How to pronounce null in American English

IPA /nʌl/ Syllables 1 · nuhl Stress 1st syllable

NUHL

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Americans pronounce null as NUHL (/nʌl/). The L in "null" is a dark L — the back of the tongue rises toward the soft palate, adding a small "uh" quality before the L. This is called the Dark L vs Light L, and it's one of the defining features of casual American English. It comes out as NUHL. You'll hear it in sentences like "The contract is null and void because of the error".

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Common mistakes

Treating every L the same.

The L in "null" is a dark L — the back of the tongue rises toward the soft palate, adding a small "uh" quality before the L. Dark L adds a small schwa-like "uh" before the L. The back of the tongue lifts toward the soft palate.

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Sound by sound

Every sound in "null".

1 syllable, 3 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.

uh/ʌ/

Relax your lips, jaw, and tongue completely. Drop your jaw slightly and keep the tongue neutral.

l/l/

Dark

Keep the tongue tip down and pull the back of the tongue up toward the throat. The 'dark' sound comes from the back.

In real conversation

Hear "null" in the wild.

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"The contract is null and void because of the error."

dhuh KAHN·trakt ihz NUHL and VOYD buh·KUHZ uhv dhee AIR·er

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Watch out

Common pronunciation mistakes in American English.

The textbook way isn't wrong — it's just not how anyone actually says it.

Treating every L the same.

null→NUHL

Questions

Questions people ask about this.

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

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Overall assessment

Common mistakes

Treating every L the same.

Every sound in "null".

Hear "null" in the wild.

Words that work the same way.

Looking for a different word or sentence?

Common pronunciation mistakes in American English.

Treating every L the same.

Questions people ask about this.

Stop reading about "null". Start saying it.