Unit 15: Dental Consonants

Unit 15 — Dental Fricatives /θ/ and /ð/

These two sounds are widely considered the hardest pair in English pronunciation. Both are made the same way — the only difference is voicing.

Core technique — tongue between teeth:

• Place the tip of your tongue lightly between the upper and lower front teeth (or just behind the upper teeth).
• Blow a gentle, steady stream of air across the tongue.
• For /θ/ — no voice (think, bath, thank).
• For /ð/ — vocal cords vibrate (this, that, bathe).

Common substitutions to AVOID:

• /θ/ → /s/, /t/, or /f/ (think sounding like sink, tink, or fink).
• /ð/ → /d/ or /z/ (this sounding like dis or zis).

The fix is visual and physical: practice in front of a mirror so you can see your tongue tip emerge between the teeth. If your tongue stays hidden, the sound will collapse into a different consonant.