Ok, so the True T. This is probably the traditional T sound that most people think about. Imagine in words like time, table, take, took, etc. But this sound is not as easy as it seems. 

So, to produce the true T, the tip of your tongue. That is this part right here. The very tip. Is going to touch your alveolar ridge, the roof of your mouth just behind your teeth. And then you are also releasing air, which we call aspirating. 

But to simplify things, it is just the TUH - TUH sound. Ok? Good. 

So, first, this sound is a little bit different that the way you think about the T sound in Portuguese. In Portuguese you actually produce your T sounds with the blade of your tongue, which is this part, right here. More in the middle of your mouth. 

So think about the word, um, todos. I am not saying, “todos.” That is why when you hear gringos speaking Portuguese, a lot of times it sounds really strange because they are producing the t sound with the tip of their tongue. 

So the true T normally occurs at the beginning of words like: 

• Time

• Take

• Took

• Tom

• Timid

As always there are a lot of exceptions. So for example, the TR. Then we are making the CH sound. Almost like the CH sound. Like true, tree, train, etc. Nothing to do with the true T. 

We also see the true T in the middle of words when there is a stress. So I know that sounds a little complicated, but it almost always happens naturally. So for example, think about the words: 

• Attack

• Interrogate

• September

• October

Right? 

So, the important things to remember about the true are: you are producing this sound with the tip of your tongue, and the True T occurs at the beginning of words, but there are some exceptions. 

And last but not least, just to confuse you even more, the true T is probably the least common T sound that we will study. But that is for later in this section. So let’s take a look at the flap T and the stop T and then do some training.