How to pronounce caused in American English

IPA /kɔzd/ Syllables 1 · kahzd Stress 1st syllable

KAHZD

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Americans pronounce caused as KAHZD (/kɔzd/).

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Sounds

75%

Clarity

68%

Stress

78%

Intonation

65%

Fluency

62%

Overall assessment

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72% Noticeable accent

Common mistakes

Releasing the final consonant with a puff of air.

In "caused", the "" 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.

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Why it sounds different

Why "caused" sounds like KAHZD.

In "caused", the "" is not released — the articulators get into position but hold without the burst of air. This is called the Unreleased Stops, a hallmark of natural-sounding American speech. It comes out as KAHZD.

In real conversation

Hear "caused" in the wild.

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"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

Watch out

Common pronunciation mistakes in American English.

The textbook way isn't wrong — it's just not how anyone actually says it.

Releasing the final consonant with a puff of air.

In "caused", the "" 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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Common mistakes

Releasing the final consonant with a puff of air.

Why "caused" sounds like KAHZD.

Hear "caused" in the wild.

Words that work the same way.

Common pronunciation mistakes in American English.

Releasing the final consonant with a puff of air.

Questions people ask about this.

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