k/k/
Raise the back of your tongue to touch the soft palate (velum). Stop the air, then release.
How to pronounce conduct in American English
KAHN·duhkt
Start here
Americans pronounce conduct as KAHN-duhkt (/ˈkɑndʌkt/). Stress falls on the first syllable — keep everything else short and quick. You'll hear it in sentences like "The orchestra's conduct was exceptional" or "He will conduct an experiment in the lab" — more examples below.
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Sound by sound
Every sound in "conduct".
2 syllables, 7 sounds. Tap a syllable to jump to its row, then 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.
n/n/
Touch the tip or front edge of your tongue to the roof of your mouth behind your teeth. Air flows through your nose.
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.
uh/ʌ/
Relax your lips, jaw, and tongue completely. Drop your jaw slightly and keep the tongue neutral.
k/k/
Raise the back of your tongue to touch the soft palate (velum). Stop the air, then release.
t/t/
Touch the tip or front edge of your tongue to the roof of your mouth just behind your teeth. Keep your jaw relaxed. Stop the air, then release with a puff.
In real conversation
Hear "conduct" in the wild.
Click any sentence to see the full breakdown — every link, every reduction, every flap-T.
"He was benched for unsportsmanlike conduct during the match."
hee wuhz BEHNCHT fer uhn·SPORTS·muhn·lahyk KAHN·duhkt DUUR·uhng dhuh MACH
"He will conduct an experiment in the lab."
hee wihl kuhn·DUHKT uhn ihk·SPEH·ruh·muhnt ihn dhuh LAB
"She received a penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct."
shee ruh·SEEVD uh PEH·nuhl·tee fer uhn·SPORTS·muhn·lahyk KAHN·duhkt
"She was charged with theft and disorderly conduct."
shee wuhz CHARJD wihth THEHFT and duh·SOR·der·lee KAHN·duhkt
"We conduct regular inspections to ensure compliance with safety regulations."
wee kuhn·DUHKT REH·gyuh·ler ihn·SPEHK·shuhnz tuh uhn·SHUUR kuhm·PLAHY·uhns wihth SAYF·tee rehg·yuh·LAY·shuhnz
"The orchestra's conduct was exceptional."
dhee OR·kuh·struhz KAHN·duhkt wuhz uhk·SEHP·shuh·nuhl
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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 "conduct", the "t" 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.
conduct→KAHN·duhkt
02
Stressing the wrong syllable.
Stress falls on the first syllable, not the others. Stretch KAHN — keep everything else short and quick.
kahn·DUHKT→KAHN·duhkt
03
Pronouncing the unstressed 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.
KAHN·DUHKT→KAHN·duhkt
Questions
Questions people ask about this.
How is "conduct" stressed in American English?
Stress falls on the first syllable — say "KAHN" with a longer, fuller vowel and keep every other syllable short and quick. The respell "KAHN-duhkt" marks the stressed syllable in capitals so the rhythm is easy to read at a glance.
Why does the second syllable in "conduct" 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 "KAHN-duhkt" shows the reduced form so you can hear the casual rhythm directly.
Is the American pronunciation of "conduct" 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 "KAHN-duhkt" reflects the casual American form; British dictionaries typically print a citation form with crisper consonants and different vowel choices.
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