee huhz uh WAHYD VOH·kuhl RAYNJ and kuhn HIHT VEH·ree HAHY NOHTS

"She took detailed notes throughout the entire meeting."

shee TUUK DEE·tayld NOHTS throo·OWT dhee ehn·TAHY·er MEE·duhng

"I rewrote my notes after class to reinforce the lecture content."

ahy ree·ROHT mahy NOHTS AF·ter KLAS tuh ree·ihn·FORS dhuh LEHK·cher KAHN·tehnt

"She took detailed notes during the entire two-hour lecture."

shee TUUK DEE·tayld NOHTS DUUR·uhng dhee uhn·TAHY·er TOO OWR LEHK·cher

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Questions

Questions people ask about this.

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