How to pronounce cause in American English
KAHZ
Start here
Americans pronounce cause as KAHZ (/kɔz/).
Now you try.
Record yourself saying "cause" and play it back. The mic stays on your device — nothing's uploaded.
Why it sounds different
Why "cause" sounds like KAHZ.
The "" at the end of "" flows directly into the vowel starting "" — the consonant migrates to the next word with no pause between. This is called the Consonant-to-Vowel Linking, how Americans glue words together so they sound like one phrase. It comes out as KAHZ.
In real conversation
Hear "cause" in the wild.
Click any sentence to see the full breakdown — every link, every reduction, every flap-T.
"Does the noise cause the boys to pause?"
duhz dhuh NOYZ KAHZ dhuh BOYZ tuh PAHZ
"Genetic mutations can sometimes cause inherited diseases."
juh·NEH·duhk myoo·TAY·shuhnz kuhn suhm·TAHYMZ KAHZ uhn·HAIR·uh·tuhd dih·ZEE·zuhz
"I never intended to cause you any pain or distress."
ahy NEH·ver uhn·TEHN·duhd tuh KAHZ yoo EH·nee PAYN er duh·STREHS
"The police are investigating the cause."
dhuh puh·LEES er ihn·VEH·stuh·gay·duhng dhuh KAHZ
Questions
Questions people ask about this.
Is the American pronunciation of "cause" 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 "KAHZ" reflects the casual American form; British dictionaries typically print a citation form with crisper consonants and different vowel choices.
Stop reading about "cause". Start saying it.
SayWaader is the AI pronunciation coach for American English. Practice 5 minutes a day. Get a 5-axes accent assessment. Sound like you live here.