How to pronounce mood in American English

IPA /mud/ Syllables 1 · mood Stress 1st syllable

MOOD

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Americans pronounce mood as MOOD (/mud/).

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Sounds

75%

Clarity

68%

Stress

78%

Intonation

65%

Fluency

62%

Overall assessment

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72% Noticeable accent

Common mistakes

Releasing the final consonant with a puff of air.

In "mood", the "" 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.

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Why it sounds different

Why "mood" sounds like MOOD.

In "mood", the "" is not released — the articulators get into position but hold without the burst of air. This is called the Unreleased Stops, and it's one of the defining features of casual American English. It comes out as MOOD.

In real conversation

Hear "mood" in the wild.

Click any sentence to see the full breakdown — every link, every reduction, every flap-T.

"I have been in such a good mood ever since the vacation."

ahy hav bihn ihn suhch uh GUUD MOOD EH·ver SIHNS dhuh vay·KAY·shuhn

"I struggle with the subjunctive mood in Spanish."

ahy STRUH·guhl wihth dhuh suhb·JUHNGK·tuhv MOOD ihn SPA·nuhsh

"The doom and gloom mood ruined the afternoon."

dhuh DOOM and GLOOM MOOD ROO·uhnd dhee af·ter·NOON

"The rude dude made a crude mood adjustment."

dhuh rood DOOD MAYD uh KROOD MOOD uh·JUHST·muhnt

"The soundtrack perfectly captured the mood of the scene."

dhuh SOWND·trak PUR·fuhkt·lee KAP·cherd dhuh MOOD uhv dhuh SEEN

Watch out

Common pronunciation mistakes in American English.

The textbook way isn't wrong — it's just not how anyone actually says it.

Releasing the final consonant with a puff of air.

In "mood", the "" 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.

mood→MOOD

Questions

Questions people ask about this.

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

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Overall assessment

Common mistakes

Releasing the final consonant with a puff of air.

Why "mood" sounds like MOOD.

Hear "mood" in the wild.

Words that work the same way.

Common pronunciation mistakes in American English.

Releasing the final consonant with a puff of air.

Questions people ask about this.

Stop reading about "mood". Start saying it.