k/k/
Raise the back of your tongue to touch the soft palate (velum). Stop the air, then release.
How to pronounce comes in American English
kuhmz
Start here
Americans pronounce comes as kuhmz (/kʌmz/). You'll hear it in sentences like "The bus comes once every hour" or "The new model comes in black, white, and silver" — more examples below.
Now you try.
Record yourself saying "comes" and play it back. The mic stays on your device — nothing's uploaded.
Sound by sound
Every sound in "comes".
1 syllable, 4 sounds. Explore each sound's mouth shape and how it's made.
uh/ʌ/
Relax your lips, jaw, and tongue completely. Drop your jaw slightly and keep the tongue neutral.
m/m/
Press your lips together. Air flows through your nose. Vocal cords vibrate.
z/z/
Same position as S, but add vocal cord vibration. Feel the buzz.
In real conversation
Hear "comes" in the wild.
Click any sentence to see the full breakdown — every link, every reduction, every flap-T.
"I love the cool breeze that comes in during autumn evenings."
ahy LUHV dhuh KOOL BREEZ dhuht kuhmz ihn DUUR·uhng AH·duhm EEV·nuhngz
"The bus comes once every hour."
dhuh BUHS kuhmz WUHNS EHV·ree OW·er
"The main course comes with a choice of soup, salad, or fries."
dhuh MAYN KORS kuhmz wihth uh CHOYS uhv SOOP SA·luhd or FRAHYZ
"The new model comes in black, white, and silver."
dhuh noo MAH·duhl kuhmz ihn BLAK WAHYT and SIHL·ver
Find another
Looking for a different word or sentence?
Search the entire library
/
Press / anywhere to focus the search box.
Watch out
Common pronunciation mistakes in American English.
The textbook way isn't wrong — it's just not how anyone actually says it.
01
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.
KUHMZ→kuhmz
Questions
Questions people ask about this.
Is the American pronunciation of "comes" 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 "kuhmz" reflects the casual American form; British dictionaries typically print a citation form with crisper consonants and different vowel choices.
Stop reading about "comes". 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.