k/k/
Raise the back of your tongue to touch the soft palate (velum). Stop the air, then release.
How to pronounce quite in American English
KWAHYT
Start here
Americans pronounce quite as KWAHYT (/kwaɪt/). You'll hear it in sentences like "The food at that place was quite good" or "It was quite an interesting experience" — more examples below.
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Sound by sound
Every sound in "quite".
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.
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.
t/t/
Touch the tip or front edge of your tongue to the roof of your mouth just behind your teeth. Keep your jaw relaxed. Stop the air, then release with a puff.
In real conversation
Hear "quite" in the wild.
Click any sentence to see the full breakdown — every link, every reduction, every flap-T.
"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
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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 "quite", the "t" 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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