Accent's Way Magazine

#15

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Tuesday and Thursday

Days of the week is probably one of the first few things we learn in school. But wouldn’t it have been nice if we had also learned how to say it and not just how to write it?…

Today’s lesson is about how to pronounce the days Tuesday and Thursday.
Although they look similar, they definitely don’t sound the same…

Tuesday & Thursday:

TRANSCRIPT

Hi! It’s Hadar, and this is the Accent’s Way.

Your way to finding clarity, confidence and freedom in English.

I got a question from Erica on how to pronounce the difference between ‘Tuesday’ and ‘Thursday’.

So although I agree both words look the same on the page, they sound quite differently. So let’s understand the difference between those two words.

Let’s begin with the word ‘Tuesday’. ‘Tues-day’. It begins with T sound and then an U – Tuw, Tuw. Just like the word ‘two’. Two-sday, Two-sday.

You can also say ‘Tuesday’. That’s totally fine. Tuw-sday or T(y)uw-sday. You hear the difference? There is a little ‘y’ sound in the second one.

And then we have ‘Thursday’. Notice, the first word begins with ‘tuw’, and here we begin with the ‘th’, so you stick the tongue out for the ‘th’.

You allow air to pass between the tongue and teeth, and then you shift directly to the R: ‘th’r’, ‘th’r’. And although there is a U letter, that ‘u’ letter there in the middle, we disregard it, we shift
directly from the ‘th’ to the ‘r’: ‘th’r’ ‘th’r’.

Tuesday – Thursday. Obviously both words end the same, so the difference is in the beginning: ‘tuw-zday’ – th’r-zday’. “Am I going to see you on Tuesday? No, I’m coming on Thursday”. Thursday.

And another question I often get is how to remember which one’s which, alright. So my recommendation is that since the word Tuesday is a little easier to pronounce, right – Tuesday – then it’s earlier in the week, right. It’s just, you know, you’re pretty much relaxed from the weekend, the week is still ahead of you. Tuesday.

And then later on in the week you’re already tired and it’s a heavier pronunciation, you have the TH there and the R, you have to practice this word a little more. Thursday.

Alright? Earlier in the week, lighter – Tuesday. Later in the week, heavier – Thursday. Now, I know it’s silly. If it doesn’t work for you then forget about it. But, you know, it helps me and my students. So, there you go.

All right, that’s it. Thank you for watching. Please subscribe if you liked this video, and come on over to my website to get more great content.

Alright, I’ll see you next week in the next video. Bye.


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2 Responses

    1. Hey, thanks! I’ll try to make a video on these words soon. But in the meantime, if you find these pairs similar, that’s because you’re probably pronouncing the /TH/ as /F/. Make sure that your tongue comes out for the /TH/ and that your bottom lip is not engaged!

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