---
title: "How to Pronounce the TH Sound in English (think, this) | Speakeroo"
description: "How to pronounce the two th sounds in English, voiceless as in \"think\" and voiced as in \"this\", with tongue position, word lists, and practice sentences you can record for feedback."
url: "https://speakeroo.app/how-to-pronounce/th"
---

[How to pronounce](https://speakeroo.app/how-to-pronounce)

# How to pronounce the th sound

English has two th sounds: voiceless as in "think" and voiced as in "this". Both are made with the tongue tip at the teeth, which is unusual among the world’s languages and is why so many learners replace them with t, d, s, or z. The fix is mechanical, and a minute of practice a day makes it automatic.

## How to make the sound

1. 1

   ### Step 1: Tongue to the teeth

   Rest the tip of your tongue lightly against the bottom of your top front teeth. In a mirror you should see a little tongue.
2. 2

   ### Step 2: Blow air for voiceless th

   Push air over the tongue with no voice. Hold it: "thhh". That is the sound in "think" and "three".
3. 3

   ### Step 3: Add voice for voiced th

   Keep the same position and switch the voice on. You should feel a buzz on your tongue. That is the sound in "this" and "the".

## Example words

### Voiceless th (no voice, air only)

- think
- three
- thank
- month
- bath
- both
- author
- birthday

### Voiced th (with voice)

- this
- that
- the
- they
- mother
- other
- breathe
- smooth

### Pairs that differ only by th

- thin/tin
- thank/tank
- think/sink
- then/den
- they/day
- breathe/breeze

## Common mistakes

- Replacing voiceless th with t or s ("tink" or "sink" for "think").
- Replacing voiced th with d or z ("dis" for "this", "zat" for "that").
- Keeping the tongue behind the teeth. For th the tongue tip must touch or pass between the teeth.

## Read a sentence and check it

Free, in the browser, no account needed. The clip is checked and then deleted.

Accent

American English British English Australian English

Listen

Read one of these aloud, then stop: I think that this thing is worth three months. Thank them both for their thoughtful birthday wishes. Breathe through the other nostril, then the other.

## What Speakeroo listens for

These are the pronunciation patterns from Speakeroo’s speech feature catalog that this target tends to expose. The check above reports the ones it hears.

- Voiceless th /θ/ replaced Place the tongue lightly between the teeth and release air without voicing.
- Voiced th /ð/ replaced Use the same dental position as /θ/ while adding vocal-cord vibration.
- /t/ or /d/ used for th Keep a narrow airflow gap instead of fully blocking the air.
- /f/ or /v/ used for th Move contact from the lower lip to the tongue and upper teeth.

## Questions

### What is the difference between the two th sounds?

Both use the same tongue position. Voiceless th (think) is air only; voiced th (this) adds vibration from the vocal cords. Most function words (the, this, that, they, them) use the voiced sound.

### Where does my tongue go for th?

The tongue tip touches the bottom edge of the top front teeth, or sits lightly between the teeth. Air passes over the tongue. If the tongue is behind the teeth, you will produce t, d, s, or z instead.

### Do native speakers always pronounce th clearly?

In fast speech the tongue barely reaches the teeth, and the sound is very short. That is normal. What matters is that it is not replaced by t, d, s, or z, which changes the word.

## Keep going

[The d sound](https://speakeroo.app/how-to-pronounce/d) [-ed endings](https://speakeroo.app/how-to-pronounce/ed) [-s endings](https://speakeroo.app/how-to-pronounce/s) [-ds endings](https://speakeroo.app/how-to-pronounce/ds) [All words](https://speakeroo.app/how-to-pronounce) [Pronunciation practice](https://speakeroo.app/pronunciation-practice) [Tongue twisters](https://speakeroo.app/tongue-twisters)

## Practice full sentences with feedback

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[Start a recording session](https://speakeroo.app/practice?mode=recording) Sign up for free