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 routine in American English
roo·TEEN
Start here
Americans pronounce routine as roo-TEEN (/ruˈtin/). Stress falls on the second syllable — keep everything else short and quick. You'll hear it in sentences like "She won the gold medal in gymnastics for her floor routine" or "The warm-up routine prepares the body for physical activity" — more examples below.
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Sound by sound
Every sound in "routine".
2 syllables, 5 sounds. Tap a syllable to jump to its row, then explore each sound's mouth shape and how it's made.
oo/u/
Round your lips into a tight circle. Let your tongue rest in the middle of your mouth, slightly raised.
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.
ee/i/
Pull the corners of your lips back slightly. Arch the middle-front of your tongue high 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 "routine" in the wild.
Click any sentence to see the full breakdown — every link, every reduction, every flap-T.
"I have been trying to get more exercise into my daily routine."
ahy hav bihn TRAHY·uhng tuh geht MOR EHK·ser·sahyz IHN·too mahy DAY·lee roo·TEEN
"I made an appointment with the dentist for a routine checkup."
ahy MAYD uhn uh·POYNT·muhnt wihth dhuh DEHN·tuhst fer uh roo·TEEN CHEH·kuhp
"I scheduled specific study times to establish a consistent routine."
ahy SKEH·joold spuh·SIH·fuhk STUH·dee TAHYMZ tuh uh·STA·blihsh uh kuhn·SIH·stuhnt roo·TEEN
"My morning routine includes meditation and a healthy breakfast."
mahy MOR·nuhng roo·TEEN uhn·KLOODZ meh·duh·TAY·shuhn and uh HEHL·thee BREHK·fuhst
"My morning routine is to wake up, exercise, and have breakfast."
mahy MOR·nuhng roo·TEEN ihz tuh WAYK UHP EHK·ser·sahyz and hav BREHK·fuhst
"She won the gold medal in gymnastics for her floor routine."
shee WUHN dhuh GOHLD MEH·duhl ihn jihm·NA·stihks fer her flor roo·TEEN
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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 TEEN — keep everything else short and quick.
ROO·teen→roo·TEEN
Questions
Questions people ask about this.
How is "routine" stressed in American English?
Stress falls on the second syllable — say "TEEN" with a longer, fuller vowel and keep every other syllable short and quick. The respell "roo-TEEN" marks the stressed syllable in capitals so the rhythm is easy to read at a glance.
Is the American pronunciation of "routine" 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 "roo-TEEN" reflects the casual American form; British dictionaries typically print a citation form with crisper consonants and different vowel choices.
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