Lips
Relaxed and slightly open, with the tongue tip peeking out between the upper and lower front teeth.
Voiceless consonants
/θ/as in thin
Voiceless: air flowing over the tongue tip between your teeth, no buzz.
Example words: thin, bath, think, birthday, mouth
Accent
Mouth
How do you pronounce the /θ/ sound?
Tongue
Place the tip lightly between your upper and lower front teeth and blow air over it.
Video lesson
Try it
- Slide your tongue tip forward until it sits gently between your front teeth.
- Blow a soft, steady stream of air over the tip. The sound is quieter and duller than /s/.
- Keep your throat silent: no buzz anywhere.
- Check in a mirror that you can see a sliver of tongue between your teeth.
- Now say: thin, bath, think.
Check
Say "thin" then "sin". For "thin" the tongue is between the teeth and the hiss is soft; for "sin" the tongue hides behind the teeth and the hiss is sharp. If they match, your tongue is not coming forward.
Common trap
Swapping "th" for /s/, /t/, or /f/, so "thin" becomes "sin", "tin", or "fin". The fix is visible: your tongue tip must actually sit between your teeth. If a mirror shows no tongue, it is not "th".
Both th sounds side by side, with the language-by-language mistakes: the th sound guide.
Practice: /θ/
Words
thinθˈɪn
bathbˈæθ
thinkθˈɪŋk
birthdaybˈɜɹθdˌeɪ
mouthmˈaʊθ
Sentences
I think Thursday is her birthday.ˌaɪ θˈɪŋk θˈɜɹzdˌeɪ ɪz hɜɹ bˈɜɹθdˌeɪ.
Thank you for the birthday gift.θˈæŋk ju fɔɹ ðə bˈɜɹθdˌeɪ ɡˈɪft.
My teeth hurt when I eat something sweet.mˌaɪ tˈiθ hˈɜɹt wˌɛn ˌaɪ ˈit sˈʌmθˌɪŋ swˈit.
She ran three thousand meters this month.ʃˌi ɹˈæn θɹˈi θˈaʊzənd mˈiɾəɹz ðɪs mˈʌnθ.
Both boys took a bath.bˈoʊθ bˈɔɪz tˈʊk ɐ bˈæθ.
Words
thinθˈɪn
bathbˈɑːθ
thinkθˈɪŋk
birthdaybˈɜːθdeɪ
mouthmˈaʊθ
Sentences
I think Thursday is her birthday.ˌaɪ θˈɪŋk θˈɜːzdeɪ ɪz hɜː bˈɜːθdeɪ.
Thank you for the birthday gift.θˈaŋk juː fɔː ðə bˈɜːθdeɪ ɡˈɪft.
My teeth hurt when I eat something sweet.mˌaɪ tˈiːθ hˈɜːt wˌɛn ˌaɪ ˈiːt sˈʌmθɪŋ swˈiːt.
She ran three thousand meters this month.ʃˌiː ɹˈan θɹˈiː θˈaʊzənd mˈiːtəz ðɪs mˈʌnθ.
Both boys took a bath.bˈəʊθ bˈɔɪz tˈʊk ɐ bˈɑːθ.
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Sounds in the same group
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