How to pronounce sink in American English

IPA /sɪŋk/ Syllables 1 · sihngk Stress 1st syllable

SIHNGK

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Americans pronounce sink as SIHNGK (/sɪŋk/).

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Sounds

75%

Clarity

68%

Stress

78%

Intonation

65%

Fluency

62%

Overall assessment

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72% Noticeable accent

Common mistakes

Releasing the final consonant with a puff of air.

In "sink", the "" is not released — the articulators get into position but hold without the burst of air. Air stops but there's no release burst — the articulators hold position.

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Why it sounds different

Why "sink" sounds like SIHNGK.

In "sink", the "" is not released — the articulators get into position but hold without the burst of air. This is called the Unreleased Stops, a hallmark of natural-sounding American speech. It comes out as SIHNGK.

In real conversation

Hear "sink" in the wild.

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"Does he think the soap is in the sink?"

duhz hee THIHNGK dhuh SOHP ihz ihn dhuh SIHNGK

"She hired a plumber to fix the persistent leak under the sink."

shee HAHY·erd uh PLUH·mer tuh FIHKS dhuh per·SIH·stuhnt LEEK UHN·der dhuh SIHNGK

"The density of the object determines if it will float or sink."

dhuh DEHN·suh·tee uhv dhee AHB·jehkt duh·TUR·muhnz ihf iht wihl FLOHT or SIHNGK

"I think the dishes are still in the sink."

ahy THIHNGK dhuh DIH·shuhz er STIHL ihn dhuh SIHNGK

"I think the ship will sink into the thick mud."

ahy THIHNGK dhuh SHIHP wihl SIHNGK IHN·tuh dhuh THIHK MUHD

Watch out

Common pronunciation mistakes in American English.

The textbook way isn't wrong — it's just not how anyone actually says it.

Releasing the final consonant with a puff of air.

In "sink", the "" is not released — the articulators get into position but hold without the burst of air. Air stops but there's no release burst — the articulators hold position.

sink→SIHNGK

Questions

Questions people ask about this.

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

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Common mistakes

Releasing the final consonant with a puff of air.

Why "sink" sounds like SIHNGK.

Hear "sink" in the wild.

Words that work the same way.

Common pronunciation mistakes in American English.

Releasing the final consonant with a puff of air.

Questions people ask about this.

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