How to pronounce quite in American English

IPA /kwaɪt/ Syllables 1 · kwahyt Stress 1st syllable

KWAHYT

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Americans pronounce quite as KWAHYT (/kwaɪt/).

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Sounds

75%

Clarity

68%

Stress

78%

Intonation

65%

Fluency

62%

Overall assessment

Our AI coach listens to your recording and grades 5 dimensions of pronunciation — then tells you exactly what to fix next.

72% Noticeable accent

Common mistakes

Releasing the final consonant with a puff of air.

In "quite", the "" 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.

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Why it sounds different

Why "quite" sounds like KWAHYT.

In "quite", the "" is not released — the articulators get into position but hold without the burst of air. This is called the Unreleased Stops, and it's one of the defining features of casual American English. It comes out as KWAHYT.

In real conversation

Hear "quite" in the wild.

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"It was quite an interesting experience."

iht wuhz KWAHYT uhn IHN·truh·stuhng ihk·SPEER·ee·uhns

"She appeared quite nervous before her big presentation."

shee uh·PEERD KWAHYT NUR·vuhs buh·FOR her BIHG preh·zuhn·TAY·shuhn

"The annual percentage yield on this account is quite competitive."

dhee AN·yoo·uhl per·SEHN·tuhj YEELD ahn dhihs uh·KOWNT ihz KWAHYT kuhm·PEH·tuh·tihv

"The discussion became quite heated, but we eventually reached an agreement."

dhuh duh·SKUH·shuhn buh·KAYM KWAHYT HEE·duhd buht wee uh·VEHN·chuh·lee REECHT uhn uh·GREE·muhnt

"The food at that place was quite good."

dhuh FOOD uht dhat PLAYS wuhz KWAHYT GUUD

"The refrigerator is making a humming sound that is quite loud."

dhuh ruh·FRIH·juh·ray·ter ihz MAY·kuhng uh HUH·muhng SOWND dhuht ihz KWAHYT LOWD

Watch out

Common pronunciation mistakes in American English.

The textbook way isn't wrong — it's just not how anyone actually says it.

Releasing the final consonant with a puff of air.

In "quite", the "" 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.

quite→KWAHYT

Questions

Questions people ask about this.

Is the American pronunciation of "quite" 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 "KWAHYT" reflects the casual American form; British dictionaries typically print a citation form with crisper consonants and different vowel choices.

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Overall assessment

Common mistakes

Releasing the final consonant with a puff of air.

Why "quite" sounds like KWAHYT.

Hear "quite" in the wild.

Words that work the same way.

Common pronunciation mistakes in American English.

Releasing the final consonant with a puff of air.

Questions people ask about this.

Stop reading about "quite". Start saying it.