k/k/
Raise the back of your tongue to touch the soft palate (velum). Stop the air, then release.
How to pronounce caused in American English
KAHZD
Start here
Americans pronounce caused as KAHZD (/kɔzd/). You'll hear it in sentences like "The explosion caused an unusual erosion" or "The social issue caused a crucial crash" — more examples below.
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Record yourself saying "caused" and play it back. The mic stays on your device — nothing's uploaded.
Sound by sound
Every sound in "caused".
1 syllable, 4 sounds. Explore each sound's mouth shape and how it's made.
ah/ɑ/
Relax your lips and drop your jaw significantly. The tongue tip lightly touches behind the bottom front teeth and the back part of the tongue presses down a little to create more dark space in the back of the mouth.
z/z/
Same position as S, but add vocal cord vibration. Feel the buzz.
d/d/
Touch the tip of your tongue to the roof of your mouth just behind your teeth. Add vocal cord vibration as you release.
In real conversation
Hear "caused" in the wild.
Click any sentence to see the full breakdown — every link, every reduction, every flap-T.
"Confusion and illusion caused a collision."
kuhn·FYOO·zhuhn and uh·LOO·zhuhn KAHZD uh kuh·LIH·zhuhn
"He is liable for the damages caused by his negligence."
hee ihz LAHY·uh·buhl fer dhuh DA·muh·juhz KAHZD bahy hihz NEH·gluh·juhns
"I am truly sorry for the inconvenience that I have caused you."
ahy am TROO·lee SAH·ree fer dhee uhn·kuhn·VEEN·yuhns dhuht ahy hav KAHZD yoo
"Please accept my apologies for any inconvenience this may have caused."
PLEEZ uhk·SEHPT mahy uh·PAH·luh·jeez fer EH·nee uhn·kuhn·VEEN·yuhns DHIHS MAY huhv KAHZD
"The awful sauce caused a pause in the applause."
dhee AH·fuhl SAHS KAHZD uh PAHZ ihn dhee uh·PLAHZ
"The chaotic character caused a crack in the case."
dhuh kay·AH·duhk KEH·ruhk·ter KAHZD uh KRAK ihn dhuh KAYS
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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
Releasing the final consonant with a puff of air.
In "caused", the "d" is not released — the articulators get into position but hold without the burst of air. Air stops but there's no release burst — the articulators hold position.
caused→KAHZD
Questions
Questions people ask about this.
Is the American pronunciation of "caused" 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 "KAHZD" reflects the casual American form; British dictionaries typically print a citation form with crisper consonants and different vowel choices.
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