How to pronounce sun in American English

IPA /sʌn/ Syllables 1 · suhn Stress 1st syllable

SUHN

Start here

Americans pronounce sun as SUHN (/sʌn/). You'll hear it in sentences like "I love the sun" or "Run in the sun" — more examples below.

Now you try.

Record yourself saying "sun" 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 "sun".

1 syllable, 3 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.

uh/ʌ/

Relax your lips, jaw, and tongue completely. Drop your jaw slightly and keep the tongue neutral.

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.

In real conversation

Hear "sun" in the wild.

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

"He sat on the wet seat until the sun set."

hee SAT ahn dhuh WEHT SEET uhn·TIHL dhuh SUHN SEHT

"I love the sun."

ahy LUHV dhuh SUHN

"Nuclear fusion powers the sun and other stars."

NOO·klee·er FYOO·zhuhn POW·erz dhuh SUHN and UH·dher STARZ

"Run in the sun."

RUHN ihn dhuh SUHN

"She wears a visor to block the sun while playing tennis."

shee WAIRZ uh VAHY·zer tuh BLAHK dhuh SUHN WAHYL PLAY·uhng TEH·nuhs

"Sit in the sun."

SIHT ihn dhuh SUHN

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 "sun" 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 "SUHN" reflects the casual American form; British dictionaries typically print a citation form with crisper consonants and different vowel choices.