How to Pronounce Tongue

To pronounce "tongue", say TONG-ue — 2 syllables, IPA /ˈtəŋ/. Tap play below to hear it in four English accents, or practice it syllable by syllable.

tongue

Tap to hear · American accent

Accent

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Speed

Syllable by syllable — tap each one

Practice: Record & Compare

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2

Syllables

6

Letters

/ˈtəŋ/

🇺🇸 IPA (US)

/tˈʌŋ/

🇬🇧 IPA (UK)

💡 Tip for remembering “tongue”

"tongue" has 2 syllables: tong-ue. It rhymes with bung and unsung, if that helps it stick.

Sounds exactly like: tung — easy to mix up when writing.

What does tongue mean?

noun

  1. The flexible muscular organ in the mouth that is used to move food around, for tasting and that is moved into various positions to modify the flow of air from the lungs in order to produce different sounds in speech.
  2. This organ, as taken from animals used for food (especially cows).−

    “cold tongue with mustard”

verb

  1. On a wind instrument, to articulate a note by starting the air with a tap of the tongue, as though by speaking a 'd' or 't' sound (alveolar plosive).

    “Playing wind instruments involves tonguing on the reed or mouthpiece.”

  2. To manipulate with the tongue, as in kissing or oral sex.

Synonyms

idiomlanguagelingospeaking in tongues

Hear “tongue” in real sentences

Real example sentences from Tatoeba (CC-BY) — tap to hear each one, or see it used on YouGlish.

Words that rhyme with tongue

Practicing rhymes trains the same ending sounds.

bungunsungamongslungflungstungyoungsprungclunghungstrunglung

Related words

linguaglossaspitknifeclappermouthbluetonguebreast

Frequently asked questions

How many syllables are in "tongue"?▾

"Tongue" has 2 syllables: tong · ue.

What is the IPA transcription of "tongue"?▾

The IPA transcription of "tongue" is /ˈtəŋ/.

What does "tongue" mean?▾

Tongue: The flexible muscular organ in the mouth that is used to move food around, for tasting and that is moved into various positions to modify the flow of air from the lungs in order to produce different sounds in speech.

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