p/p/
Press your lips together to stop the air, then release. No vocal cord vibration.
How to pronounce production in American English
pruh·DUHK·shuhn
Start here
Americans pronounce production as pruh-DUHK-shuhn (/prəˈdʌkʃən/). Stress falls on the second syllable — keep everything else short and quick. You'll hear it in sentences like "The apiary houses several beehives for honey production" or "He pruned the apple tree to encourage more fruit production" — more examples below.
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Record yourself saying "production" and play it back. The mic stays on your device — nothing's uploaded.
Sound by sound
Every sound in "production".
3 syllables, 9 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.
uh/ʌ/
Relax your lips, jaw, and tongue completely. Drop your jaw slightly and keep the tongue neutral.
d/d/
Touch the tip of your tongue to the roof of your mouth just behind your teeth. Add vocal cord vibration as you release.
uh/ʌ/
Relax your lips, jaw, and tongue completely. Drop your jaw slightly and keep the tongue neutral.
k/k/
Raise the back of your tongue to touch the soft palate (velum). Stop the air, then release.
sh/ʃ/
Flare your lips and lift the mid-front tongue close to the roof of your mouth. Blow air through without voicing.
uh/ʌ/
Relax your lips, jaw, and tongue completely. Drop your jaw slightly and keep the tongue neutral.
n/n/
SyllabicThe schwa before N disappears — N becomes the vowel of the syllable. Go straight from the previous consonant to N.
In real conversation
Hear "production" in the wild.
Click any sentence to see the full breakdown — every link, every reduction, every flap-T.
"He pruned the apple tree to encourage more fruit production."
hee PROOND dhee A·puhl TREE tuh uhn·KUR·ihj MOR FROOT pruh·DUHK·shuhn
"He works as a film editor in the post-production department."
hee WURKS uhz uh FIHLM EH·duh·der ihn dhuh POHST pruh·DUHK·shuhn duh·PART·muhnt
"The apiary houses several beehives for honey production."
dhee AY·pee·air·ee HOW·zuhz SEH·ver·uhl BEE·hahyvz fer HUH·nee pruh·DUHK·shuhn
"The drought has severely impacted agricultural production this year."
dhuh DROWT huhz suh·VEER·lee uhm·PAK·tuhd a·gruh·KUHL·chuh·ruhl pruh·DUHK·shuhn dhihs YEER
"The semiconductor shortage has affected production across industries."
dhuh seh·mee·kuhn·DUHK·ter SHOR·duhj huhz uh·FEHK·tuhd pruh·DUHK·shuhn uh·KRAHS IHN·duh·streez
"She auditioned for a supporting role in the upcoming production."
shee ah·DIH·shuhnd fer uh suh·POR·tuhng ROHL ihn dhee UHP·kuh·muhng pruh·DUHK·shuhn
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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
Releasing the final consonant with a puff of air.
In "production", the "k" 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.
production→pruh·DUHK·shuhn
02
Inserting a vowel before the syllabic consonant.
In "production", the short unstressed vowel before "n" disappears — the schwa is absorbed and the "n" becomes the syllable nucleus on its own. Schwa is absorbed — consonant becomes the syllable nucleus.
production→pruh·DUHK·shuhn
03
Stressing the wrong syllable.
Stress falls on the second syllable, not the others. Stretch DUHK — keep everything else short and quick.
PRUH·duhk·SHUHN→pruh·DUHK·shuhn
04
Pronouncing the first 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.
PRUH·DUHK·shuhn→pruh·DUHK·shuhn
Questions
Questions people ask about this.
How is "production" stressed in American English?
Stress falls on the second syllable — say "DUHK" with a longer, fuller vowel and keep every other syllable short and quick. The respell "pruh-DUHK-shuhn" marks the stressed syllable in capitals so the rhythm is easy to read at a glance.
Why does the first syllable in "production" 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 "pruh-DUHK-shuhn" shows the reduced form so you can hear the casual rhythm directly.
Is the American pronunciation of "production" 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 "pruh-DUHK-shuhn" reflects the casual American form; British dictionaries typically print a citation form with crisper consonants and different vowel choices.
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