w/w/
Round your lips into a tight circle. Lift the back of your tongue toward the soft palate and add voice.
How to pronounce withdrew in American English
wihth·DROO
Start here
Americans pronounce withdrew as wihth-DROO (/wɪθˈdru/). In "withdrew", the "dr" cluster blends into a "jr" sound — a natural American English pronunciation. This is called the DR Sounds Like JR, and it's why Americans sound more relaxed than the textbook. It comes out as wihth·DROO. Stress falls on the second syllable — keep everything else short and quick. You'll hear it in sentences like "I withdrew funds from my retirement account for a qualified expense".
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Sound by sound
Every sound in "withdrew".
2 syllables, 6 sounds. Tap a syllable to jump to its row, then explore each sound's mouth shape and how it's made.
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.
th/θ/
Place the very tip of your tongue slightly between your teeth. Blow air gently around it without voicing.
d/d/
PalatalizedTongue pulls back slightly from the D position, blending into R. Sounds close to 'jr'.
r/r/
Curl or bunch your tongue without letting the tip touch the roof of your mouth. Brace the sides of your tongue against your upper back teeth, and round your lips slightly.
oo/u/
Round your lips into a tight circle. Let your tongue rest in the middle of your mouth, slightly raised.
In real conversation
Hear "withdrew" in the wild.
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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
Saying a clean "dr" instead of a "j" sound.
In "withdrew", the "dr" cluster blends into a "jr" sound — a natural American English pronunciation. /d/ shifts toward /dʒ/ ("j"), so DR sounds like "jr".
wihth-DROO→wihth·DROO
02
Stressing the wrong syllable.
Stress falls on the second syllable, not the others. Stretch DROO — keep everything else short and quick.
WIHTH·droo→wihth·DROO
Questions
Questions people ask about this.
How is "withdrew" stressed in American English?
Stress falls on the second syllable — say "DROO" with a longer, fuller vowel and keep every other syllable short and quick. The respell "wihth-DROO" marks the stressed syllable in capitals so the rhythm is easy to read at a glance.
Is the American pronunciation of "withdrew" 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 "wihth-DROO" reflects the casual American form; British dictionaries typically print a citation form with crisper consonants and different vowel choices.
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