p/p/
Press your lips together to stop the air, then release. No vocal cord vibration.
How to pronounce paintings in American English
PAYN·tuhngz
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Americans pronounce paintings as PAYN-tuhngz (/ˈpeɪntəŋz/). In "paintings", the "t" right after N is dropped — the tongue skips the T stop and moves directly from the N position to the next sound. This is called the Silent T after N, the kind of sound shift that makes everyday speech feel effortless. It comes out as PAYN·tuhngz. Stress falls on the first syllable — keep everything else short and quick. You'll hear it in sentences like "The museum is hosting an exhibition of impressionist paintings".
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Sound by sound
Every sound in "paintings".
2 syllables, 7 sounds. Tap a syllable to jump to its row, then explore each sound's mouth shape and how it's made.
ay/eɪ/
Start with your jaw slightly open and the front of your tongue forward and slightly up. Glide upward, your jaw closes a little more and your tongue arches higher toward the roof of the mouth.
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.
t/t/
DroppedThe T is skipped entirely. Your tongue doesn't make contact at the T position.
uh/ʌ/
Relax your lips, jaw, and tongue completely. Drop your jaw slightly and keep the tongue neutral.
ng/ŋ/
Lift the back of your tongue to the soft palate. Lower your soft palate to let air flow through your nose.
z/z/
Same position as S, but add vocal cord vibration. Feel the buzz.
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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.
01
Pronouncing the silent T after N.
In "paintings", the "t" right after N is dropped — the tongue skips the T stop and moves directly from the N position to the next sound. /t/ is completely silent — the tongue skips the T stop and moves directly from the N position to the next sound.
paintings→PAYN·tuhngz
02
Stressing the wrong syllable.
Stress falls on the first syllable, not the others. Stretch PAYN — keep everything else short and quick.
payn·TUHNGZ→PAYN·tuhngz
03
Pronouncing the unstressed syllable too fully.
Don't pronounce the first syllable too fully. The unstressed syllable reduces to a schwa — the lazy "uh" sound — in casual speech.
PAYN·TUHNGZ→PAYN·tuhngz
Questions
Questions people ask about this.
How is "paintings" stressed in American English?
Stress falls on the first syllable — say "PAYN" with a longer, fuller vowel and keep every other syllable short and quick. The respell "PAYN-tuhngz" marks the stressed syllable in capitals so the rhythm is easy to read at a glance.
Why does the second syllable in "paintings" reduce to "uh"?
Unstressed syllables in American English collapse toward a schwa — a lazy, neutral "uh" sound. The full vowel is what textbooks teach, but in actual American speech every unstressed vowel reduces. The respell "PAYN-tuhngz" shows the reduced form so you can hear the casual rhythm directly.
Is the American pronunciation of "paintings" 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 "PAYN-tuhngz" reflects the casual American form; British dictionaries typically print a citation form with crisper consonants and different vowel choices.
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