How to pronounce see in American English

IPA /si/ Syllables 1 · see Stress 1st syllable

SEE

Start here

Americans pronounce see as SEE (/si/). You'll hear it in sentences like "See the sea" or "Long time no see" — more examples below.

Now you try.

Record yourself saying "see" and play it back. The mic stays on your device — nothing's uploaded.

Ready when you are

Tap the mic to start

Preview your accent profile

Get your accent profile and 5-axes assessment.

Sounds

75%

Clarity

68%

Stress

78%

Intonation

65%

Fluency

62%

Overall assessment

Our AI coach listens to your recording and grades 5 dimensions of pronunciation — then tells you exactly what to fix next.

72% Noticeable accent

Unlock the full report in the app

Sound by sound

Every sound in "see".

1 syllable, 2 sounds. Explore each sound's mouth shape and how it's made.

s/s/

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

ee/i/

Pull the corners of your lips back slightly. Arch the middle-front of your tongue high toward the roof of the mouth.

In real conversation

Hear "see" in the wild.

Click any sentence to see the full breakdown — every link, every reduction, every flap-T.

"As you can see from this chart, our growth has been consistent."

uhz yoo kuhn SEE fruhm dhihs CHART ar GROHTH huhz bihn kuhn·SIH·stuhnt

"Did you see the beautiful sunset from your balcony last evening?"

dihd yoo SEE dhuh BYOO·tuh·fuhl SUHN·seht fruhm yer BAL·kuh·nee last EEV·nuhng

"Did you see the ship leave the harbor?"

dihd yoo SEE dhuh SHIHP LEEV dhuh HAR·ber

"Eight people had to wait to see how much they ate."

AYT PEE·puhl had tuh WAYT tuh SEE HOW MUHCH dhay AYT

"He hurt his knee while jogging and needed to see a doctor."

hee HURT hihz NEE WAHYL JAH·guhng and NEE·duhd tuh SEE uh DAHK·ter

"I appreciate your input, though I see things somewhat differently."

ahy uh·PREE·shee·ayt yer IHN·puut dhoh ahy SEE THIHNGZ SUHM·wuht DIH·fruhnt·lee

Find another

Looking for a different word or sentence?

Search the entire library

Press / anywhere to focus the search box.

Questions

Questions people ask about this.

Is the American pronunciation of "see" 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 "SEE" reflects the casual American form; British dictionaries typically print a citation form with crisper consonants and different vowel choices.