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/).

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Why it sounds different

Why "takes" sounds like TAYKS.

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 connected-speech trick that makes phrases flow. It comes out as TAYKS.

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

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.