p/p/
Press your lips together to stop the air, then release. No vocal cord vibration.
How to pronounce pbs in American English
pee·bee·EHS
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Americans pronounce pbs as pee-bee-EHS (/ˌpiˌbiˈɛs/). Stress falls on the third syllable — keep everything else short and quick.
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Sound by sound
Every sound in "pbs".
3 syllables, 6 sounds. Tap a syllable to jump to its row, then explore each sound's mouth shape and how it's made.
ee/i/
Pull the corners of your lips back slightly. Arch the middle-front of your tongue high toward the roof of the mouth.
b/b/
Press your lips together, add vocal cord vibration, then release.
ee/i/
Pull the corners of your lips back slightly. Arch the middle-front of your tongue high toward the roof of the mouth.
eh/ɛ/
Drop your jaw moderately. Touch the tongue tip behind the bottom front teeth and lift the mid-front part slightly toward the roof.
s/s/
Place your tongue tip near the roof of your mouth behind your top teeth. Push air through the narrow gap. No voicing.
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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
Stressing the wrong syllable.
Stress falls on the third syllable, not the others. Stretch EHS — keep everything else short and quick.
PEE·BEE·ehs→PEE·BEE·EHS
Questions
Questions people ask about this.
How is "pbs" stressed in American English?
Stress falls on the third syllable — say "EHS" with a longer, fuller vowel and keep every other syllable short and quick. The respell "pee-bee-EHS" marks the stressed syllable in capitals so the rhythm is easy to read at a glance.
Is the American pronunciation of "pbs" 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 "pee-bee-EHS" reflects the casual American form; British dictionaries typically print a citation form with crisper consonants and different vowel choices.
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