dh/ð/
Place your tongue tip between or behind your front teeth, turn your vocal cords on, and push air through the gap.
How to pronounce this in American English
dhihs
Start here
Americans pronounce this as dhihs (/ðɪs/). The TH in "this" can be produced with the tongue tip pressing just behind the upper teeth rather than coming all the way through — an easier, faster articulation. This is called the Quick TH (the, this, that), what happens when a function word stops trying to be heard. It comes out as dhihs. You'll hear it in sentences like "This book is good" or "Is this seat taken?" — more examples below.
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ih/ɪ/
Drop your jaw slightly with relaxed lips. Touch the tongue tip behind the bottom front teeth and arch the top-front toward the roof.
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 "this" in the wild.
Click any sentence to see the full breakdown — every link, every reduction, every flap-T.
"All of this produce is grown locally."
AHL uhv dhihs PROH·doos ihz GROHN LOH·kuh·lee
"Allow me to demonstrate how this solution addresses your concerns."
uh·LOW mee tuh DEH·muhn·strayt HOW dhihs suh·LOO·shuhn uh·DREH·suhz yer kuhn·SURNZ
"Are you available this week or next week?"
ar yoo uh·VAY·luh·buhl dhihs WEEK or NEHKST WEEK
"Are you available to meet for coffee sometime this weekend?"
ar yoo uh·VAY·luh·buhl tuh MEET fer KAH·fee SUHM·tahym dhihs WEE·kehnd
"Attendance is mandatory for all laboratory sessions this semester."
uh·TEHN·duhns ihz MAN·duh·tor·ee fer AHL LA·bruh·tor·ee SEH·shuhnz dhihs suh·MEH·ster
"Can I ask a question about this?"
kuhn ahy ASK uh KWEHS·chuhn uh·BOWT DHIHS
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Questions
Questions people ask about this.
Is the American pronunciation of "this" 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 "dhihs" reflects the casual American form; British dictionaries typically print a citation form with crisper consonants and different vowel choices.
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