p/p/
Press your lips together to stop the air, then release. No vocal cord vibration.
How to pronounce prices in American English
PRAHY·suhz
Start here
Americans pronounce prices as PRAHY-suhz (/ˈpraɪsəz/). Stress falls on the first syllable — keep everything else short and quick. You'll hear it in sentences like "She compared the unit prices to find the best deal" or "I always compare prices before putting anything in my cart" — more examples below.
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Sound by sound
Every sound in "prices".
2 syllables, 6 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.
ahy/aɪ/
Start with your jaw open wide and your tongue resting low and flat. Glide the front of your tongue up toward the roof of your mouth as your jaw closes halfway.
s/s/
Place your tongue tip near the roof of your mouth behind your top teeth. Push air through the narrow gap. No voicing.
uh/ʌ/
Relax your lips, jaw, and tongue completely. Drop your jaw slightly and keep the tongue neutral.
z/z/
Same position as S, but add vocal cord vibration. Feel the buzz.
In real conversation
Hear "prices" in the wild.
Click any sentence to see the full breakdown — every link, every reduction, every flap-T.
"Energy prices have been a major concern for economists lately."
EH·ner·jee PRAHY·suhz huhv bihn uh MAY·jer kuhn·SURN fer uh·KAH·nuh·muhsts LAYT·lee
"I always compare prices before putting anything in my cart."
ahy AHL·wayz kuhm·PAIR PRAHY·suhz buh·FOR PUU·duhng EH·nee·thuhng uhn mahy KART
"Rising inflation has affected commodity prices across the global market."
RAHY·zuhng uhn·FLAY·shuhn huhz uh·FEHK·tuhd kuh·MAH·duh·tee PRAHY·suhz uh·KRAHS dhuh GLOH·buhl MAR·kuht
"She compared the unit prices to find the best deal."
shee kuhm·PAIRD dhuh YOO·nuht PRAHY·suhz tuh FAHYND dhuh BEHST DEEL
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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 first syllable, not the others. Stretch PRAHY — keep everything else short and quick.
prahy·SUHZ→PRAHY·suhz
02
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.
PRAHY·SUHZ→PRAHY·suhz
Questions
Questions people ask about this.
How is "prices" stressed in American English?
Stress falls on the first syllable — say "PRAHY" with a longer, fuller vowel and keep every other syllable short and quick. The respell "PRAHY-suhz" marks the stressed syllable in capitals so the rhythm is easy to read at a glance.
Why does the second syllable in "prices" 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 "PRAHY-suhz" shows the reduced form so you can hear the casual rhythm directly.
Is the American pronunciation of "prices" 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 "PRAHY-suhz" reflects the casual American form; British dictionaries typically print a citation form with crisper consonants and different vowel choices.
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