Lips
Mouth slightly open, tongue tip visible at the upper ridge.
Voiced consonants
/d/as in did
Voiced: same tongue position as /t/, but with the buzz switched on.
Example words: did, odd, red, day, garden
Accent
Mouth
How do you pronounce the /d/ sound?
Tongue
Raise the tip to the ridge behind your upper teeth, exactly like /t/, and release gently.
Video lesson
Try it
- Place your tongue tip on the ridge behind your upper front teeth.
- Start the buzz before you release: hand on throat, feel the hum while the tongue is still touching.
- Release softly, with no strong puff of air.
- For a final /d/, hold the buzz right to the end of the word.
- Now say: did, odd, red.
Check
Say "to" and "do" with a hand on your throat. /d/ buzzes from the first moment; /t/ does not. Then check endings: "bad" must not collapse into "bat".
Common trap
Devoicing at the end of a word. If the buzz dies early, "red" sounds like "ret" and listeners hear the wrong word. Keep your vocal cords humming through the final /d/.
Practice: /d/
Words
diddˈɪd
oddˈɑd
redɹˈɛd
daydˈeɪ
gardenɡˈɑɹdən
Sentences
Dad made a good dinner today.dˈæd mˌeɪd ɐ ɡˈʊd dˈɪnəɹ tədˈeɪ.
The dog dug a deep hole.ðə dˈɔɡ dˈʌɡ ɐ dˈip hˈoʊl.
I found a red bird in the garden.ˌaɪ fˈaʊnd ɐ ɹˈɛd bˈɜɹd ɪn ðə ɡˈɑɹdən.
We played cards all day.wˌi plˈeɪd kˈɑɹdz ˈɔl dˈeɪ.
She said the food was good.ʃˌi sˈɛd ðə fˈud wʌz ɡˈʊd.
Words
diddˈɪd
oddˈɒd
redɹˈɛd
daydˈeɪ
gardenɡˈɑːdən
Sentences
Dad made a good dinner today.dˈad mˌeɪd ɐ ɡˈʊd dˈɪnə tədˈeɪ.
The dog dug a deep hole.ðə dˈɒɡ dˈʌɡ ɐ dˈiːp hˈəʊl.
I found a red bird in the garden.ˌaɪ fˈaʊnd ɐ ɹˈɛd bˈɜːd ɪn ðə ɡˈɑːdən.
We played cards all day.wˌiː plˈeɪd kˈɑːdz ˈɔːl dˈeɪ.
She said the food was good.ʃˌiː sˈɛd ðə fˈuːd wɒz ɡˈʊd.
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Sounds in the same group
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