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 to in American English
tuh
Start here
Americans pronounce to as tuh (/tə/). You'll hear it in sentences like "I want to go" or "Love to live" — more examples below.
Now you try.
Record yourself saying "to" and play it back. The mic stays on your device — nothing's uploaded.
Sound by sound
Every sound in "to".
1 syllable, 2 sounds. Explore each sound's mouth shape and how it's made.
uh/ʌ/
Relax your lips, jaw, and tongue completely. Drop your jaw slightly and keep the tongue neutral.
In real conversation
Hear "to" in the wild.
Click any sentence to see the full breakdown — every link, every reduction, every flap-T.
"Access to education is considered a basic right for all children."
AK·sehs tuh eh·juh·KAY·shuhn ihz kuhn·SIH·derd uh BAY·suhk RAHYT fer AHL CHIHL·druhn
"Access to quality education remains a challenge for many communities."
AK·sehs tuh KWAH·luh·tee eh·juh·KAY·shuhn ruh·MAYNZ uh CHA·luhnj fer MEH·nee kuh·MYOO·nuh·teez
"Access to the success story is necessary."
AK·sehs tuh dhuh suhk·SEHS STOR·ee ihz NEH·suh·seh·ree
"According to the contract, cash is king."
uh·KOR·duhng tuh dhuh KAHN·trakt KASH ihz KIHNG
"Acids and bases react to form salts and water."
A·suhdz and BAY·suhz ree·AKT tuh FORM SAHLTS and WAH·der
"Add the odd code to the middle of the pad."
AD dhee AHD KOHD tuh dhuh MIH·duhl uhv dhuh PAD
Find another
Looking for a different word or sentence?
Search the entire library
/
Press / anywhere to focus the search box.
Watch out
Common pronunciation mistakes in American English.
The textbook way isn't wrong — it's just not how anyone actually says it.
01
Pronouncing the first 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.
TUH→tuh
Questions
Questions people ask about this.
Is the American pronunciation of "to" 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 "tuh" reflects the casual American form; British dictionaries typically print a citation form with crisper consonants and different vowel choices.
Stop reading about "to". Start saying it.
SayWaader is the AI pronunciation coach for American English. Practice 5 minutes a day. Get a 5-axes accent assessment. Sound like you live here.