How to pronounce toothache in American English

IPA /ˈtuθˌeɪk/ Syllables 2 · tooth·ayk Stress 1st syllable

TOOTH·ayk

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Americans pronounce toothache as TOOTH-ayk (/ˈtuθˌeɪk/). Stress falls on the first syllable — keep everything else short and quick. You'll hear it in sentences like "Arthur had a toothache in his mouth south".

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Sounds

75%

Clarity

68%

Stress

78%

Intonation

65%

Fluency

62%

Overall assessment

Our AI coach listens to your recording and grades 5 dimensions of pronunciation — then tells you exactly what to fix next.

72% Noticeable accent

Common mistakes

Stressing the wrong syllable.

Stress falls on the first syllable, not the others. Stretch TOOTH — keep everything else short and quick.

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Sound by sound

Every sound in "toothache".

2 syllables, 5 sounds. Tap a syllable to jump to its row, then explore each sound's mouth shape and how it's made.

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.

oo/u/

Round your lips into a tight circle. Let your tongue rest in the middle of your mouth, slightly raised.

th/θ/

Place the very tip of your tongue slightly between your teeth. Blow air gently around it without voicing.

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.

k/k/

Raise the back of your tongue to touch the soft palate (velum). Stop the air, then release.

In real conversation

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"Arthur had a toothache in his mouth south."

AR·ther had uh TOOTH·ayk ihn hihz MOWTH SOWTH

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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.

Stressing the wrong syllable.

Stress falls on the first syllable, not the others. Stretch TOOTH — keep everything else short and quick.

tooth·AYK→TOOTH·AYK

Questions

Questions people ask about this.

How is "toothache" stressed in American English?

Stress falls on the first syllable — say "TOOTH" with a longer, fuller vowel and keep every other syllable short and quick. The respell "TOOTH-ayk" marks the stressed syllable in capitals so the rhythm is easy to read at a glance.

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

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Overall assessment

Common mistakes

Stressing the wrong syllable.

Every sound in "toothache".

Hear "toothache" in the wild.

Words that work the same way.

Looking for a different word or sentence?

Common pronunciation mistakes in American English.

Stressing the wrong syllable.

Questions people ask about this.

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