How to pronounce shake in American English

IPA /ʃeɪk/ Syllables 1 · shayk Stress 1st syllable

SHAYK

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Americans pronounce shake as SHAYK (/ʃeɪk/). You'll hear it in sentences like "He drinks a protein shake after every workout session".

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Sound by sound

Every sound in "shake".

1 syllable, 3 sounds. Explore each sound's mouth shape and how it's made.

sh/ʃ/

Flare your lips and lift the mid-front tongue close to the roof of your mouth. Blow air through without voicing.

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.

k/k/

Raise the back of your tongue to touch the soft palate (velum). Stop the air, then release.

In real conversation

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"He drinks a protein shake after every workout session."

hee DRIHNGKS uh PROH·teen SHAYK AF·ter EHV·ree WURK·owt SEH·shuhn

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Questions

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