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.
How to pronounce remain in American English
ruh·MAYN
Start here
Americans pronounce remain as ruh-MAYN (/rəˈmeɪn/). Stress falls on the second syllable — keep everything else short and quick. You'll hear it in sentences like "She decided to exercise her right to remain silent" or "Diplomatic channels remain open despite the ongoing disagreements" — more examples below.
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Sound by sound
Every sound in "remain".
2 syllables, 5 sounds. Tap a syllable to jump to its row, then explore each sound's mouth shape and how it's made.
uh/ʌ/
Relax your lips, jaw, and tongue completely. Drop your jaw slightly and keep the tongue neutral.
m/m/
Press your lips together. Air flows through your nose. Vocal cords vibrate.
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.
n/n/
Touch the tip or front edge of your tongue to the roof of your mouth behind your teeth. Air flows through your nose.
In real conversation
Hear "remain" in the wild.
Click any sentence to see the full breakdown — every link, every reduction, every flap-T.
"Diplomatic channels remain open despite the ongoing disagreements."
dih·pluh·MA·tuhk CHA·nuhlz ruh·MAYN OH·puhn duh·SPAHYT dhee AHN·goh·uhng dih·suh·GREE·muhnts
"Disability rights have advanced significantly but challenges remain."
dih·suh·BIH·luh·tee RAHYTS hav uhd·VANST suhg·NIH·fuh·kuhnt·lee buht CHA·luhn·juhz ruh·MAYN
"Inflation is expected to remain elevated throughout the next quarter."
uhn·FLAY·shuhn ihz uhk·spehk·tuhd tuh ruh·MAYN EH·luh·vay·duhd throo·OWT dhuh NEHKST KWOR·ter
"She decided to exercise her right to remain silent."
shee duh·SAHY·duhd tuh EHK·ser·sahyz her RAHYT tuh ruh·MAYN SAHY·luhnt
"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
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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
Stressing the wrong syllable.
Stress falls on the second syllable, not the others. Stretch MAYN — keep everything else short and quick.
RUH·mayn→ruh·MAYN
02
Pronouncing the first syllable too fully.
Don't pronounce the first syllable too fully. The unstressed syllable reduces to a schwa — the lazy "uh" sound — in casual speech.
RUH·MAYN→ruh·MAYN
Questions
Questions people ask about this.
How is "remain" stressed in American English?
Stress falls on the second syllable — say "MAYN" with a longer, fuller vowel and keep every other syllable short and quick. The respell "ruh-MAYN" marks the stressed syllable in capitals so the rhythm is easy to read at a glance.
Why does the first syllable in "remain" reduce to "uh"?
Unstressed syllables in American English collapse toward a schwa — a lazy, neutral "uh" sound. The full vowel is what textbooks teach, but in actual American speech every unstressed vowel reduces. The respell "ruh-MAYN" shows the reduced form so you can hear the casual rhythm directly.
Is the American pronunciation of "remain" 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 "ruh-MAYN" reflects the casual American form; British dictionaries typically print a citation form with crisper consonants and different vowel choices.
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