How to pronounce rates in American English

IPA /reɪts/ Syllables 1 · rayts Stress 1st syllable

RAYTS

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Americans pronounce rates as RAYTS (/reɪts/). You'll hear it in sentences like "Child poverty rates have decreased due to targeted interventions" or "Deforestation rates have decreased due to international pressure" — more examples below.

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Sound by sound

Every sound in "rates".

1 syllable, 4 sounds. Explore each sound's mouth shape and how it's made.

r/r/

Curl or bunch your tongue without letting the tip touch the roof of your mouth. Brace the sides of your tongue against your upper back teeth, and round your lips slightly.

ay/eɪ/

Start with your jaw slightly open and the front of your tongue forward and slightly up. Glide upward, your jaw closes a little more and your tongue arches higher toward the roof of the mouth.

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.

s/s/

Place your tongue tip near the roof of your mouth behind your top teeth. Push air through the narrow gap. No voicing.

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

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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.