How to pronounce tough in American English

IPA /tʌf/ Syllables 1 · tuhf Stress 1st syllable

TUHF

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Americans pronounce tough as TUHF (/tʌf/).

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Sounds

75%

Clarity

68%

Stress

78%

Intonation

65%

Fluency

62%

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"The team spirit remained high despite the tough loss."

dhuh TEEM SPIH·ruht ruh·MAYND HAHY duh·SPAHYT dhuh TUHF LAHS

Questions

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

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