p/p/
Press your lips together to stop the air, then release. No vocal cord vibration.
How to pronounce postpone in American English
poh·SPOHN
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Americans pronounce postpone as poh-SPOHN (/poʊˈspoʊn/). Stress falls on the second syllable — keep everything else short and quick. You'll hear it in sentences like "I am afraid I need to postpone our dinner due to a prior commitment".
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Sound by sound
Every sound in "postpone".
2 syllables, 6 sounds. Tap a syllable to jump to its row, then explore each sound's mouth shape and how it's made.
oh/oʊ/
Start with your mouth slightly open, then close your jaw slightly as your lips round. Shift your tongue back slightly, then stretch the back up.
s/s/
Place your tongue tip near the roof of your mouth behind your top teeth. Push air through the narrow gap. No voicing.
p/p/
Press your lips together to stop the air, then release. No vocal cord vibration.
oh/oʊ/
Start with your mouth slightly open, then close your jaw slightly as your lips round. Shift your tongue back slightly, then stretch the back up.
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.
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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 second syllable, not the others. Stretch SPOHN — keep everything else short and quick.
POH·spohn→poh·SPOHN
Questions
Questions people ask about this.
How is "postpone" stressed in American English?
Stress falls on the second syllable — say "SPOHN" with a longer, fuller vowel and keep every other syllable short and quick. The respell "poh-SPOHN" marks the stressed syllable in capitals so the rhythm is easy to read at a glance.
Is the American pronunciation of "postpone" 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 "poh-SPOHN" reflects the casual American form; British dictionaries typically print a citation form with crisper consonants and different vowel choices.
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