How to pronounce rates in American English
RAYTS
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Americans pronounce rates as RAYTS (/reɪts/).
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Why it sounds different
Why "rates" sounds like RAYTS.
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 RAYTS.
In real conversation
Hear "rates" in the wild.
Click any sentence to see the full breakdown — every link, every reduction, every flap-T.
"Child poverty rates have decreased due to targeted interventions."
CHAHYLD PAH·ver·tee RAYTS huhv duh·KREEST DOO tuh TAR·guh·tuhd ihn·ter·VEHN·shuhnz
"Deforestation rates have decreased due to international pressure."
dee·for·uh·STAY·shuhn RAYTS huhv duh·KREEST DOO tuh ihn·ter·NA·shuh·nuhl PREH·sher
"Interest rates are expected to remain stable for the foreseeable future."
IHN·truhst RAYTS er uhk·spehk·tuhd tuh ruh·MAYN STAY·buhl fer dhuh for·SEE·uh·buhl FYOO·cher
"The central bank announced an increase in interest rates yesterday."
dhuh SEHN·truhl BANGK uh·NOWNST uhn IHN·krees ihn IHN·truhst RAYTS YEH·ster·day
Questions
Questions people ask about this.
Is the American pronunciation of "rates" 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 "RAYTS" reflects the casual American form; British dictionaries typically print a citation form with crisper consonants and different vowel choices.
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