Lips
Drop your jaw fairly wide, wider than feels natural at first. Match the big open shape in the animation. Lips relaxed and slightly spread, never rounded.
Short vowels
/æ/as in cat
The vowel in "cat". Drop your jaw wide. This sound needs real space.
Example words: trap, cat, bad, hand, apple
Accent
Mouth
How do you pronounce the /æ/ sound?
Tongue
Tongue low and forward, lying almost flat along the floor of the mouth, with only the front slightly raised.
Length
Short, but fuller than it looks. Give it a beat of open space before you close for the next consonant. Don't clip it into a tight "eh".
Video lesson
Try it
- Say "eh" as in "bed".
- Now drop your jaw one big step further while keeping the tongue forward.
- Say the open sound: "aaa". It should feel wide and bright.
- Try: trap, cat, bad.
Check
Mirror check: say "bed" then "bad". Your jaw must visibly drop further on "bad". Then record the pair. If a listener couldn't tell which is which, open wider on "bad".
Common trap
The number one error is not opening the jaw enough, which turns "bad" into "bed" and "cat" into "ket". If your jaw barely moves, the vowel is wrong. Two fingers should fit between your teeth.
Practice: /æ/
Words
traptɹˈæp
catkˈæt
badbˈæd
handhˈænd
appleˈæpəl
Sentences
The black cat sat on my hat.ðə blˈæk kˈæt sˈæt ˌɔn maɪ hˈæt.
Dad packed a bag with apples and snacks.dˈæd pˈækt ɐ bˈæɡ wɪð ˈæpəlz ænd snˈæks.
That man has a happy family.ðˌæt mˈæn hæz ɐ hˈæpi fˈæməli.
She ran back to catch the taxi.ʃˌi ɹˈæn bˈæk tə kˈætʃ ðə tˈæksi.
Can you hand me that plastic bag?kˌæn ju hˈænd mˌi ðæt plˈæstɪk bˈæɡ?
Words
traptɹˈap
catkˈat
badbˈad
handhˈand
appleˈapəl
Sentences
The black cat sat on my hat.ðə blˈak kˈat sˈat ˌɒn maɪ hˈat.
Dad packed a bag with apples and snacks.dˈad pˈakt ɐ bˈaɡ wɪð ˈapəlz and snˈaks.
That man has a happy family.ðˌat mˈan haz ɐ hˈapi fˈamɪli.
She ran back to catch the taxi.ʃˌiː ɹˈan bˈak tə kˈatʃ ðə tˈaksi.
Can you hand me that plastic bag?kˌan juː hˈand mˌiː ðat plˈastɪk bˈaɡ?
🔊 plays the app's native voice. 🎤 records you so you can play it back next to it. Your recording stays in your browser.
Sounds in the same group
Is /æ/ one of yours?
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