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 request in American English
ruh·KWEHST
Start here
Americans pronounce request as ruh-KWEHST (/rəˈkwɛst/). Stress falls on the second syllable — keep everything else short and quick. You'll hear it in sentences like "The parole board denied his request for early release" or "I would be grateful if you could expedite this request" — more examples below.
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Sound by sound
Every sound in "request".
2 syllables, 7 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.
k/k/
Raise the back of your tongue to touch the soft palate (velum). Stop the air, then release.
w/w/
Round your lips into a tight circle. Lift the back of your tongue toward the soft palate and add voice.
eh/ɛ/
Drop your jaw moderately. Touch the tongue tip behind the bottom front teeth and lift the mid-front part slightly toward the roof.
s/s/
Place your tongue tip near the roof of your mouth behind your top teeth. Push air through the narrow gap. No voicing.
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 "request" in the wild.
Click any sentence to see the full breakdown — every link, every reduction, every flap-T.
"I would be grateful if you could expedite this request."
ahy wuud bee GRAYT·fuhl ihf yoo kuud EHK·spuh·dahyt dhihs ruh·KWEHST
"I would be happy to provide additional details upon request."
ahy wuud bee HA·pee tuh pruh·VAHYD uh·DIH·shuh·nuhl DEE·taylz uh·PAHN ruh·KWEHST
"The parole board denied his request for early release."
dhuh puh·ROHL BORD duh·NAHYD hihz ruh·KWEHST fer UR·lee ruh·LEES
"The vendor has agreed to our request for additional services."
dhuh VEHN·der huhz uh·GREED tuh owr ruh·KWEHST fer uh·DIH·shuh·nuhl SUR·vuh·suhz
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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 "request", 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.
request→ruh·KWEHST
02
Stressing the wrong syllable.
Stress falls on the second syllable, not the others. Stretch KWEHST — keep everything else short and quick.
RUH·kwehst→ruh·KWEHST
03
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·KWEHST→ruh·KWEHST
Questions
Questions people ask about this.
How is "request" stressed in American English?
Stress falls on the second syllable — say "KWEHST" with a longer, fuller vowel and keep every other syllable short and quick. The respell "ruh-KWEHST" marks the stressed syllable in capitals so the rhythm is easy to read at a glance.
Why does the first syllable in "request" 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-KWEHST" shows the reduced form so you can hear the casual rhythm directly.
Is the American pronunciation of "request" 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-KWEHST" reflects the casual American form; British dictionaries typically print a citation form with crisper consonants and different vowel choices.
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