I should know because I am British. The key in pronouncing cheetah properly is to make sure the second syllable is pronounced ‘tuh’ and not ‘ter’. The first syllable is clear: ‘chee’. My recording is in ‘received pronunciation’ or the standard form of British English pronunciation, based on educated speech in southern England, widely accepted as a standard elsewhere.
It is very easy to lazily say ‘cheeter’ which sounds like ‘cheater’ (from the verb ‘to cheat’). This happens when using software which transforms the dictated word to written text.
This software struggles with the word ‘cheetah’, as arguably most people don’t really enunciate the word clearly. The problem is the second syllable.
How the British pronounce ‘cheetah’
If you want to hear the word ‘cheetah’ said by a British person and in sentences please click the link above. You will be taken to an audio file on a new page but this page remains open. You can return to it by clicking the tab (desktop) and the back button (phone).
Also, below I pronounce the Latin, scientific name for the cheetah: Acinonyx jubatus. Please click on the link to hear it spoken.
