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 today in American English
tuh·DAY
Start here
Americans pronounce today as tuh-DAY (/təˈdeɪ/). Stress falls on the second syllable — keep everything else short and quick. You'll hear it in sentences like "Dad drove today" or "They came late today" — more examples below.
Now you try.
Record yourself saying "today" and play it back. The mic stays on your device — nothing's uploaded.
Sound by sound
Every sound in "today".
2 syllables, 4 sounds. Tap a syllable to jump to its row, then 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.
d/d/
Touch the tip of your tongue to the roof of your mouth just behind your teeth. Add vocal cord vibration as you release.
ay/eɪ/
Start with your jaw slightly open and the front of your tongue forward and slightly up. Glide upward, your jaw closes a little more and your tongue arches higher toward the roof of the mouth.
In real conversation
Hear "today" in the wild.
Click any sentence to see the full breakdown — every link, every reduction, every flap-T.
"Allow me to summarize the main points we have covered today."
uh·LOW mee tuh SUH·muh·rahyz dhuh MAYN POYNTS wee huhv KUH·verd tuh·DAY
"Dad drove today."
DAD DROHV tuh·DAY
"How are you doing today?"
HOW er yoo DOO·uhng tuh·DAY
"I appreciate everyone's input during our discussion earlier today."
ahy uh·PREE·shee·ayt EHV·ree·wuhnz IHN·puut DUUR·uhng ar duh·SKUH·shuhn UR·lee·er tuh·DAY
"I can't believe how hot today is."
ahy KANT buh·LEEV HOW HAHT tuh·DAY ihz
"I drank a lot of water today."
ahy DRANGK uh LAHT uhv WAH·der tuh·DAY
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
Stressing the wrong syllable.
Stress falls on the second syllable, not the others. Stretch DAY — keep everything else short and quick.
TUH·day→tuh·DAY
02
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·DAY→tuh·DAY
Questions
Questions people ask about this.
How is "today" stressed in American English?
Stress falls on the second syllable — say "DAY" with a longer, fuller vowel and keep every other syllable short and quick. The respell "tuh-DAY" marks the stressed syllable in capitals so the rhythm is easy to read at a glance.
Why does the first syllable in "today" reduce to "uh"?
Unstressed syllables in American English collapse toward a schwa — a lazy, neutral "uh" sound. The full vowel is what textbooks teach, but in actual American speech every unstressed vowel reduces. The respell "tuh-DAY" shows the reduced form so you can hear the casual rhythm directly.
Is the American pronunciation of "today" 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-DAY" reflects the casual American form; British dictionaries typically print a citation form with crisper consonants and different vowel choices.
Stop reading about "today". 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.