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How to Pronounce “debt”

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The b is silent. There is no /b/ sound in “debt”. The b was inserted into the spelling by Renaissance scholars to show the Latin ancestry of the word; it was never pronounced in English.

Silent K and Ghost Consonants — Why Knee Has No K

Every kn- word once had an audible k. The history behind English’s silent consonants, and the pattern that makes them reappear.

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