How to pronounce takes in American English

IPA /teɪks/ Syllables 1 · tayks Stress 1st syllable

TAYKS

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Americans pronounce takes as TAYKS (/teɪks/). You'll hear it in sentences like "Winner takes nothing in this nonsense game" or "Singing in the choir takes a lot of practice" — more examples below.

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Sound by sound

Every sound in "takes".

1 syllable, 4 sounds. Explore each sound's mouth shape and how it's made.

t/t/

Touch the tip or front edge of your tongue to the roof of your mouth just behind your teeth. Keep your jaw relaxed. Stop the air, then release with a puff.

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.

s/s/

Place your tongue tip near the roof of your mouth behind your top teeth. Push air through the narrow gap. No voicing.

In real conversation

Hear "takes" in the wild.

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

"Creating a great database takes brave behavior."

kree·AY·tuhng uh GRAYT DAY·duh·bays TAYKS BRAYV buh·HAY·vyer

"I am willing to do whatever it takes to repair our relationship."

ahy uhm WIH·luhng tuh doo wuh·TEH·ver iht TAYKS tuh ruh·PAIR owr ruh·LAY·shuhn·shihp

"I need to adjust my alarm because my commute takes longer than expected."

ahy NEED tuh uh·JUHST mahy uh·LARM buh·KUHZ mahy kuh·MYOOT TAYKS LAHNG·ger dhuhn uhk·spehk·tuhd

"She takes breaks every hour to maintain focus and productivity."

shee TAYKS BRAYKS EHV·ree OW·er tuh mayn·TAYN FOH·kuhs and proh·duhk·TIH·vuh·tee

"She takes vitamins every morning to boost her immune system."

shee TAYKS VAHY·duh·muhnz EHV·ree MOR·nuhng tuh BOOST her uh·MYOON SIH·stuhm

"Singing in the choir takes a lot of practice."

SIHNG·uhng ihn dhuh KWAHY·er TAYKS uh LAHT uhv PRAK·tuhs

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Questions

Questions people ask about this.

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