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 teensy in American English
TEEN·see
Start here
Americans pronounce teensy as TEEN-see (/ˈtinsi/). Stress falls on the first syllable — keep everything else short and quick.
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Every sound in "teensy".
2 syllables, 5 sounds. Tap a syllable to jump to its row, then explore each sound's mouth shape and how it's made.
ee/i/
Pull the corners of your lips back slightly. Arch the middle-front of your tongue high toward the roof of the mouth.
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.
s/s/
Place your tongue tip near the roof of your mouth behind your top teeth. Push air through the narrow gap. No voicing.
ee/i/
Pull the corners of your lips back slightly. Arch the middle-front of your tongue high toward the roof of the mouth.
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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
Stressing the wrong syllable.
Stress falls on the first syllable, not the others. Stretch TEEN — keep everything else short and quick.
teen·SEE→TEEN·see
Questions
Questions people ask about this.
How is "teensy" stressed in American English?
Stress falls on the first syllable — say "TEEN" with a longer, fuller vowel and keep every other syllable short and quick. The respell "TEEN-see" marks the stressed syllable in capitals so the rhythm is easy to read at a glance.
Is the American pronunciation of "teensy" 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 "TEEN-see" reflects the casual American form; British dictionaries typically print a citation form with crisper consonants and different vowel choices.
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