How to pronounce race in American English
RAYS
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Americans pronounce race as RAYS (/reɪs/).
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Why it sounds different
Why "race" sounds like RAYS.
The "" at the end of "" flows directly into the vowel starting "" — the consonant migrates to the next word with no pause between. This is called the Consonant-to-Vowel Linking, what turns word-by-word reading into actual conversation. It comes out as RAYS.
In real conversation
Hear "race" in the wild.
Click any sentence to see the full breakdown — every link, every reduction, every flap-T.
"Discrimination based on race or gender is strictly prohibited."
dih·skrih·muh·NAY·shuhn BAYST ahn RAYS or JEHN·der ihz STRIHKT·lee proh·HIH·buh·tuhd
"He was disqualified from the race for a false start."
hee wuhz dih·SKWAH·luh·fahyd fruhm dhuh RAYS fer uh FAHLS START
"Public opinion polls suggest a close race between the candidates."
PUH·bluhk uh·PIHN·yuhn POHLZ suhg·JEHST uh KLOHS RAYS buh·TWEEN dhuh KAN·duh·dayts
"Remembering the reason for the rich race."
ruh·MEHM·ber·uhng dhuh REE·zuhn fer dhuh rihch RAYS
"She set a goal to run a 5k race within three months."
shee SEHT uh GOHL tuh RUHN uh FAHYV·KAY RAYS wuh·DHIHN THREE MUHNTHS
Questions
Questions people ask about this.
Is the American pronunciation of "race" 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 "RAYS" reflects the casual American form; British dictionaries typically print a citation form with crisper consonants and different vowel choices.
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