uh/ʌ/
Relax your lips, jaw, and tongue completely. Drop your jaw slightly and keep the tongue neutral.
How to pronounce includes in American English
uhn·KLOODZ
Start here
Americans pronounce includes as uhn-KLOODZ (/ənˈkludz/). Stress falls on the second syllable — keep everything else short and quick. You'll hear it in sentences like "The deal includes favorable terms for future collaborations" or "My morning routine includes meditation and a healthy breakfast" — more examples below.
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Sound by sound
Every sound in "includes".
2 syllables, 7 sounds. Tap a syllable to jump to its row, then explore each sound's mouth shape and how it's made.
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.
k/k/
Raise the back of your tongue to touch the soft palate (velum). Stop the air, then release.
l/l/
Place the tip of your tongue against the alveolar ridge just behind your top front teeth, the same contact point as /t/, /d/, and /n/. The difference is what happens to the air: for /l/, you let it flow continuously around the <em>sides</em> of the tongue (that's why /l/ is called a lateral). Turn your voice on the whole time. Lips stay relaxed, no rounding or flaring. For the Dark L variant at the end of a syllable, also pull the back of the tongue up and back toward the soft palate.
oo/u/
Round your lips into a tight circle. Let your tongue rest in the middle of your mouth, slightly raised.
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.
z/z/
Same position as S, but add vocal cord vibration. Feel the buzz.
In real conversation
Hear "includes" in the wild.
Click any sentence to see the full breakdown — every link, every reduction, every flap-T.
"My morning routine includes meditation and a healthy breakfast."
mahy MOR·nuhng roo·TEEN uhn·KLOODZ meh·duh·TAY·shuhn and uh HEHL·thee BREHK·fuhst
"The contract includes a clause for early termination if needed."
dhuh KAHN·trakt uhn·KLOODZ uh KLAHZ fer UR·lee tur·muh·NAY·shuhn ihf NEE·duhd
"The curriculum includes both theoretical lectures and practical assignments."
dhuh kuh·RIH·kyuh·luhm uhn·KLOODZ BOHTH thee·uh·REH·tuh·kuhl LEHK·cherz and PRAK·tuh·kuhl uh·SAHYN·muhnts
"The lifecycle of a butterfly includes the caterpillar and pupa stages."
dhuh LAHYF·sahy·kuhl uhv uh BUH·der·flahy uhn·KLOODZ dhuh KA·der·pih·ler and PYOO·puh STAY·juhz
"The package includes the phone, the charger, and the user manual."
dhuh PA·kuhj uhn·KLOODZ dhuh FOHN dhuh CHAR·jer and dhuh YOO·zer MAN·yoo·uhl
"The deal includes favorable terms for future collaborations."
dhuh DEEL uhn·KLOODZ FAY·vuh·ruh·buhl TURMZ fer FYOO·cher kuh·la·buh·RAY·shuhnz
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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 KLOODZ — keep everything else short and quick.
UHN·kloodz→uhn·KLOODZ
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.
UHN·KLOODZ→uhn·KLOODZ
Questions
Questions people ask about this.
How is "includes" stressed in American English?
Stress falls on the second syllable — say "KLOODZ" with a longer, fuller vowel and keep every other syllable short and quick. The respell "uhn-KLOODZ" marks the stressed syllable in capitals so the rhythm is easy to read at a glance.
Why does the first syllable in "includes" 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 "uhn-KLOODZ" shows the reduced form so you can hear the casual rhythm directly.
Is the American pronunciation of "includes" 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 "uhn-KLOODZ" reflects the casual American form; British dictionaries typically print a citation form with crisper consonants and different vowel choices.
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