b/b/
Press your lips together, add vocal cord vibration, then release.
How to pronounce business in American English
BIHZ·nuhs
Start here
Americans pronounce business as BIHZ-nuhs (/ˈbɪznəs/). Stress falls on the first syllable — keep everything else short and quick. You'll hear it in sentences like "This is a big risk for his business" or "It's a very busy season for our business" — more examples below.
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Sound by sound
Every sound in "business".
2 syllables, 6 sounds. Tap a syllable to jump to its row, then explore each sound's mouth shape and how it's made.
ih/ɪ/
Drop your jaw slightly with relaxed lips. Touch the tongue tip behind the bottom front teeth and arch the top-front toward the roof.
z/z/
Same position as S, but add vocal cord vibration. Feel the buzz.
n/n/
Touch the tip or front edge of your tongue to the roof of your mouth behind your teeth. Air flows through your nose.
uh/ʌ/
Relax your lips, jaw, and tongue completely. Drop your jaw slightly and keep the tongue neutral.
s/s/
Place your tongue tip near the roof of your mouth behind your top teeth. Push air through the narrow gap. No voicing.
In real conversation
Hear "business" in the wild.
Click any sentence to see the full breakdown — every link, every reduction, every flap-T.
"He filed for bankruptcy after his business failed completely."
hee FAHYLD fer BANG·kruhp·see AF·ter hihz BIHZ·nuhs FAYLD kuhm·PLEET·lee
"It's a very busy season for our business."
ihts uh VEH·ree BIH·zee SEE·zuhn fer owr BIHZ·nuhs
"The bread and butter business is booming."
dhuh BREHD and BUH·der BIHZ·nuhs ihz BOO·muhng
"The typical citizen is busy with illicit business."
dhuh TIH·puh·kuhl SIH·duh·zuhn ihz BIH·zee wihth ih·LIH·suht BIHZ·nuhs
"This is a big risk for his business."
dhihs ihz uh BIHG RIHSK fer hihz BIHZ·nuhs
"We look forward to a long and mutually beneficial business relationship."
wee LUUK FOR·werd tuh uh lahng and MYOO·choo·uh·lee beh·nuh·FIH·shuhl BIHZ·nuhs ree·LAY·shuhn·shihp
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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 first syllable, not the others. Stretch BIHZ — keep everything else short and quick.
bihz·NUHS→BIHZ·nuhs
02
Pronouncing the unstressed 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.
BIHZ·NUHS→BIHZ·nuhs
Questions
Questions people ask about this.
How is "business" stressed in American English?
Stress falls on the first syllable — say "BIHZ" with a longer, fuller vowel and keep every other syllable short and quick. The respell "BIHZ-nuhs" marks the stressed syllable in capitals so the rhythm is easy to read at a glance.
Why does the second syllable in "business" 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 "BIHZ-nuhs" shows the reduced form so you can hear the casual rhythm directly.
Is the American pronunciation of "business" 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 "BIHZ-nuhs" reflects the casual American form; British dictionaries typically print a citation form with crisper consonants and different vowel choices.
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