Pronunciation · Famously mispronounced words

How to pronounce “cache”

KASH

1 syllable · stress on “KASH”

KASH

Britishkæʃ

Americankæʃ

In short

“cache” is pronounced KASH: 1 syllable, with the stress on the only syllable. There are two French borrowings that look almost identical. Cache is one syllable and sounds exactly like “cash”; cachet is two syllables, ka-SHAY, and means prestige. The version to avoid is ka-SHAY — borrowing the pronunciation of the different word “cachet”.

Say “cache” in 3 steps

1Say “cash”. That is the whole word.
2One syllable, never two. The final e is silent.
3Keep ka-SHAY for the other word, cachet.

The version to avoid

Commonly said as: ka-SHAY — borrowing the pronunciation of the different word “cachet”

There are two French borrowings that look almost identical. Cache is one syllable and sounds exactly like “cash”; cachet is two syllables, ka-SHAY, and means prestige.

Hear real people say it

Model audio is consistent; real speech is not. Hearing several actual speakers is what makes a word recognisable when someone says it at full speed.

Real speakers

4 human recordings

Actual people saying “cache”, not a synthetic voice. Real speech varies — that variation is what you need to recognise, and what a single model voice cannot show you.

Recordings from Wikimedia Commons by No machine-readable author provided. Celestianpower assumed (based on copyright claims)., Dvortygirl, Screw0dog and No machine-readable author provided. Tawker assumed (based on copyright claims)., licensed under Public domain / CC BY-SA 3.0 / CC BY-SA 4.0. Full credits.

Practise it out loud

Reading about a sound does not change your mouth. Say it, hear it back, and fix one thing at a time.

Say it yourself

0/6 practised

Listen first, then record. You get feedback on the individual sounds, the stress and the rhythm — no account needed, and nothing is stored.

Three speakers per accent

Recordings are used only to generate this feedback and are not stored. Your accent is never penalised: IELTS scores intelligibility, and so do we.

The sounds inside this word

Each links to a full guide with mouth position, audio and drills. If a word keeps failing, the problem is usually one of these.

kk as in key æa as in cat ʃsh as in she

Don't confuse it with…

Minimal pairs isolate the exact contrast this word depends on — the fastest way to train both ear and mouth.

More famously mispronounced words

Same pattern, same fix. Learning them as a group is far faster than one at a time.

epitomeih-PIT-uh-mee hyperbolehy-PUR-buh-lee colonelKUR-nul awryuh-RY segueSEG-way facadefuh-SAHD

Frequently asked questions

How do you pronounce cache?

cache is pronounced KASH, written /kæʃ/ in IPA. Say “cash”. That is the whole word.

How many syllables are in cache?

one: KASH. The stress falls on “KASH”.

What is the most common mistake with cache?

ka-SHAY — borrowing the pronunciation of the different word “cachet”. There are two French borrowings that look almost identical. Cache is one syllable and sounds exactly like “cash”; cachet is two syllables, ka-SHAY, and means prestige.

What is the difference between cache and cachet?

Cache is one syllable, pronounced exactly like “cash”, and means a hidden store. Cachet is two syllables, ka-SHAY, and means prestige or distinction. They are unrelated in use.

The full sound library

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