p/p/
Press your lips together to stop the air, then release. No vocal cord vibration.
How to pronounce planet in American English
PLA·nuht
Start here
Americans pronounce planet as PLA-nuht (/ˈplænət/). In "planet", the "a" vowel before M or N raises and fronts toward [eə] — the tongue pulls up and forward, breaking the vowel into a tense glide as it anticipates the nasal. This is called the Cat-Vowel Before M/N, a hallmark of natural-sounding American speech. It comes out as PLA·nuht. Stress falls on the first syllable — keep everything else short and quick. You'll hear it in sentences like "We all have a responsibility to care for the planet" or "Biodiversity is essential for a healthy and resilient planet" — more examples below.
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Sound by sound
Every sound in "planet".
2 syllables, 6 sounds. Tap a syllable to jump to its row, then explore each sound's mouth shape and how it's made.
l/l/
Place the tip of your tongue against the alveolar ridge just behind your top front teeth, the same contact point as /t/, /d/, and /n/. The difference is what happens to the air: for /l/, you let it flow continuously around the <em>sides</em> of the tongue (that's why /l/ is called a lateral). Turn your voice on the whole time. Lips stay relaxed, no rounding or flaring. For the Dark L variant at the end of a syllable, also pull the back of the tongue up and back toward the soft palate.
a/æ/
NasalizedThe tongue relaxes down in the back and the corners of the lips relax before the consonant. This adds a schwa-like 'uh' relaxation after the /æ/. Think of it as 'relaxing out of the vowel' — it is no longer a pure /æ/ sound.
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.
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.
In real conversation
Hear "planet" in the wild.
Click any sentence to see the full breakdown — every link, every reduction, every flap-T.
"Biodiversity is essential for a healthy and resilient planet."
bahy·oh·duh·VUR·suh·tee ihz uh·SEHN·shuhl fer uh HEHL·thee and ruh·ZIHL·yuhnt PLA·nuht
"He advocates for sustainable practices to protect our planet."
hee AD·vuh·kayts fer suh·STAY·nuh·buhl PRAK·tuh·suhz tuh pruh·TEHKT ar PLA·nuht
"The planet orbits the sun once every three hundred and sixty-five days."
dhuh PLA·nuht OR·buhts dhuh SUHN WUHNS EHV·ree THREE HUHN·druhd and SIHK·stee FAHYV DAYZ
"We all have a responsibility to care for the planet."
wee AHL hav uh ruh·spahn·suh·BIH·luh·tee tuh KAIR fer dhuh PLA·nuht
"The rover sent back incredible data from the surface of the planet."
dhuh ROH·ver SEHNT BAK uhn·KREH·duh·buhl DAY·duh fruhm dhuh SUR·fuhs uhv dhuh PLA·nuht
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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 vowel before M/N too pure.
In "planet", the "a" vowel before M or N raises and fronts toward [eə] — the tongue pulls up and forward, breaking the vowel into a tense glide as it anticipates the nasal. The "/æ/" vowel raises and fronts before M or N — tongue pulls up and forward, producing a tense [eə] glide (between /e/ and /ə/). Not a pure /æ/.
PLA-nuht→PLA·nuht
02
Releasing the final consonant with a puff of air.
In "planet", the "t" is not released — the articulators get into position but hold without the burst of air. Air stops but there's no release burst — the articulators hold position.
planet→PLA·nuht
03
Stressing the wrong syllable.
Stress falls on the first syllable, not the others. Stretch PLA — keep everything else short and quick.
pla·NUHT→PLA·nuht
04
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.
PLA·NUHT→PLA·nuht
Questions
Questions people ask about this.
How is "planet" stressed in American English?
Stress falls on the first syllable — say "PLA" with a longer, fuller vowel and keep every other syllable short and quick. The respell "PLA-nuht" marks the stressed syllable in capitals so the rhythm is easy to read at a glance.
Why does the second syllable in "planet" 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 "PLA-nuht" shows the reduced form so you can hear the casual rhythm directly.
Is the American pronunciation of "planet" 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 "PLA-nuht" reflects the casual American form; British dictionaries typically print a citation form with crisper consonants and different vowel choices.
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