f/f/
Lift your bottom lip to touch the very bottom of your top front teeth. Blow air through this contact point without voicing.
How to pronounce focus in American English
FOH·kuhs
Start here
Americans pronounce focus as FOH-kuhs (/ˈfoʊkəs/). Stress falls on the first syllable — keep everything else short and quick. You'll hear it in sentences like "Focus on the basics of the science course" or "I listen to music while studying to help me focus" — more examples below.
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Sound by sound
Every sound in "focus".
2 syllables, 5 sounds. Tap a syllable to jump to its row, then explore each sound's mouth shape and how it's made.
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.
k/k/
Raise the back of your tongue to touch the soft palate (velum). Stop the air, then release.
uh/ʌ/
Relax your lips, jaw, and tongue completely. Drop your jaw slightly and keep the tongue neutral.
s/s/
Place your tongue tip near the roof of your mouth behind your top teeth. Push air through the narrow gap. No voicing.
In real conversation
Hear "focus" in the wild.
Click any sentence to see the full breakdown — every link, every reduction, every flap-T.
"Focus on the basics of the science course."
FOH·kuhs ahn dhuh BAY·suhks uhv dhuh SAHY·uhns KORS
"I developed better focus through regular mindfulness practice."
ahy duh·VEH·luhpt BEH·der FOH·kuhs throo REH·gyuh·ler MAHYND·fuhl·nuhs PRAK·tuhs
"I listen to music while studying to help me focus."
ahy LIH·suhn tuh MYOO·zuhk WAHYL STUH·dee·uhng tuh hehlp mee FOH·kuhs
"She practices meditation to improve her mental focus for sports."
shee PRAK·tuh·suhz meh·duh·TAY·shuhn tuh uhm·PROOV her MEHN·tuhl FOH·kuhs fer SPORTS
"The body paragraphs should each focus on a single main idea."
dhuh BAH·dee PAIR·uh·grafs shuud EECH FOH·kuhs ahn uh SIHNG·guhl MAYN ahy·DEE·uh
"She takes breaks every hour to maintain focus and productivity."
shee TAYKS BRAYKS EHV·ree OW·er tuh mayn·TAYN FOH·kuhs and proh·duhk·TIH·vuh·tee
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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 first syllable, not the others. Stretch FOH — keep everything else short and quick.
foh·KUHS→FOH·kuhs
02
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.
FOH·KUHS→FOH·kuhs
Questions
Questions people ask about this.
How is "focus" stressed in American English?
Stress falls on the first syllable — say "FOH" with a longer, fuller vowel and keep every other syllable short and quick. The respell "FOH-kuhs" marks the stressed syllable in capitals so the rhythm is easy to read at a glance.
Why does the second syllable in "focus" 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 "FOH-kuhs" shows the reduced form so you can hear the casual rhythm directly.
Is the American pronunciation of "focus" 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 "FOH-kuhs" reflects the casual American form; British dictionaries typically print a citation form with crisper consonants and different vowel choices.
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