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.
How to pronounce targeted in American English
TAR·guh·tuhd
Start here
Americans pronounce targeted as TAR-guh-tuhd (/ˈtɑrgəɾəd/). In "targeted", the "t" between vowels sounds like a quick "d" — the tongue briefly taps the ridge behind the upper teeth. This is called the Flap T, a small move that separates 'classroom' from 'native'. So instead of TAR·guh·tuht, you get TAR·guh·tuhd. Stress falls on the first syllable — keep everything else short and quick. You'll hear it in sentences like "Child poverty rates have decreased due to targeted interventions".
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Sound by sound
Every sound in "targeted".
3 syllables, 7 sounds. Tap a syllable to jump to its row, then explore each sound's mouth shape and how it's made.
ar/ɑr/
Open wide for the 'ah' vowel. Lift the tongue back and up while flaring the lips for the 'r'.
g/g/
Raise the back of your tongue to touch the soft palate. Add vocal cord vibration, then release.
uh/ʌ/
Relax your lips, jaw, and tongue completely. Drop your jaw slightly and keep the tongue neutral.
t/t/
FlapQuickly bounce the front of your tongue against the roof of your mouth. Don't stop the airflow — just a quick tap.
uh/ʌ/
Relax your lips, jaw, and tongue completely. Drop your jaw slightly and keep the tongue neutral.
d/d/
Touch the tip of your tongue to the roof of your mouth just behind your teeth. Add vocal cord vibration as you release.
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Watch out
Common pronunciation mistakes in American English.
The textbook way isn't wrong — it's just not how anyone actually says it.
01
Saying a hard "T" in the middle.
In "targeted", the "t" between vowels sounds like a quick "d" — the tongue briefly taps the ridge behind the upper teeth. /t/ or /d/ becomes a quick tap [ɾ] — sounds like a soft D. The tongue briefly taps the ridge behind the upper teeth.
TAR-guh-tuht→TAR·guh·tuhd
02
Stressing the wrong syllable.
Stress falls on the first syllable, not the others. Stretch TAR — keep everything else short and quick.
tar·GUH·TUHD→TAR·guh·tuhd
03
Pronouncing the unstressed syllable too fully.
Don't pronounce the first syllable too fully. The unstressed syllable reduces to a schwa — the lazy "uh" sound — in casual speech.
TAR·GUH·tuhd→TAR·guh·tuhd
04
Pronouncing the "R" too clearly.
Americans use a relaxed retroflex R — the tongue curls back rather than rolling. The R is one continuous sound with the vowel before it, not two separate sounds.
… (no R)→… r (curl the tongue)
Questions
Questions people ask about this.
How is "targeted" stressed in American English?
Stress falls on the first syllable — say "TAR" with a longer, fuller vowel and keep every other syllable short and quick. The respell "TAR-guh-tuhd" marks the stressed syllable in capitals so the rhythm is easy to read at a glance.
Why doesn't the T sound like a T in "targeted"?
In American English, when /t/ sits between two vowels with the second one unstressed, it turns into a quick D-like flap. So "targeted" sounds closer to "TAR-guh-tuhd" than to a crisp-T pronunciation. This is the flap-T rule, one of the most distinctive sounds of casual American speech.
Why does the second syllable in "targeted" reduce to "uh"?
Unstressed syllables in American English collapse toward a schwa — a lazy, neutral "uh" sound. The full vowel is what textbooks teach, but in actual American speech every unstressed vowel reduces. The respell "TAR-guh-tuhd" shows the reduced form so you can hear the casual rhythm directly.
How do I pronounce the R in "targeted"?
Americans use a relaxed retroflex R: the tongue curls back rather than rolling, and the R is one continuous sound with the vowel before it — not two separate sounds. Don't try to pronounce a separate vowel followed by a separate R. Treat them as a single shape.
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