Is there an app that checks my English pronunciation?

Yes. TonePerfect listens to you say an English word or sentence and scores the whole recording, each word and every sound (phoneme) inside each word from 0 to 100 against a standard American English reference, so you see exactly which sound was off: the th of think, the r and l of really, the vowel of ship. It works for any sentence you type, up to 120 characters, and it names the sounds that stay weak for you.

You can try it free on this page, in the browser, with no signup, or take the free five-word English pronunciation test and the English accent test. The TonePerfect app (iOS, Android and web) does the same for lessons, reviews of your weakest sounds and any text you type. ELSA Speak and BoldVoice are popular alternatives; what each one does is described below.

Updated · Written by TonePerfect, which makes the app described here.

Download onApp StoreDownload onGoogle Play
0/120

Or try one of these

Enter some text, then record

What it checks

  • English: every phoneme of every word, and the sounds that stay weak for you are named.
  • TonePerfect aligns your recording with the text you were asked to say and scores the whole recording, each word and each individual sound inside each word, from 0 to 100.
  • You read a known text (a test prompt or anything you type), so the score describes how you said exactly those words.
  • Your weakest sounds are ranked, so you know what to practise first.
  • The reference is standard American English, with no British or other accent setting. The sounds learners most often miss (th, r and l, v and w, ship and sheep, final consonants) work the same way in both accents.
The quiet 'th' (think)
The tongue tip touches the bottom edge of the top teeth and the air flows over it; no voice, and the tongue never taps.
The buzzing 'th' (this)
The same tongue-behind-the-teeth position as in 'think', with the voice buzzing through it.
The English 'r' (red)
The tongue curls back or bunches up in the middle of the mouth and touches nothing at all, while the lips round a little.
The 'l' sound (love)
The tongue tip touches the ridge behind the top teeth and the voice flows around the sides of the tongue.
The short vowel in 'sit'
Short and loose: the tongue sits a little lower than in 'see' and the whole mouth stays relaxed.
The long vowel in 'see'
Long and tight: the tongue is high and forward and the lips spread as if smiling.
The vowel in 'cat'
The jaw drops low while the tongue stays forward; it is the widest, flattest of the front vowels.
The 'w' sound (we)
Round the lips into a small circle, then slide straight into the vowel; the lips move, the teeth stay away from the lip.
The 'v' sound (van)
Top teeth on the lower lip as in 'fun', but the voice buzzes through the gap and the sound can be held.
The quiet vowel in 'about' (schwa)
The smallest, quietest vowel in English: the mouth barely moves and the tongue simply rests in the middle.
The 'er' vowel (bird, better)
The tongue bunches or curls back in the middle of the mouth without touching anything, and the r quality runs through the whole vowel.
The 'ng' sound (sing)
The back of the tongue rests on the roof of the mouth and the voice goes out through the nose; nothing is released at the end.

What it does not do

  • It does not return a transcript of what you said.
  • It does not tell you which sound it thought you said instead of the expected one. The exception is Mandarin tones, where it shows which tone it heard.
  • It does not give an exam grade, or a CEFR, HSK, JLPT or TOPIK level.
  • It does not score sentence intonation, sentence stress or Japanese pitch accent.

What makes any automatic check less reliable

  • Background noise, music or other voices.
  • A clipped start, when the recording begins after you have started speaking.
  • Whispering, which has no voiced pitch to measure.
  • Very fast connected speech, where words and syllables run into each other.

How to check any English pronunciation checker in two minutes

  1. Go somewhere quiet, hold the microphone close and speak at normal volume.
  2. Record think with a real th: the tip of your tongue lightly against your top teeth, air flowing over it.
  3. Record think again with an s, so it sounds like sink.
  4. A checker that hears English sounds must score the th lower in the second take. If both takes score the same, it is not judging that sound.
  5. Do the same with ship said with the long vowel of sheep, and very said like berry: the vowel and the v should lose points.
  6. Repeat each take three times. One take can be off; the pattern over three takes is what counts.
  7. To run it on TonePerfect, type the words into the recorder at the top of this page.

Other ways to get feedback on your English

  • ELSA Speak. An English pronunciation app for iOS and Android with AI feedback on your sounds and word stress, a choice of accents including American, British and Australian, and IELTS and TOEFL practice. It has a free plan with daily limits.
  • BoldVoice. An accent-training app for iOS and Android built around the American accent: sound-by-sound AI analysis plus stress and clarity, with video lessons from accent coaches. It offers a free trial rather than a free plan.
  • A teacher or tutor. Hears everything, including the intonation and rhythm that no checker scores, and can explain what to change. Only available during lessons, and paid by the hour (for example on italki or Preply).
  • Recording yourself next to native audio. Free and always available: YouGlish plays any word inside real videos, filtered by American, British or Australian speakers. You are the judge, which works once your ear can already hear the difference.
  • Your phone’s dictation. Dictate in English. If the right text comes out, you were understood. It is free, but speech recognition guesses words from context, so it forgives many mistakes and never says which sound was off.

Questions

Does it check American or British pronunciation?+

It scores against a standard American English reference and has no accent setting. The sounds that most often make learners hard to understand (th, r and l, v and w, the vowels of ship and sheep, final consonants) are the same in both accents. If you need a British target, ELSA Speak lets you choose a British accent.

Can I check a whole sentence?+

Yes. Type any English sentence of up to 120 characters into the recorder, here or on the English pronunciation checker, say it, and you get a score for the sentence, each word and each sound, with the weakest sound named. Check a longer text one sentence at a time.

Does it check intonation and word stress?+

No. TonePerfect scores the sounds you make; there is no intonation, stress or rhythm score. For those, compare your recording with native speakers on YouGlish or work with a tutor.

How is it different from ELSA Speak or BoldVoice?+

ELSA Speak and BoldVoice are English accent-training courses with lessons: ELSA offers several accents and exam practice, BoldVoice coach videos for an American accent. TonePerfect is a per-sound checker you can use free in the browser on any sentence without signing up, and its app covers seven more languages with the same scoring.

Is TonePerfect free?+

Partly. The pronunciation tests on toneperfect.app are free and need no account, and the app has a free tier with daily limits; Premium is a paid subscription.

Which devices does TonePerfect work on?+

TonePerfect runs on iPhone and iPad (App Store), Android (Google Play) and the web at web.toneperfect.app, and the free tests on toneperfect.app work in a phone or desktop browser once you allow the microphone.

What happens to my recordings?+

It depends on where you record. On toneperfect.app, the free browser tests and tools use your recording to compute your score, and TonePerfect does not store it unless you are signed in, have confirmed you are an adult and have turned on “contribute recordings to research”. In the TonePerfect app, scored recordings are saved with your account until you delete the account.

How accurate is TonePerfect?+

TonePerfect has not published an accuracy figure. Its scores are a practice signal for comparing your own recordings over time and finding your weakest sounds, not a certification or an exam grade.

Free tools

The TonePerfect app turns the sounds you miss into a few minutes of daily practice. Free to start.

Get the app