/s/

consonant · voiceless

The S Sound

as in see

How to make the /s/ sound

Voiceless — no vocal cord vibration
voiced voiceless
  1. 1Tongue tip close to the ridge behind the top teeth.
  2. 2Push a thin, sharp stream of air — like a snake hiss.
  3. 3Spelled s, ss, c, sc, or ps.

⚠ The most common mistake

Adding a vowel before S-clusters: "school" → "eschool".

Especially tricky for speakers of: Spanish, Arabic.

Train your ear: /s/ vs /ʃ/

These two words differ by exactly one sound. Tap both — can you hear it?

Practice: Record & Compare

Record yourself saying see, then compare with the target. Your audio stays on this device — nothing is uploaded.

Practice words with /s/

Tap the speaker to hear each word; tap the word for its full pronunciation page.

More consonants

See all 44 sounds of English →