The /θ/ Sound: English Pronunciation Practice Made Easy

What is the /θ/ (unvoiced) Sound?

First, let's look at a few examples of words with the English /θ/ sound:

• think
• thought
• anything
• authority
• bath
• breath

According to Baruch College's Tools for Clear Speech, the /θ/ sound is made by doing the following:

"To make /θ/, place the tip of your tongue between your upper and lower teeth. Push air out of your mouth between your tongue and your teeth. You should feel some friction (resistance). Do not vibrate your vocal cords."

If you need more help articulating the /θ/ sound, check out this video to learn the correct tongue and mouth placement.

Practicing the /θ/ (unvoiced) Sound

Everything you need to pronounce the English /θ/ sound correctly is on this page. Just follow the instructions.

What do you have to do?

Practice for 5 minutes a day for 7 days.

That’s it.

Your goal is to pronounce the /θ/ sound clearly and easily by the end of day 7.

Let’s do it!

This guide to the American English /θ/ sound is full of useful information. Click the link below to jump to the part you are looking for:

• Day 1 of the /θ/ sound
• Day 2 of the /θ/ sound
• Day 3 of the /θ/ sound
• Day 4 of the /θ/ sound
• Day 5 of the /θ/ sound
• Day 6 of the /θ/ sound
• Day 7 of the /θ/ sound
• Additional /θ/ sound resources
• PDF download of the /θ/ sound

Day 1: The /θ/ Sound

If you are ready, let’s start with the practice for day one.

It’s pretty simple.

Watch the video and follow along.

Listen and repeat.

🔊 Click here to listen to the audio version

Minimal Pairs

Your Goal: To feel the difference between the /θ/ sound and similar sounds like /t/ or /f/.

• hat - hath
• fate - faith
• free - three
• first - thirst

Vowel Collection

Your Goal: To practice the /θ/ sound while also improving your pronunciation of the English vowel sounds.

• bath - both - birth - booth
• think - thank - thunk

Syllable Stress Collection

Your Goal: To practice the /θ/ sound while also developing a better understanding of proper syllable stress.

• thunder
• thousand
• thoughtful
• pathetic

Reduced Sounds Collection

Your Goal: To practice the /θ/ sound while also working on linking words and phrases together.

• Tell him the truth, there’s no theme for our party.
• Could you throw me both pens, please?

Tongue Twister Collection

Your Goal: To practice the /θ/ sound while improving your speaking speed and enunciation.

• Six thick thistle sticks. Six thick thistles stick.
• Thank the other three brothers of their father's mother's brother's side.

Day 2: The /θ/ Sound

Just like day one, except simpler.

Watch the video and follow along.

Listen and repeat.

🔊 Click here to listen to the audio version

Minimal Pairs

Your Goal: To feel the difference between the /θ/ sound and similar sounds like /f/ or /s/.

• deaf - death
• frill - thrill
• face - faith
• song - thong

Vowel Collection

Your Goal: To practice the /θ/ sound while also improving your pronunciation of the English vowel sounds.

• myth - mouth - math
• thumb - theme - thimble

Syllable Stress Collection

Your Goal: To practice the /θ/ sound while also developing a better understanding of proper syllable stress.

• anything
• authority
• authentic
• marathon

Reduced Sounds Collection

Your Goal: To practice the /θ/ sound while also working on linking words and phrases together.

• When did you think you were ready for the marathon?
• I don’t know if my asthma will stop my dreams of being an athlete.

Tongue Twister Collection

Your Goal: To practice the /θ/ sound while improving your speaking speed and enunciation.

• He threw three free throws.
• Thin sticks, thick bricks.

Day 3: The /θ/ Sound

Today will be the last day you only listen and repeat.

Tomorrow, you will have to start to speak.

But let’s focus on today.

Just like yesterday, watch the video and follow along.

Listen and repeat.

🔊 Click here to listen to the audio version

Minimal Pairs

Your Goal: To feel the difference between the /θ/ sound and similar sounds like /t/ or /f/.

• tree - three
• tank - thank
• fort - thought
• freeze - threes

Vowel Collection

Your Goal: To practice the /θ/ sound while also improving your pronunciation of the English vowel sounds.

• earth - oath - Arthur
• faith - fourth - fifth

Syllable Stress Collection

Your Goal: To practice the /θ/ sound while also developing a better understanding of proper syllable stress.

• mythology
• toothbrush
• something
• athlete

Reduced Sounds Collection

Your Goal: To practice the /θ/ sound while also working on linking words and phrases together.

• Should he cut the cake into fourths or fifths?
• How is it possible to be an atheist but believe in mythology?

Tongue Twister Collection

Your Goal: To practice the /θ/ sound while improving your speaking speed and enunciation.

• I thought a thought. But the thought I thought wasn't the thought I thought I thought.
• Three thin panthers in the bathroom.

Day 4: The /θ/ Sound

Time to speak.

You will notice that these are the words, phrases, and sentences you repeated on day one.

Today, your job is different.

Open up a Google Doc, enable voice typing and speak.

Watch the video to see how it works.

• hat - hath
• fate - faith
• free - three
• first - thirst

• bath - both - birth - booth
• think - thank - thunk

• thunder
• thousand
• thoughtful
• pathetic

• Tell him the truth, there’s no theme for our party.
• Could you throw me both pens, please?

