Fricatives
How to pronounce /s/ S as in see
seelistenbooks
How to make it
Tongue tip near the ridge behind your top teeth, hiss a thin stream of air. No voice.
- Tongue
- Tip near the ridge, narrow channel
- Lips
- Slightly spread
- Voice
- Air only, no buzz
Watch the mouth
Tongue close behind your top teeth, hiss a thin stream of air.
Where learners slip
- Vietnamese speakersFinal S is often dropped — books can land as book.
- Thai speakersFinal S is often dropped — books can land as book.
Say it on real English. See if it lands.
Lang Shadow scores /s/ every time you say it — in Shorts, in role plays and in your own words — and colours it next to the other 40 sounds.