How to pronounce through in American English

IPA /θru/ Syllables 1 · throo
throo
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Americans pronounce through as throo (/θru/).

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Why it sounds different

Why "through" sounds like throo.

Between "" and "", a brief "" glide bridges the two vowels for smooth flow. This is called the Vowel-to-Vowel Linking, a connected-speech trick that makes phrases flow. It comes out as throo.

In real conversation

Hear "through" in the wild.

Click any sentence to see the full breakdown — every link, every reduction, every flap-T.

"Both math and ethics are worth thinking through."
BOHTH MATH and EH·thuhks er WURTH THIHNG·kuhng throo
"Cells divide and replicate through a process called mitosis."
SEHLZ duh·VAHYD and REH·pluh·kayt throo uh PRAH·sehs KAHLD mahy·TOH·suhs
"Electricity is the flow of electrons through a conductor."
uh·leh·KTRIH·suh·tee ihz dhuh FLOH uhv ih·LEH·ktrahnz throo uh kuhn·DUHK·ter
"He improved his agility through specific drills."
hee uhm·PROOVD hihz uh·JIH·luh·tee throo spuh·SIH·fuhk DRIHLZ
"He navigated through the dense fog using a compass."
hee NA·vuh·gay·duhd throo dhuh DEHNS FAHG YOO·zuhng uh KUHM·puhs
"He observed the meteor shower through his backyard telescope."
hee uhb·ZURVD dhuh MEE·dee·or SHOW·er throo hihz BAK·yard TEH·luh·skohp
Questions

Questions people ask about this.

Is the American pronunciation of "through" 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 "throo" reflects the casual American form; British dictionaries typically print a citation form with crisper consonants and different vowel choices.

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