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 requested in American English
ruh·KWEH·stuhd
Start here
Americans pronounce requested as ruh-KWEH-stuhd (/rəˈkwɛstəd/). Stress falls on the second syllable — keep everything else short and quick. You'll hear it in sentences like "She requested a copy of the police report for insurance" or "She requested a restraining order for her personal safety" — more examples below.
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Sound by sound
Every sound in "requested".
3 syllables, 9 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.
uh/ʌ/
Relax your lips, jaw, and tongue completely. Drop your jaw slightly and keep the tongue neutral.
d/d/
Touch the tip of your tongue to the roof of your mouth just behind your teeth. Add vocal cord vibration as you release.
In real conversation
Hear "requested" in the wild.
Click any sentence to see the full breakdown — every link, every reduction, every flap-T.
"He requested additional resources to complete the project on time."
hee ruh·KWEH·stuhd uh·DIH·shuh·nuhl REE·sor·suhz tuh kuhm·PLEET dhuh PRAH·jehkt ahn TAHYM
"He requested extra time due to documented learning accommodations."
hee ruh·KWEH·stuhd EHK·struh TAHYM DOO tuh DAH·kyuh·mehn·tuhd LUR·nuhng uh·kah·muh·DAY·shuhnz
"She requested a copy of the police report for insurance."
shee ruh·KWEH·stuhd uh KAH·pee uhv dhuh puh·LEES ruh·PORT fer ihn·SHUUR·uhns
"She requested a restraining order for her personal safety."
shee ruh·KWEH·stuhd uh ruh·STRAY·nuhng OR·der fer her PUR·suh·nuhl SAYF·tee
"The documents you requested are attached for your reference."
dhuh DAH·kyuh·muhnts yoo ruh·KWEH·stuhd er uh·TACHT fer yer REH·fruhns
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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 KWEH — keep everything else short and quick.
RUH·kweh·STUHD→ruh·KWEH·stuhd
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·KWEH·stuhd→ruh·KWEH·stuhd
Questions
Questions people ask about this.
How is "requested" stressed in American English?
Stress falls on the second syllable — say "KWEH" with a longer, fuller vowel and keep every other syllable short and quick. The respell "ruh-KWEH-stuhd" marks the stressed syllable in capitals so the rhythm is easy to read at a glance.
Why does the first syllable in "requested" 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-KWEH-stuhd" shows the reduced form so you can hear the casual rhythm directly.
Is the American pronunciation of "requested" 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-KWEH-stuhd" reflects the casual American form; British dictionaries typically print a citation form with crisper consonants and different vowel choices.
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