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/). You'll hear it in sentences like "The rude dude made a crude mood adjustment" or "The doom and gloom mood ruined the afternoon" — more examples below.

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Sounds

75%

Clarity

68%

Stress

78%

Intonation

65%

Fluency

62%

Overall assessment

Our AI coach listens to your recording and grades 5 dimensions of pronunciation — then tells you exactly what to fix next.

72% Noticeable accent

Common mistakes

Releasing the final consonant with a puff of air.

In "mood", the "d" 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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Sound by sound

Every sound in "mood".

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

m/m/

Press your lips together. Air flows through your nose. Vocal cords vibrate.

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.

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

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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.

Releasing the final consonant with a puff of air.

In "mood", the "d" 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.

Every sound in "mood".

Hear "mood" in the wild.

Words that work the same way.

Looking for a different word or sentence?

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.