The Sound th (voiced) In American English
The Voiced Sound of th
The multigraph "th" can make the voiced sound /ð/, which is close to the English /z/ sound, but produced with the tongue lightly touching the upper teeth. This pronunciation drill focuses on this sound and practices it across three syllable structures:
Vowel + Consonant (VC)
Consonant + Vowel (CV)
Vowel + Consonant + Consonant (VCC)
Working through these patterns helps you stabilize the sound in both initial and final positions while maintaining clarity in connected speech.
Begin with VC combinations to practice /ð/ at the end of syllables, focusing on keeping the sound voiced until the release. Then move to CV combinations, where /ð/ appears at the start of syllables and requires clear onset without replacing it with similar sounds like /d/ or /z/. Finally, practice the VCC patterns, where /ð/ is followed by consonant clusters, requiring smooth transitions while preserving the voiced dental articulation. Repeat each structure slowly at first, ensuring precision and continuous airflow, then gradually increase speed while maintaining consistent pronunciation.
Step 1: Vowel + Consonant
Repeat each word aloud at least 3 times.
i + th → /ið/
breathe, seethe, sheathe
Short i + th → /ɪð/
with, wither
Short a + th → /ʌð/
other, mother
u + th → /uð/
soothe, smooth
eɪ + th → /eɪð/
bathe, scathe
aɪ + th → /aɪð/
writhe, lithe, scythe
Long o + th → /oʊð/
loathe, clothe
Step 2: Consonant + Vowel
Repeat each word aloud at least 3 times.
th + i → /ði/
these
th + Short i → /ðɪ/
this
th + Short e → /ðɛ/
them, there, their
th + æ → /ðæ/
that, than
th + Short a → /ðʌ/
thus
th + eɪ → /ðeɪ/
they
th + Long o → /ðoʊ/
though
Step 3: Vowel + Consonant + Consonant
Read each word aloud at least 3 times. The words in this set include consonant clusters, so they might require more practice.
i + th + s → /iðz/
seethes, breathes, sheathes
u + th + s → /uðz/
soothes, smooths
eɪ + th + s → /eɪðz/
bathes, scathes
aɪ + th + s → /aɪðz/
writhes, lithes, scythes
Long o + th + s → /oʊðz/
loathes, clothes
i + th + d → /iðd/
breathed, seethed, sheathed
u + th + d → /uðd/
soothed, smoothed
eɪ + th + d → /eɪðd/
bathed, scathed
aɪ + th + d → /aɪðd/
writhed, lithed, scythed
oʊ + th + d → /oʊðd/
loathed, clothed
Sentence Drills
Read each sentence aloud to practice the different patterns in which the sound of "th" appears in words.
They gathered their clothes together.
The mother bathed the baby carefully.
Those brothers live with their father.
The weather there is warmer than here.
This feather is smoother than that one.
The other children played near their school.
Those people gathered there after the meeting.
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