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 tonight in American English
tuh·NAHYT
Start here
Americans pronounce tonight as tuh-NAHYT (/təˈnaɪt/). Stress falls on the second syllable — keep everything else short and quick. You'll hear it in sentences like "What are you doing tonight?" or "Is he going to be there tonight?" — more examples below.
Now you try.
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Sound by sound
Every sound in "tonight".
2 syllables, 5 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.
n/n/
Touch the tip or front edge of your tongue to the roof of your mouth behind your teeth. Air flows through your nose.
ahy/aɪ/
Start with your jaw open wide and your tongue resting low and flat. Glide the front of your tongue up toward the roof of your mouth as your jaw closes halfway.
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.
In real conversation
Hear "tonight" in the wild.
Click any sentence to see the full breakdown — every link, every reduction, every flap-T.
"Are you coming to the party tonight?"
ar yoo KUH·muhng tuh dhuh PAR·tee tuh·NAHYT
"I apologize for the short notice but I cannot make it tonight."
ahy uh·PAH·luh·jahyz fer dhuh SHORT NOH·duhs buht ahy KA·naht MAYK iht tuh·NAHYT
"I don't feel like cooking tonight."
ahy DOHNT FEEL LAHYK KUU·kuhng tuh·NAHYT
"I think I'll hang out with friends tonight."
ahy thihngk ahyl HANG OWT wihth FREHNDZ tuh·NAHYT
"Is he going to be there tonight?"
ihz ee GOH·uhng tuh bee DHAIR tuh·NAHYT
"We need to vacuum the carpet before the guests arrive tonight."
wee NEED tuh VA·kyoom dhuh KAR·puht buh·FOR dhuh GEHSTS uh·RAHYV tuh·NAHYT
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Watch out
Common pronunciation mistakes in American English.
The textbook way isn't wrong — it's just not how anyone actually says it.
01
Releasing the final consonant with a puff of air.
In "tonight", the "t" is not released — the articulators get into position but hold without the burst of air. Air stops but there's no release burst — the articulators hold position.
tonight→tuh·NAHYT
02
Stressing the wrong syllable.
Stress falls on the second syllable, not the others. Stretch NAHYT — keep everything else short and quick.
TUH·nahyt→tuh·NAHYT
03
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·NAHYT→tuh·NAHYT
Questions
Questions people ask about this.
How is "tonight" stressed in American English?
Stress falls on the second syllable — say "NAHYT" with a longer, fuller vowel and keep every other syllable short and quick. The respell "tuh-NAHYT" marks the stressed syllable in capitals so the rhythm is easy to read at a glance.
Why does the first syllable in "tonight" 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-NAHYT" shows the reduced form so you can hear the casual rhythm directly.
Is the American pronunciation of "tonight" 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-NAHYT" reflects the casual American form; British dictionaries typically print a citation form with crisper consonants and different vowel choices.
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