How to pronounce youth in American English

IPA /juθ/ Syllables 1 · yooth Stress 1st syllable

YOOTH

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Americans pronounce youth as YOOTH (/juθ/). You'll hear it in sentences like "The youth yelled at the yellow yacht" or "He was known for being a bit of a rebel in his youth" — more examples below.

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Sound by sound

Every sound in "youth".

1 syllable, 2 sounds. Explore each sound's mouth shape and how it's made.

yoo/ju/

Start with the tongue mid-front raised high, almost touching the roof of the mouth (but not touching). Glide into a tight lip circle as the tongue back lifts.

th/θ/

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

In real conversation

Hear "youth" in the wild.

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

"He was known for being a bit of a rebel in his youth."

hee wuhz NOHN fer BEE·uhng uh BIHT uhv uh REH·buhl ihn hihz YOOTH

"The youth yelled at the yellow yacht."

dhuh YOOTH YEHLD uht dhuh YEH·loh YAHT

"Youth unemployment is a significant challenge facing many countries."

YOOTH uhn·uhm·PLOY·muhnt ihz uh suhg·NIH·fuh·kuhnt CHA·luhnj FAY·suhng MEH·nee KUHN·treez

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Questions

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