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.
How to pronounce diseases in American English
dih·ZEE·zuhz
Start here
Americans pronounce diseases as dih-ZEE-zuhz (/dɪˈzizəz/). Stress falls on the second syllable — keep everything else short and quick. You'll hear it in sentences like "Genetic mutations can sometimes cause inherited diseases" or "She studies epidemiology to track the spread of diseases" — more examples below.
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Sound by sound
Every sound in "diseases".
3 syllables, 7 sounds. Tap a syllable to jump to its row, then explore each sound's mouth shape and how it's made.
ih/ɪ/
Drop your jaw slightly with relaxed lips. Touch the tongue tip behind the bottom front teeth and arch the top-front toward the roof.
z/z/
Same position as S, but add vocal cord vibration. Feel the buzz.
ee/i/
Pull the corners of your lips back slightly. Arch the middle-front of your tongue high toward the roof of the mouth.
z/z/
Same position as S, but add vocal cord vibration. Feel the buzz.
uh/ʌ/
Relax your lips, jaw, and tongue completely. Drop your jaw slightly and keep the tongue neutral.
z/z/
Same position as S, but add vocal cord vibration. Feel the buzz.
In real conversation
Hear "diseases" in the wild.
Click any sentence to see the full breakdown — every link, every reduction, every flap-T.
"Genetic mutations can sometimes cause inherited diseases."
juh·NEH·duhk myoo·TAY·shuhnz kuhn suhm·TAHYMZ KAHZ uhn·HAIR·uh·tuhd dih·ZEE·zuhz
"Genetics plays a significant role in susceptibility to certain diseases."
juh·NEH·dihks PLAYZ uh suhg·NIH·fuh·kuhnt ROHL ihn suh·sehp·tuh·BIH·luh·tee tuh SUR·tuhn dih·ZEE·zuhz
"She studies epidemiology to track the spread of diseases."
shee STUH·deez eh·puh·dee·mee·AH·luh·jee tuh TRAK dhuh SPREHD uhv dih·ZEE·zuhz
"Vaccines have been instrumental in eradicating many deadly diseases."
VAK·seenz huhv bihn ihn·struh·MEHN·tuhl ihn uh·RA·duh·kay·duhng MEH·nee DEHD·lee dih·ZEE·zuhz
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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 ZEE — keep everything else short and quick.
DIH·zee·ZUHZ→dih·ZEE·zuhz
02
Pronouncing the unstressed syllable too fully.
Don't pronounce the second syllable too fully. The unstressed syllable reduces to a schwa — the lazy "uh" sound — in casual speech.
dih·ZEE·ZUHZ→dih·ZEE·zuhz
Questions
Questions people ask about this.
How is "diseases" stressed in American English?
Stress falls on the second syllable — say "ZEE" with a longer, fuller vowel and keep every other syllable short and quick. The respell "dih-ZEE-zuhz" marks the stressed syllable in capitals so the rhythm is easy to read at a glance.
Why does the third syllable in "diseases" 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 "dih-ZEE-zuhz" shows the reduced form so you can hear the casual rhythm directly.
Is the American pronunciation of "diseases" 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 "dih-ZEE-zuhz" reflects the casual American form; British dictionaries typically print a citation form with crisper consonants and different vowel choices.
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