How to Pronounce the /s/ Sound 

How to Pronounce the /s/ Sound

In this lesson, we will learn how to pronounce the /s/ sound with the appropriate articulatory organs.

What Type of Sound Is /s/?

/s/ is a consonant sound in the English language.

How to Produce /s/?

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As you can see in picture (b), the tongue plays a major part in the production of this sound. In order to produce this sound, the tongue raises a bit upwards and its sides slightly touch the back side of the front teeth. The tip of the tongue is just behind the front teeth. Note that it does not touch the back of the teeth. Also, the uvula is blocking the air passing through the nose. So, the air comes out of the mouth. As it is clear in picture (b), the circle in the throat is grey which indicates that we do not need to vibrate our vocal cords. So, it is voiceless.
In picture (a), the lips and teeth are slightly parted so as to let the air out.
In picture (c), you can clearly see where exactly the tongue is put. The sides of the tongue must make contact with the roof of the mouth, just behind the front teeth.

Which Letters are Pronounced as /s/?

The sound /s/ is represented by the following letters:

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s:

Example

spoon /spuːn/

say /seɪ/

sick /sɪk/

c:

Example

cinema /ˈsɪn.ə.mə/

city /ˈsɪt̬.i/

ceremony /ser.ə.mə.ni/

Example

dress /dres/

princess /ˈprɪnses/

compass /ˈkʌmpəs/

Warning!

Note that whenever the letter S comes after a voiced consonant or a vowel, its sound changes to /z/. Compare:

Example

series /sɪr.iːz/

socks /sɑːks/

/s/ Sound in the Most Common World Languages

As you can see in the table below, all of the common languages spoken around the world have the /s/ sound. So, it will not be difficult for you to produce it. Look:

Existence

Example

Mandarin

三 (sān)

Spanish

saltador

Hindi

साल

Bengali

রাস্তা

Portuguese

caço

Russian

волосы

Japanese

複数形 (fukusūkei)

Vietnamese

xa

Turkish

sinek

French

assez

German

biss

Italian

sali

Persian

سیب

Standard Arabic

جَلَسَ

Korean

Indonesian

saya

Filipino

sugat

Hungarian

sziget

Dutch

staan

Polish

sum

Romanian

surd

Swedish

säte

Czech

svět

Greek

σαν

Ukrainian

село

Urdu

سال

Listening

Below, there is an audio file that helps you learn the proper pronunciation of the /s/ sound:

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