This is the “Sounds American” channel.

In this video we’re going to talk about the American consonant sound /ð/,

as in the word “this.”

You can also hear this sound in words like

“than,”

“there,”

“other”

or “mother.”

We’ll be using a special phonetic symbol - /ð/ - for this sound.

The English /ð/ sound occurs in less than 10% of the world languages

and it’s not present in the majority of European and Asian languages.

Therefore, this sound can be challenging for those non-native English speakers

who don’t have it in their native languages.

They often distort it or replace it with more familiar sounds,

such as /z/, /d/, /v/, or /θ/.

Keep watching to learn how to pronounce the /ð/ sound and practice it in words.

First,

let’s find out how to make this sound.

The /ð/ is the voiced counterpart of the voiceless /θ/.

This means

that it’s made the same way,

but with adding a voice.

Slightly open your mouth

and put the tip of your tongue between your front teeth.

Note that the tip of your tongue may gently touch the bottom of your upper front teeth.

Now blow air over your tongue

making a noise.

The stream of air should flow between your upper teeth and the tongue.

Note that the /ð/ is a voiced consonant sound,

so you need to add your voice when pronouncing it.

Let’s try saying it:

/ð/

/ð/

/ð/

Here are a few common mistakes

that people make when pronouncing the /ð/:

number one:

Not pushing the tongue forward enough

or pressing the tip of the tongue against the upper front teeth.

This way you’ll make a consonant that sounds more like a /z/.

Put the tip of your tongue between your upper and bottom front teeth.

Number two

Stopping the airflow with the tip of the tongue.

The /ð/ sound gets distorted and sounds more like /d/ or even /t/.

/ð/ is a continuous sound;

so keep the airstream flowing.

You should be able to stretch the /ð/ out:

/ð- ð- ð- ð/.

Now, let’s practice the /ð/ sound in some words.

You’ll see a word on the screen and hear its pronunciation.

Like this.

You’ll have a few seconds to pronounce the word.

[sound prompt to start speaking]

Make sure you repeat each word after the speaker,

you’ll be surprised how fast your pronunciation improves.

Let’s begin.

Let’s pause for a second and check on how you’re making the /ð/ sound.

The tip of your tongue should be between your teeth.

The sound is made from the friction in the stream of air

flowing between your tongue and the teeth.

Don’t forget to add your voice.

Let’s continue practicing.

You’re done!

Congratulations!

BTW, if you count all the words with the consonant sound /ð/,

there won’t be many of them.

We’re crazy enough to know that it’s less than one percent of all English words.

However, most of them are function words;

and function words are the most frequently used ones in American English.

So the consonant sound /ð/ is present in practically every sentence.

You probably want to go back and practice now :)

Don’t be shy, leave us a comment if you have any questions.

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