How to pronounce that's in American English
dhats
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Americans pronounce that's as dhats (/ðæts/).
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Why it sounds different
Why "that's" sounds like dhats.
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, what turns word-by-word reading into actual conversation. It comes out as dhats.
In real conversation
Hear "that's" in the wild.
Click any sentence to see the full breakdown — every link, every reduction, every flap-T.
"I don't think that's the right approach."
ahy DOHNT thihngk dhats dhuh RAHYT uh·PROHCH
"That's a bad place to put your bed."
dhats uh BAD PLAYS tuh PUUT yer BEHD
"That's a fun fact I didn't know until now."
dhats uh FUHN FAKT ahy DIH·duhnt NOH uhn·TIHL NOW
"That's a real lifesaver, thank you."
dhats uh REE·uhl LAHYF·say·ver THANGK yoo
"That's definitely not what I meant."
dhats DEH·fuh·nuht·lee NAHT wuht ahy MEHNT
"That's exactly what I was trying to say."
dhats ihg·ZAKT·lee wuht ahy wuhz TRAHY·uhng tuh SAY
Questions
Questions people ask about this.
Is the American pronunciation of "that's" 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 "dhats" reflects the casual American form; British dictionaries typically print a citation form with crisper consonants and different vowel choices.
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