uh/ʌ/
Relax your lips, jaw, and tongue completely. Drop your jaw slightly and keep the tongue neutral.
How to pronounce approaches in American English
uh·PROH·chuhz
Start here
Americans pronounce approaches as uh-PROH-chuhz (/əˈproʊʧəz/). Stress falls on the second syllable — keep everything else short and quick. You'll hear it in sentences like "Let's delegate these action items before the deadline approaches".
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Sound by sound
Every sound in "approaches".
3 syllables, 7 sounds. Tap a syllable to jump to its row, then explore each sound's mouth shape and how it's made.
p/p/
Press your lips together to stop the air, then release. No vocal cord vibration.
r/r/
Curl or bunch your tongue without letting the tip touch the roof of your mouth. Brace the sides of your tongue against your upper back teeth, and round your lips slightly.
oh/oʊ/
Start with your mouth slightly open, then close your jaw slightly as your lips round. Shift your tongue back slightly, then stretch the back up.
ch/tʃ/
Touch the front of your tongue to the roof of your mouth, then release into a 'sh' position. Flare your lips.
uh/ʌ/
Relax your lips, jaw, and tongue completely. Drop your jaw slightly and keep the tongue neutral.
z/z/
Same position as S, but add vocal cord vibration. Feel the buzz.
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Watch out
Common pronunciation mistakes in American English.
The textbook way isn't wrong — it's just not how anyone actually says it.
01
Stressing the wrong syllable.
Stress falls on the second syllable, not the others. Stretch PROH — keep everything else short and quick.
UH·proh·CHUHZ→uh·PROH·chuhz
02
Pronouncing the first syllable too fully.
Don't pronounce the first syllable too fully. The unstressed syllable reduces to a schwa — the lazy "uh" sound — in casual speech.
UH·PROH·chuhz→uh·PROH·chuhz
Questions
Questions people ask about this.
How is "approaches" stressed in American English?
Stress falls on the second syllable — say "PROH" with a longer, fuller vowel and keep every other syllable short and quick. The respell "uh-PROH-chuhz" marks the stressed syllable in capitals so the rhythm is easy to read at a glance.
Why does the first syllable in "approaches" reduce to "uh"?
Unstressed syllables in American English collapse toward a schwa — a lazy, neutral "uh" sound. The full vowel is what textbooks teach, but in actual American speech every unstressed vowel reduces. The respell "uh-PROH-chuhz" shows the reduced form so you can hear the casual rhythm directly.
Is the American pronunciation of "approaches" different from British English?
American English uses different vowel shapes, a relaxed retroflex R, and connected-speech tricks like flap-T and glottal-stop T that British Received Pronunciation generally avoids. The respell "uh-PROH-chuhz" reflects the casual American form; British dictionaries typically print a citation form with crisper consonants and different vowel choices.
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