/s/ — the /s/ sound
the /s/ sound
Consonants · Fricatives
This sound hasn't been scored yet.
How to make it
Tongue tip near the ridge behind the upper teeth; push air into a hiss. No voice.
Pairs with /z/ — same mouth shape, only the voicing differs.
Watch a native speaker say it
See the mouth and tongue before you record — hearing a sound rarely tells you where the tongue goes.
Rachel's English · English Sounds - S [s] and Z [z] Consonants - How to make the S and Z Consonants Watch on YouTube
More videos
Words with this sound
Tap the speaker to hear a native speaker say it.
say
/seɪ/
sea
/siː/
see
/siː/
sir
/sɝː/
so
/soʊ/
us
/əs/
ask
/æsk/
bus
/bʌs/
east
/iːst/
face
/feɪs/
house
/haʊs/
its
/ɪts/
Minimal pairs
Two words that differ by exactly one sound. Listen until you can tell them apart, then say them yourself.
- s
mouse
/maʊs/
θmouth
/maʊθ/
- s
sea
/siː/
ʃshe
/ʃi/
- s
us
/əs/
zhis
/əz/
- s
say
/seɪ/
ppay
/peɪ/
- s
sea
/siː/
bbe
/bi/
- s
sea
/siː/
ttea
/tiː/
- s
sad
/sæd/
ddad
/dæd/
- s
some
/sʌm/
kcome
/kʌm/
Test yourself on this sound
Read these 8 words in one recording. The AI scores every sound and tells you whether your /s/ came out right.