How to pronounce cove in American English

IPA /koʊv/ Syllables 1 · kohv Stress 1st syllable

KOHV

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Americans pronounce cove as KOHV (/koʊv/). You'll hear it in sentences like "Have you ever visited the cave in the cove?".

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Sound by sound

Every sound in "cove".

1 syllable, 3 sounds. Explore each sound's mouth shape and how it's made.

k/k/

Raise the back of your tongue to touch the soft palate (velum). Stop the air, then release.

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.

v/v/

Lift your bottom lip so its inner edge (where the wet part meets the dry part) touches the very bottom of your top front teeth. Add vocal cord vibration as you blow air through.

In real conversation

Hear "cove" in the wild.

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"Have you ever visited the cave in the cove?"

hav yoo EH·ver VIH·zuh·tuhd dhuh KAYV ihn dhuh KOHV

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Questions

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Is the American pronunciation of "cove" 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 "KOHV" reflects the casual American form; British dictionaries typically print a citation form with crisper consonants and different vowel choices.