still

IPA /stɪl/ Syllables 1 · stihl Stress 1st syllable
STIHL
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Americans pronounce still as STIHL (/stɪl/).

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Sounds
75%
Clarity
68%
Stress
78%
Intonation
65%
Fluency
62%

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72% Noticeable accent

Common mistakes

Treating every L the same.

The L in "still" is a dark L — the back of the tongue rises toward the soft palate, adding a small "uh" quality before the L. Dark L adds a small schwa-like "uh" before the L. The back of the tongue lifts toward the soft palate.

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Why it sounds different

Why "still" sounds like STIHL.

The "" at the end of "" flows directly into the vowel starting "" — the consonant migrates to the next word with no pause between. This is called the Consonant-to-Vowel Linking, a tiny act of laziness that makes the rhythm feel right. It comes out as STIHL.

In real conversation

Hear "still" in the wild.

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

"Are we still meeting at seven o'clock?"
ar wee STIHL MEE·duhng uht SEH·vuhn uh·KLAHK
"As far as I know, the meeting is still scheduled for ten."
uhz FAR uhz ahy NOH dhuh MEE·duhng ihz STIHL SKEH·joold fer TEHN
"He is still learning to drive."
hee ihz STIHL LUR·nuhng tuh DRAHYV
"I bet the wooden bat is still under the bed."
ahy BEHT dhuh WUU·duhn BAT ihz STIHL UHN·der dhuh BEHD
"I still think it's a really good deal."
ahy STIHL thihngk ihts uh REE·lee GUUD DEEL
"I think the dishes are still in the sink."
ahy THIHNGK dhuh DIH·shuhz er STIHL ihn dhuh SIHNGK
Same pattern

Words that work the same way.

All of these share phonetic features with this word — same trick.

KRIH·stuhlcrystalIHN·SAHYT·fuhlinsightfulMIH·STRAHY·uhlmistrialstuh·TIH·stuh·kuhlstatisticalBRIHL·yuhntbrilliantBIHLTbuiltDIH·fuh·kuhltdifficultuh·LIHP·tuh·kuhlelliptical
Watch out

Common pronunciation mistakes in American English.

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

01

Treating every L the same.

The L in "still" is a dark L — the back of the tongue rises toward the soft palate, adding a small "uh" quality before the L. Dark L adds a small schwa-like "uh" before the L. The back of the tongue lifts toward the soft palate.

still→STIHL
Questions

Questions people ask about this.

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

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