• Six thick thistle sticks. Six thick thistles stick.
• Thank the other three brothers of their father's mother's brother's side.

Day 5: The /θ/ Sound

Let’s revisit the words, phrases, and sentences you practiced on day two.

Just like yesterday, open up a Google Doc, enable voice typing, and get ready to speak.

Let’s do it!

• deaf - death
• frill - thrill
• face - faith
• song - thong

• myth - mouth - math
• thumb - theme - thimble

• anything
• authority
• authentic
• marathon

• When did you think you were ready for the marathon?
• I don’t know if my asthma will stop my dreams of being an athlete.

• He threw three free throws.
• Thin sticks, thick bricks.

TIP*** Are there some words that the computer does not understand no matter how many times you say them? No worries, just skip it and move on. No one is perfect.

Day 6: The /θ/ Sound

You are so close to day 7.

Be proud that you have made it this far :)

In today’s lesson, let’s circle back to the words, phrases, and sentences you repeated on day three and practice saying them aloud.

Again, open up a Google Doc and let’s get started.

• tree - three
• tank - thank
• fort - thought
• freeze - threes

• earth - oath - Arthur
• faith - fourth - fifth

• mythology
• toothbrush
• something
• athlete

• Should he cut the cake into fourths or fifths?
• How is it possible to be an atheist but believe in mythology?

• I thought a thought. But the thought I thought wasn't the thought I thought I thought.
• Three thin panthers in the bathroom.

Day 7: The /θ/ Sound

Congratulations!!!

You have made it to the very last day of this /θ/ sound practice course.

Do you feel like your pronunciation of this sound is improving?

Let’s finish with a simple, but challenging exercise.

Just like you did on days 4, 5, and 6, open up a Google Doc and enable voice typing.

This time, try to get the technology to recognize these six tongue twisters.

• Six thick thistle sticks. Six thick thistles stick.
• Thank the other three brothers of their father's mother's brother's side.
• He threw three free throws.
• Thin sticks, thick bricks
• I thought a thought. But the thought I thought wasn't the thought I thought I thought.
• Three thin panthers in the bathroom.

Now, turn voice typing off and try to say each tongue twister as fast as possible.

Watch the video to learn how to go through this exercise.

Additional Resources: The /θ/ Sound

Words with the /θ/ sound

Minimal Pair Collection

Minimal Pair /t/ and /θ/ tree three

• hat - hath
• fate - faith
• true - threw
• fort - fourth
• boat - both
• debt - death
• team - theme
• tree - three
• tank - thank
• forts - fourth

Minimal Pair /f/ and /θ/ free three

• free - three
• first - thirst
• deaf - death
• frill - thrill
• fug - thug
• thin - fin
• three - free
• fresh - thresh
• fort - thought
• freeze - threes

Minimal Pair /s/ and /θ/ sink think

• sink - think
• mass - math
• face - faith
• song - thong
• seem - theme
• sink - think
• tense - tenth
• sick - thick
• sum - thumb
• sigh - thigh

Vowel Collection

• bath - both - birth - booth
• think - thank - thunk
• myth - mouth - math
• thumb - theme - thimble
• earth - oath - Arthur
• faith - fourth - fifth

Syllable Stress Collectionthunder

• thousand
• thoughtful
• pathetic
• anything
• authority
• authentic
• marathon
• mythology
• toothbrush
• something
• athlete

Reduced Sounds Collection

• Tell him the truth, there’s no theme for our party.
• Could you throw me both pens, please?
• When did you think you were ready for the marathon?
• I don’t know if my asthma will stop my dreams of being an athlete.
• Should he cut the cake into fourths or fifths?
• How is it possible to be an atheist but believe in mythology?

Tongue Twister Collection

• Six thick thistle sticks. Six thick thistles stick.
• Thank the other three brothers of their father's mother's brother's side.
• He threw three free throws.
• Thin sticks, thick bricks
• I thought a thought. But the thought I thought wasn't the thought I thought I thought.
• Three thin panthers in the bathroom.

Additional Resources

• Tools for Clear Speech sound /θ/ profile
• Rachel’s English Video on the /θ/ sound
• TEFLpedia /θ/ sound

Additional Activities for All Sounds

Practice Three Words

Answer the following question:

What do you like to do in your free time?

Pick one, two, or three words from the word bank and include them in your response. If it helps, you may write out the example sentences with the word in context first.

Youglish Research

Visit the Youglish website. Pick a word or phrase you would like to practice. Enter it into the Youglish search bar. Find three examples of the word or phrase in context to shadow.

Teacher Time

During your next English speaking practice session with a teacher or conversation partner, have a list of three to five words you would like to use. Give yourself a point every time you use the word correctly in context and it is understood. Aim to score 5 points within the first 10 minutes (so the rest of the time you focus just on communicating).

Voice Typing

Write out three sentences with challenging words or phrases. Use Google Docs or any other software with the ability to turn speech to text. Read these sentences aloud and check to see if your pronunciation is correct.

***There are a ton of possibilities. These are just a few ideas. Use the word bank, tongue twisters, example sentences, and other resources on this page to continue to work on this sound.

If you have any suggestions, let me know in the comments below. I read and respond to all of them.