How to pronounce which in American English

IPA /wɪtʃ/ Syllables 1 · wihch

wihch

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Americans pronounce which as wihch (/wɪtʃ/). You'll hear it in sentences like "Which watch is cheap?" or "We wondered which way the wind went" — more examples below.

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Sound by sound

Every sound in "which".

1 syllable, 3 sounds. Explore each sound's mouth shape and how it's made.

w/w/

Round your lips into a tight circle. Lift the back of your tongue toward the soft palate and add voice.

ih/ɪ/

Drop your jaw slightly with relaxed lips. Touch the tongue tip behind the bottom front teeth and arch the top-front toward the roof.

ch/tʃ/

Touch the front of your tongue to the roof of your mouth, then release into a 'sh' position. Flare your lips.

In real conversation

Hear "which" in the wild.

Click any sentence to see the full breakdown — every link, every reduction, every flap-T.

"Congratulations on your promotion which was well deserved indeed!"

kuhn·gra·chuh·LAY·shuhnz ahn yer pruh·MOH·shuhn wihch wuhz wehl duh·ZURVD uhn·DEED

"I usually read the reviews before deciding which movie to watch."

ahy YOO·zhoo·uh·lee reed dhuh ruh·VYOOZ buh·FOR duh·SAHY·duhng wihch MOO·vee tuh WAHCH

"Speaking of which, have you tried that new coffee shop yet?"

SPEE·kuhng uhv WIHCH hav yoo TRAHYD dhat noo KAH·fee SHAHP yeht

"The bat is on the bed, which is a bad sign."

dhuh BAT ihz ahn dhuh BEHD wihch ihz uh BAD SAHYN

"The pasta should be cooked al dente, which means slightly firm."

dhuh PAH·stuh shuud bee KUUKT ahl DEHN·tay wihch meenz SLAHYT·lee FURM

"The test results came back negative, which was a huge relief."

dhuh TEHST ruh·ZUHLTS KAYM BAK NEH·guh·tuhv WIHCH wuhz uh HYOOJ ruh·LEEF

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Questions

Questions people ask about this.

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