k/k/
Raise the back of your tongue to touch the soft palate (velum). Stop the air, then release.
How to pronounce quick in American English
KWIHK
Start here
Americans pronounce quick as KWIHK (/kwɪk/). You'll hear it in sentences like "He made a quick phone call" or "I have to make a quick phone call" — more examples below.
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Sound by sound
Every sound in "quick".
1 syllable, 4 sounds. Explore each sound's mouth shape and how it's made.
w/w/
Round your lips into a tight circle. Lift the back of your tongue toward the soft palate and add voice.
ih/ɪ/
Drop your jaw slightly with relaxed lips. Touch the tongue tip behind the bottom front teeth and arch the top-front toward the roof.
k/k/
Raise the back of your tongue to touch the soft palate (velum). Stop the air, then release.
In real conversation
Hear "quick" in the wild.
Click any sentence to see the full breakdown — every link, every reduction, every flap-T.
"He made a quick phone call."
hee MAYD uh KWIHK FOHN KAHL
"I enjoy high-intensity interval training for a quick workout."
ahy uhn·JOY HAHY uhn·TEHN·suh·tee IHN·ter·vuhl TRAY·nuhng fer uh KWIHK WURK·owt
"I have to make a quick phone call."
ahy hav tuh MAYK uh KWIHK FOHN KAHL
"I suggest we establish a communication channel for quick updates."
ahy suhg·JEHST wee uh·STA·blihsh uh kuh·myoo·nuh·KAY·shuhn CHA·nuhl fer KWIHK UHP·dayts
"Quick, wash the window with warm water."
KWIHK WAHSH dhuh WIHN·doh wihth WORM WAH·der
"She uses a ride-sharing app when she needs a quick ride."
shee YOO·zuhz uh RAHYD SHAIR·uhng AP wehn shee NEEDZ uh KWIHK RAHYD
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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 "quick", 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.
quick→KWIHK
Questions
Questions people ask about this.
Is the American pronunciation of "quick" 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 "KWIHK" reflects the casual American form; British dictionaries typically print a citation form with crisper consonants and different vowel choices.
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