Lessons Unit 1, lesson 29
k as in kid
One consonant, on its own page. Hear it, watch where it sits in each word's sheet, then say the words yourself.
What do the marks mean?
Want the full walkthrough? Read the map explains every mark, with practice.
kk as in cat
The back of your tongue rises to the roof of your mouth, then releases: k. Like a tiny cough, made on purpose.
Now say it yourself
Read each word from its sheet, out loud, three times. Where there's a play button, listen first and copy what you hear. Slow is fine — speaking clearly matters more than speaking fast. Tap a word's microphone to record yourself and see which sounds landed.
Check your pronunciation, on this device. The first use downloads a small AI listener (about 40 MB, one time, then it's cached). Your voice is analyzed here in your browser — it never leaves your device.
K's hidden puff of breath
Like t and p, a word-starting k carries a burst of breath in American English. Say kid or cat and check for a puff of air right after the tongue releases from the roof of your mouth.
Skip that puff and cot can sound closer to got to a listener, even if your tongue placement was already correct.
One sound, many spellings
The k sound hides behind several letters — c in cat and cup, k in kid, ck in book, even qu in queen. Don't let the spelling fool you into changing your tongue position.
In milk and ox, the sound sits at the back of the mouth without any extra puff — save the aspiration for the start of a word.
A quick self-test: hold a hand near your mouth for calm and cot. If you feel no puff at all on either, your tongue release may be too soft to count as a real k.