How to pronounce the Voiceless TH sound /θ/

1. 1Put the very tip of your tongue lightly against the bottom edge of your top front teeth.
2. 2Let it show a little between the teeth — this is one of the few English sounds you can see.
3. 3Blow air over the tongue tip in a steady, soft stream.
4. 4Keep the voice off — the throat stays silent while the air escapes.
5. 5Slide the tongue back and start the vowel; don't stop the air with a T.

• I think three months is enough for anything.

• Thank Beth for both the thick blue cloths.

Each of these is two words separated by exactly one sound. If a listener hears the wrong one, the problem is the contrast, not the effort.

Nothing here is about ability. Every one of these is a sound system doing exactly what it was built to do, applied to a language that asks for something else.

• HindiUrdu

  Hindi and Urdu map English th onto their aspirated dental t, so 'think' becomes a breathy 'tink'; the tongue has to come forward to the teeth and the air must keep flowing.

• Punjabi

  Punjabi does the same substitution with an aspirated dental stop, which stops the air instead of letting it hiss out.

• Bengali

  Bengali uses a dental t for th, so 'three' starts like 'tree' with the tongue behind the teeth rather than between them.

• Tamil

  Tamil has a dental t that stands in for th, so the airflow stops where English wants continuous friction.

• Mandarin

  Mandarin has no th, so /s/ is the usual substitute and 'think' becomes 'sink'.

• Cantonese

  Cantonese typically replaces th with /f/, so 'three' becomes 'free' and 'thin' becomes 'fin'.

• Japanese

  Japanese has no th, so /s/ takes its place and 'thank' can sound like 'sank'.

• Korean

  Korean substitutes /s/ for th as well, so the friction happens at the ridge instead of at the teeth.

• Vietnamese

  Vietnamese has a dental t but no th fricative, so the sound stops rather than hisses.

• Thai

  Thai replaces th with /t/, so 'thin' and 'tin' are the same word until the tongue moves to the teeth.

• Spanish

  European Spanish has this exact sound in 'cinco', so it is already available; most Latin American varieties do not, and use /s/ or /t/ instead.

• French

  French has no th; /s/ or /t/ takes over, so 'thought' can arrive as 'sought' or 'taught'.

• German

  German has no th either, and /s/ is the usual replacement, so 'path' can end like 'pass'.

• Russian

  Russian speakers usually reach for /s/ or /t/, both of which keep the tongue behind the teeth.

• Arabic

  Modern Standard Arabic and the Gulf varieties have this sound, so it is available; Egyptian and Levantine varieties use /t/ or /s/ instead.