p/p/
Press your lips together to stop the air, then release. No vocal cord vibration.
How to pronounce percentage in American English
per·SEHN·tuhj
Start here
Americans pronounce percentage as per-SEHN-tuhj (/pərˈsɛntədʒ/). In "percentage", 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, a small move that separates 'classroom' from 'native'. It comes out as per·SEHN·tuhj. Stress falls on the second syllable — keep everything else short and quick. You'll hear it in sentences like "The annual percentage yield on this account is quite competitive" or "I contribute a percentage of my salary to my retirement fund each month" — more examples below.
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Sound by sound
Every sound in "percentage".
3 syllables, 8 sounds. Tap a syllable to jump to its row, then explore each sound's mouth shape and how it's made.
er/ər/
Relax your mouth and lift the tongue back and up. Keep the lips neutral.
s/s/
Place your tongue tip near the roof of your mouth behind your top teeth. Push air through the narrow gap. No voicing.
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.
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.
j/dʒ/
Touch the front of your tongue to the roof of your mouth, then release into a 'zh' position. Add vocal cord vibration.
In real conversation
Hear "percentage" in the wild.
Click any sentence to see the full breakdown — every link, every reduction, every flap-T.
"I contribute a percentage of my salary to my retirement fund each month."
ahy kuhn·TRIH·byoot uh per·SEHN·tuhj uhv mahy SA·luh·ree tuh mahy ruh·TAHY·er·muhnt FUHND EECH muhnth
"The annual percentage yield on this account is quite competitive."
dhee AN·yoo·uhl per·SEHN·tuhj YEELD ahn dhihs uh·KOWNT ihz KWAHYT kuhm·PEH·tuh·tihv
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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 "percentage", 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.
percentage→per·SEHN·tuhj
02
Stressing the wrong syllable.
Stress falls on the second syllable, not the others. Stretch SEHN — keep everything else short and quick.
PER·sehn·TUHJ→per·SEHN·tuhj
03
Pronouncing the unstressed syllable too fully.
Don't pronounce the second syllable too fully. The unstressed syllable reduces to a schwa — the lazy "uh" sound — in casual speech.
per·SEHN·TUHJ→per·SEHN·tuhj
04
Pronouncing the "R" too clearly.
Americans use a relaxed retroflex R — the tongue curls back rather than rolling. The R is one continuous sound with the vowel before it, not two separate sounds.
… (no R)→… r (curl the tongue)
Questions
Questions people ask about this.
How is "percentage" stressed in American English?
Stress falls on the second syllable — say "SEHN" with a longer, fuller vowel and keep every other syllable short and quick. The respell "per-SEHN-tuhj" marks the stressed syllable in capitals so the rhythm is easy to read at a glance.
Why does the third syllable in "percentage" 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 "per-SEHN-tuhj" shows the reduced form so you can hear the casual rhythm directly.
How do I pronounce the R in "percentage"?
Americans use a relaxed retroflex R: the tongue curls back rather than rolling, and the R is one continuous sound with the vowel before it — not two separate sounds. Don't try to pronounce a separate vowel followed by a separate R. Treat them as a single shape.
Is the American pronunciation of "percentage" 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 "per-SEHN-tuhj" reflects the casual American form; British dictionaries typically print a citation form with crisper consonants and different vowel choices.
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