p/p/
Press your lips together to stop the air, then release. No vocal cord vibration.
How to pronounce profile in American English
PROH·fahyl
Start here
Americans pronounce profile as PROH-fahyl (/ˈproʊˌfaɪl/). Stress falls on the first syllable — keep everything else short and quick.
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Sound by sound
Every sound in "profile".
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.
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.
f/f/
Lift your bottom lip to touch the very bottom of your top front teeth. Blow air through this contact point without voicing.
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.
l/l/
DarkKeep the tongue tip down and pull the back of the tongue up toward the throat. The 'dark' sound comes from the back.
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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 PROH — keep everything else short and quick.
proh·FAHYL→PROH·FAHYL
Questions
Questions people ask about this.
How is "profile" stressed in American English?
Stress falls on the first syllable — say "PROH" with a longer, fuller vowel and keep every other syllable short and quick. The respell "PROH-fahyl" marks the stressed syllable in capitals so the rhythm is easy to read at a glance.
Is the American pronunciation of "profile" 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 "PROH-fahyl" reflects the casual American form; British dictionaries typically print a citation form with crisper consonants and different vowel choices.
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