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PRONUNCIATION: BASIC SOUNDS
The Soft T-H Sound and the Hard T-H Sound
/θ/ and /ð/

GOAL

I can make the soft T-H sound and the hard T-H sound.

TRY IT!

Read the sentence below.

They both don’t want to brush their teeth before bed.

SOUNDS

Learn how to pronounce today's sounds.
Sound Profile
Voicing

no

Mouth

slightly open

Lips

Teeth

Tongue

the tip of the tongue placed between the top and bottom front teeth

Jaw

Steps
  1. Slightly open your mouth.

  2. Put the tip of your tongue between your top and bottom front teeth. (Don't bite down!)

  3. Exhale.

Katakana Otoshiana

Because there is no perfect match for the soft T-H sound in Japanese, many English words with that sound are written with s (ス) or even sh (シ) in katakana.

 

third ➡ saado (サード)

thank you ➡ sankyuu (サンキュー)

think ➡ shinku (シンク)

 

Be careful to make them the soft T-H sound in English!

Voicing

yes

Mouth

slightly open

Lips

Teeth

Tongue

the tip of the tongue placed between the top and bottom front teeth

Jaw

Steps
  1. Slightly open your mouth.

  2. Put the tip of your tongue between your top and bottom front teeth. (Don't bite down!)

  3. Make a voiced sound.

  4. If you hold the sound for several seconds, your top lip should feel itchy.

Katakana Otoshiana

Because there is no perfect match for the hard T-H sound in Japanese, many English words with that sound are written with z (ザ) or even d (ディ) in katakana.

 

the ➡ za (ザ)

brother ➡ burazaa (ブラザー)

this ➡ disu (ディス)

 

Be careful to make them the hard T-H sound in English!

Steps
  1. Slightly open your mouth.

  2. Put the tip of your tongue between your top and bottom front teeth. (Don't bite down!)

  3. Exhale.

Steps
  1. Slightly open your mouth.

  2. Put the tip of your tongue between your top and bottom front teeth. (Don't bite down!)

  3. Make a voiced sound.

  4. If you hold the sound for several seconds, your top lip should feel itchy.

Katakana Otoshiana

Because there is no perfect match for the soft T-H sound in Japanese, many English words with that sound are written with s (ス) or even sh (シ) in katakana.

 

third ➡ saado (サード)

thank you ➡ sankyuu (サンキュー)

think ➡ shinku (シンク)

 

Be careful to make them the soft T-H sound in English!

Katakana Otoshiana

Because there is no perfect match for the hard T-H sound in Japanese, many English words with that sound are written with z (ザ) or even d (ディ) in katakana.

 

the ➡ za (ザ)

brother ➡ burazaa (ブラザー)

this ➡ disu (ディス)

 

Be careful to make them the hard T-H sound in English!

SENTENCES

Practice today’s sounds in the sentences below.

/θ/

  1. Matthew thinks many athletes are too thin.
  2. Seth takes a bath every day.
  3. The Health Is Wealth event is on Thursday.
  4. He has thirty teeth in his mouth!
  5. Kathy got a thirteen on her math test.

/ð/

  1. My mother and father liked the cake.
  2. My brother is taller than other boys in his class.
  3. This kind of clothing was popular back then.
  4. The weather was nice, so my grandfather went fishing.
  5. They said that Just Breathe is the book of the year.

/θ/ + /ð/

  1. Agatha can’t breathe.
  2. This Thursday, we collected thirty bags of clothing.
  3. Matthew went to the Netherlands last month.
  4. That day, Anthony’s father gave them three hundred new books.
  5. Judith went shopping for cold weather gear on her birthday.

DIALOGUES

Practice today’s sounds in the dialogues below.

/θ/

Tutor:

Keith! Thank you for inviting me to your birthday party last night.

Student:

You’re welcome! I’m glad you came. You were with Beth and Tabitha, right?

Tutor:

Yeah. We really liked your famous athlete theme!

Student:

Thank you! My party theme was Matthew’s idea. He likes taking pictures of athletes.

/ð/

Student:

My mother and father just got tickets to their favorite band’s concert.

Tutor:

Wow! That’s nice! When is the concert?

Student:

Tomorrow! It’s their first time to see them live, so they’re super excited!

Tutor:

Great! Are you going with them to the concert?

Student:

No, my brother and I are going clothing shopping tomorrow.

/θ/ + /ð/

Student:

My mother is angry with my brothers.

Tutor:

Both of them? What did they do?

Student:

Anthony didn’t want to take a bath, Seth didn’t want to do his math homework, and they both don’t want to brush their teeth before bed.

Tutor:

Oh! That’s bad!

Student:

I know! Their breath will smell bad, and they might lose their teeth!

TRY IT AGAIN!

Reread the sentence below.

They both don’t want to brush their teeth before bed.