How to pronounce weekends in American English
WEE·kehndz
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Americans pronounce weekends as WEE-kehndz (/ˈwikɛndz/). Stress falls on the first syllable — keep everything else short and quick.
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"He spends his weekends coding small games and applications."
hee SPEHNDZ hihz WEE·kehndz KOH·duhng SMAHL GAYMZ and a·pluh·KAY·shuhnz
"I shower quickly on weekdays but take my time on weekends."
ahy SHOW·er KWIH·klee ahn WEEK·dayz buht TAYK mahy TAHYM ahn WEE·kehndz
"She performs in a local improv troupe on weekends."
shee per·FORMZ ihn uh LOH·kuhl IHM·prahv TROOP ahn WEE·kehndz
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 first syllable, not the others. Stretch WEE — keep everything else short and quick.
wee·KEHNDZ→WEE·kehndz
Questions
Questions people ask about this.
How is "weekends" stressed in American English?
Stress falls on the first syllable — say "WEE" with a longer, fuller vowel and keep every other syllable short and quick. The respell "WEE-kehndz" marks the stressed syllable in capitals so the rhythm is easy to read at a glance.
Is the American pronunciation of "weekends" 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 "WEE-kehndz" reflects the casual American form; British dictionaries typically print a citation form with crisper consonants and different vowel choices.
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