How to Pronounce TIRED

TIRED is a tough word to pronounce — learn it sound by sound. Practice it slowly over and over to master this word. 

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Video Transcript:

In this American English pronunciation video, we’re going to go over the pronunciation of the word ‘tired’.

This video is sponsored by italki, where you can find a customized learning experience. More information at the end of the video.

This word can be hard to pronounce and spell. As a kid, I had a really hard time spelling it. So, thank you for the suggestion for this video.

We use this word a lot. We adults seem to work really hard and really long hours, and we end up feeling tired.

I’m so tired.
I’m tired!

I feel like I use these phrases a lot. We also use the phrase ‘sick and tired’. It means to be angry, to be really annoyed. “I’m sick and tired of you always being late.” Sick ‘n tired. Notice that you might want to reduce the word ‘and’ to just the N sound – sick ‘n, sick ‘n, sick ‘n tired.

Tired is a one-syllable word that feels like a two-syllable word. That’s because of the schwa-R sound. Tired, DA-da. Just make sure you have this round shape in the voice, a curve up, but then an even bigger curve down. We want all of the sounds to fall into that shape so the character, the feeling of the word is American. Tired. Tired.

So we start with a True T. This should be a sharp sound, some of my students make it too soft. With a True T, you should feel a little burst of air, tt, tt. Tired. The tongue tip goes to the roof of the mouth, and the teeth are closed. Stop the air, and then release the air, teeth, and tongue, tt. Ti-. Now we have the AI as in BUY diphthong. The main thing to think about with a diphthong is that you’re changing positions. There’s a beginning and end. You can’t leave your mouth in the same position. For the beginning of this sound, you should have a lot of jaw drop. Your tongue lifts a little in the back. Ta-, tai-. Then we move into the ending position. Jaw drops less, the back part of the tongue relaxes, and the front part arches towards the roof of the mouth. Ti-, ti-. Try that with me, ti-. Notice the shape of the voice, the intonation. Ti-, ti-.

Now we have the schwa-R. Don’t try to make a schwa and then an R, the R overpowers the schwa. So just slide into an R. To do that, the front part of the tongue pulls back. It’s not touching anything. The middle part of the tongue will lightly touch the sides of the roof of the mouth, about here, rr, rr. The lips flare. Tir-. Remember, it has to fall into the descending pitch of the voice. Tir-. Tir-.

To end, there’s just a very light D sound, dd, dd, dd. You don’t need much sound. Tired. Tired.

Let’s watch up close and in slow motion.

See the jaw drop for the beginning of the diphthong, then immediately go back up for the second position. Now we have the R – you can see the front part of the tongue pull back. The lips flare a little. Look closely, you’ll see the front part of the flap against the roof of the mouth for the D.

Watch one more time.

If there’s a word or phrase you’d like help pronouncing, please put it in the comments below.

Also, I’m very excited to tell you that my book is now on sale. If you liked this video, there’s a lot more to learn about American English pronunciation, and my book will help you step by step. You can get it by clicking here, or in the description below.

That’s it, and thanks so much for using Rachel’s English.

This video was sponsored by italki, offering Rachel’s English fans a buy-one-get one promotion for a limited time. At italki, you can find teachers around the world that specialize in test prep, business English, or even lessons for your children. Click here, or see the link in the description below, for more information.

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