p/p/
Press your lips together to stop the air, then release. No vocal cord vibration.
How to pronounce predators in American English
PREH·duh·terz
Start here
Americans pronounce predators as PREH-duh-terz (/ˈprɛdəɾərz/). In "predators", the "t" between vowels sounds like a quick "d" — the tongue briefly taps the ridge behind the upper teeth. This is called the Flap T, a small move that separates 'classroom' from 'native'. So instead of PREH·tuh·terz, you get PREH·duh·terz. Stress falls on the first syllable — keep everything else short and quick. You'll hear it in sentences like "The octopus uses camouflage to hide from predators" or "Sharks are the apex predators of the ocean ecosystem" — more examples below.
Now you try.
Record yourself saying "predators" and play it back. The mic stays on your device — nothing's uploaded.
Sound by sound
Every sound in "predators".
3 syllables, 8 sounds. Tap a syllable to jump to its row, then explore each sound's mouth shape and how it's made.
r/r/
Curl or bunch your tongue without letting the tip touch the roof of your mouth. Brace the sides of your tongue against your upper back teeth, and round your lips slightly.
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.
d/d/
FlapQuickly bounce the front of your tongue against the roof of your mouth. Same as Flap T — a quick tap without stopping airflow.
uh/ʌ/
Relax your lips, jaw, and tongue completely. Drop your jaw slightly and keep the tongue neutral.
t/t/
FlapQuickly bounce the front of your tongue against the roof of your mouth. Don't stop the airflow — just a quick tap.
er/ər/
Relax your mouth and lift the tongue back and up. Keep the lips neutral.
z/z/
Same position as S, but add vocal cord vibration. Feel the buzz.
In real conversation
Hear "predators" in the wild.
Click any sentence to see the full breakdown — every link, every reduction, every flap-T.
"Sharks are the apex predators of the ocean ecosystem."
SHARKS ar dhee AY·pehks PREH·duh·terz uhv dhee OH·shuhn EE·koh·sihs·tuhm
"The ecosystem depends on a balance of predators and prey."
dhee EE·koh·sihs·tuhm duh·PEHNDZ ahn uh BA·luhns uhv PREH·duh·terz and PRAY
"The ecosystem relies on a delicate balance between predators and prey."
dhee EE·koh·sihs·tuhm ruh·LAHYZ ahn uh DEH·luh·kuht BA·luhns buh·TWEEN PREH·duh·terz and PRAY
"The octopus uses camouflage to hide from predators."
dhee AHK·tuh·puhs YOO·zuhz KA·muh·flahzh tuh HAHYD fruhm PREH·duh·terz
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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
Saying a hard "T" in the middle.
In "predators", the "t" between vowels sounds like a quick "d" — the tongue briefly taps the ridge behind the upper teeth. /t/ or /d/ becomes a quick tap [ɾ] — sounds like a soft D. The tongue briefly taps the ridge behind the upper teeth.
PREH-tuh-terz→PREH·duh·terz
02
Stressing the wrong syllable.
Stress falls on the first syllable, not the others. Stretch PREH — keep everything else short and quick.
preh·DUH·TERZ→PREH·duh·terz
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.
PREH·DUH·terz→PREH·duh·terz
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 "predators" stressed in American English?
Stress falls on the first syllable — say "PREH" with a longer, fuller vowel and keep every other syllable short and quick. The respell "PREH-duh-terz" marks the stressed syllable in capitals so the rhythm is easy to read at a glance.
Why doesn't the T sound like a T in "predators"?
In American English, when /t/ sits between two vowels with the second one unstressed, it turns into a quick D-like flap. So "predators" sounds closer to "PREH-duh-terz" than to a crisp-T pronunciation. This is the flap-T rule, one of the most distinctive sounds of casual American speech.
Why does the second syllable in "predators" 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 "PREH-duh-terz" shows the reduced form so you can hear the casual rhythm directly.
How do I pronounce the R in "predators"?
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.
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