How to pronounce signs in American English

IPA /saɪnz/ Syllables 1 · sahynz Stress 1st syllable

SAHYNZ

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Americans pronounce signs as SAHYNZ (/saɪnz/). You'll hear it in sentences like "The real estate market is showing signs of cooling down" or "He monitored the active volcano for signs of an eruption" — more examples below.

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Sound by sound

Every sound in "signs".

1 syllable, 4 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.

ahy/aɪ/

Start with your jaw open wide and your tongue resting low and flat. Glide the front of your tongue up toward the roof of your mouth as your jaw closes halfway.

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.

z/z/

Same position as S, but add vocal cord vibration. Feel the buzz.

In real conversation

Hear "signs" in the wild.

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

"He monitored the active volcano for signs of an eruption."

hee MAH·nuh·terd dhee AK·tuhv vahl·KAY·noh fer SAHYNZ uhv uhn uh·RUHP·shuhn

"He monitors vital signs such as heart rate and blood pressure."

hee MAH·nuh·terz VAHY·duhl SAHYNZ suhch uhz HART RAYT and BLUHD PREH·sher

"Scientists are searching for signs of extraterrestrial life on Mars."

SAHY·uhn·tuhsts ar SUR·chuhng fer SAHYNZ uhv ehks·truh·tuh·REHS·tree·uhl LAHYF ahn MARZ

"The real estate market is showing signs of cooling down."

dhuh REEL uh·STAYT MAR·kuht ihz SHOH·uhng SAHYNZ uhv KOO·luhng DOWN

"Warning signs were posted in areas with potential chemical exposure."

WOR·nuhng SAHYNZ wer POH·stuhd ihn AIR·ee·uhz wihth puh·TEHN·shuhl KEH·muh·kuhl uhk·SPOH·zher

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Questions

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