How to Pronounce the /s/ Sound

Discover the /s/ sound in this phonology lesson. Learn its articulation, role in speech, and how it affects pronunciation and clarity in language.

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/?

Mouth and Vocal Tract Configuration for /s/

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:

Pie Chart of the Letters that Make the /s/ Sound

spoon /spuːn/

say /seɪ/

sick /sɪk/

cinema /ˈsɪn.ə.mə/

city /ˈsɪt̬.i/

ceremony /ser.ə.mə.ni/

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:

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	✔	섬
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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What Type of Sound Is /s/?
How to Produce /s/?
Which Letters are Pronounced as /s/?
/s/ Sound in the Most Common World Languages
Listening

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