The /θ/ Sound, Voiceless Dental Fricative
/θ/
/θ/ is a voiceless dental fricative. To make it, the tip of the tongue touches the upper front teeth and the air is pushed through a narrow gap, which makes friction. It is voiceless, so the vocal folds do not vibrate.
Often called the voiceless th sound.
Example Words
| Word | UK | US | |
|---|---|---|---|
| thin | /θɪn/ | /θɪn/ | Syllables · Pronounce |
| birthday | /ˈbɜːθ.deɪ/ | /ˈbɝːθ.deɪ/ | Syllables · Pronounce |
| bath | /bɑːθ/ | /bæθ/ | Syllables · Pronounce |
Distinctive Features
/θ/ is told apart from every other English sound by three distinctive features.
Allophones Of /θ/
/θ/ has 1 allophone in the app, starting with [θʷ], a consonant immediately before /w/ or a rounded vowel. The full list, where each occurs and the examples are in Allophones, which opens with any course or with Adroit Plus.
Words With The /θ/ Sound
/θ/ At The Start Of A Word
- thaw
- thin
- thank
- theft
- theme
- thick
- thief
- thigh
- thing
- think
- third
- thorn
- three
- threw
- throw
- thumb
- thump
- thanks
- thatch
- theory
- thesis
- thirst
- thirty
- thrash
- thread
- threat
- thrill
- thrive
- throat
- throne
/θ/ In The Middle Of A Word
- ethic
- maths
- anthem
- author
- bathos
- ethnic
- filthy
- gothic
- lethal
- method
- pathos
- python
- atheist
- athlete
- brothel
- healthy
- nothing
- panther
- wealthy
- anything
- athletic
- bathroom
- birthday
- eolithic
- hawthorn
- marathon
- mothball
- mythical
- orthodox
- pathetic
/θ/ At The End Of A Word
- bath
- both
- moth
- myth
- oath
- path
- pith
- birth
- broth
- cloth
- death
- depth
- earth
- faith
- fifth
- froth
- girth
- heath
- month
- ninth
- north
- sixth
- south
- teeth
- tenth
- tooth
- truth
- width
- worth
- wrath
Minimal Pairs
Minimal Pairs /θ/ And /s/ (Think And Sink)Minimal Pairs /θ/ And /t/ (Thin And Tin)Minimal Pairs /θ/ And /f/ (Three And Free)
Questions Students Ask
Is /θ/ voiced or voiceless?
/θ/ is voiceless.
What is the place of articulation of /θ/?
/θ/ is dental, which means the tip of the tongue touches the upper front teeth.
What is the manner of articulation of /θ/?
/θ/ is a fricative, which means the air is pushed through a narrow gap, which makes friction.
Which words have the /θ/ sound?
For example thin, birthday, bath.
Related Sounds
The /f/ Sound, Voiceless Labio-Dental FricativeThe /v/ Sound, Voiced Labio-Dental FricativeThe /ð/ Sound, Voiced Dental FricativeThe /s/ Sound, Voiceless Alveolar FricativeThe /z/ Sound, Voiced Alveolar FricativeThe /ʃ/ Sound, Voiceless Palato-Alveolar FricativeThe /ʒ/ Sound, Voiced Palato-Alveolar FricativeThe /h/ Sound, Voiceless Glottal Fricative