American English is not a phonetic language, which means many words are not pronounced the way they are spelled. For non-native speakers, this can be confusing and frustrating—especially when pronunciation rules seem inconsistent.
This post lists common non-phonetic American English words, grouped by pattern, with easy-to-read pronunciation guides to help you sound clearer and more confident.
1. Non-Phonetic Words With Silent Letters
These words contain letters that are written but not pronounced.
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- Knife → nyfe
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- Knee → nee
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- Knock → nahk
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- Debt → det
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- Doubt → dowt
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- Island → eye-lind
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- Subtle → sut-l
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- Honest → ah-nist
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- Hour → ow-er
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- Salmon → sam-in
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- Listen → lis-in
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- Castle → kas-ul
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- Fasten → fas-in
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- Whistle → wis-ul
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- Climb → klyme
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- Thumb → thum
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- Lamb → lam
2. Non-Phonetic Words With Unexpected Vowel Sounds
These words use vowel sounds that don’t match typical spelling rules.
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- Women → wim-in
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- Busy → biz-ee
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- Blood → bluhd
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- Flood → fluhd
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- Said → sed
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- Head → hed
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- Bread → bred
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- Build → bild
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- Friend → frend
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- Does → duhz
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- Any → eh-nee
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- Many → meh-nee
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- Again → uh-gen
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- Been → bin
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- Pretty → pri-tee
3. Non-Phonetic Words Influenced by Other Languages
These words come from French, Latin, Greek, or Italian, so English spelling does not match pronunciation.
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- Colonel → ker-nul
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- Choir → kwy-er
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- Yacht → yaht
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- Ballet → ba-lay
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- Genre → zhahn-ruh
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- Debris → duh-bree
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- Café → ka-fay
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- Entrepreneur → ahn-truh-pruh-ner
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- Croissant → krwuh-sahnt
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- Rendezvous → rahn-day-voo
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- Fiancé / Fiancée → fee-ahn-say
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- Encore → ahn-kor
4. Non-Phonetic Words With Reduced or Dropped Syllables
In natural American English, these words are shortened in everyday speech.
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- Wednesday → wenz-day
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- Comfortable → kumf-ter-bul
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- Vegetable → vej-tuh-bul
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- Interest → in-trust
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- Camera → kam-ruh
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- Family → fam-lee
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- Different → dif-rent
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- Favorite → fay-vrit
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- Temperature → tem-pruh-cher
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- Probably → prah-blee
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- Library → ly-brer-ee
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- Chocolate → chahk-lit
5. Tricky Consonant Pronunciations
These words contain consonants that are silent, softened, or unexpected.
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- Answer → an-ser
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- Receipt → ruh-seet
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- Psychology → sy-kah-luh-jee
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- Pneumonia → new-mohn-yuh
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- Cupboard → kub-erd
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- Two → too
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- Often → aw-fin
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- Christmas → kris-mus
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- Foreign → for-in
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- Sword → sord
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- Clothes → klohz
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- Muscle → mus-ul
Why Non-Phonetic Words Matter for Accent Reduction
Mispronouncing common non-phonetic words can:
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- Reduce clarity
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- Distract listeners
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- Make fluent speakers sound less confident
Mastering these words helps speech sound more natural, fluent, and American, especially in professional and social settings.
Final Tip
Don’t practice these words in isolation. Use them in sentences, real-life phrases, and conversation. Accent change happens fastest when pronunciation practice is functional and intentional.
If American English pronunciation feels unpredictable, targeted accent training can help you speak more clearly and confidently in real-life situations.
- For more support in learning American pronunciation, check out my accent reduction training webpage
- My Udemy class: Master Most Confusing American Vowels
- Read my blogs more on this and related topics
