k/k/
Raise the back of your tongue to touch the soft palate (velum). Stop the air, then release.
How to pronounce composed in American English
kuhm·POHZD
Start here
Americans pronounce composed as kuhm-POHZD (/kəmˈpoʊzd/). Stress falls on the second syllable — keep everything else short and quick. You'll hear it in sentences like "The atmosphere is composed of nitrogen, oxygen, and other gases" or "The team is composed of developers, designers, and a project manager" — more examples below.
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Sound by sound
Every sound in "composed".
2 syllables, 7 sounds. Tap a syllable to jump to its row, then 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.
p/p/
Press your lips together to stop the air, then release. No vocal cord vibration.
oh/oʊ/
Start with your mouth slightly open, then close your jaw slightly as your lips round. Shift your tongue back slightly, then stretch the back up.
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 "composed" in the wild.
Click any sentence to see the full breakdown — every link, every reduction, every flap-T.
"The atmosphere is composed of nitrogen, oxygen, and other gases."
dhee AT·muhs·feer ihz kuhm·POHZD uhv NAHY·truh·juhn AHK·suh·juhn and UH·dher GA·suhz
"The team is composed of developers, designers, and a project manager."
dhuh TEEM ihz kuhm·POHZD uhv duh·VEH·luh·perz duh·ZAHY·nerz and uh PRAH·jehkt MA·nuh·jer
"Water molecules are composed of two hydrogen atoms and one oxygen atom."
WAH·der MAH·luh·kyoolz er kuhm·POHZD uhv TOO HAHY·druh·juhn A·duhmz and wuhn AHK·suh·juhn A·duhm
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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 second syllable, not the others. Stretch POHZD — keep everything else short and quick.
KUHM·pohzd→kuhm·POHZD
02
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.
KUHM·POHZD→kuhm·POHZD
Questions
Questions people ask about this.
How is "composed" stressed in American English?
Stress falls on the second syllable — say "POHZD" with a longer, fuller vowel and keep every other syllable short and quick. The respell "kuhm-POHZD" marks the stressed syllable in capitals so the rhythm is easy to read at a glance.
Why does the first syllable in "composed" 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 "kuhm-POHZD" shows the reduced form so you can hear the casual rhythm directly.
Is the American pronunciation of "composed" 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 "kuhm-POHZD" reflects the casual American form; British dictionaries typically print a citation form with crisper consonants and different vowel choices.
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