How to say Costume, Custom and Customs | American Accent Pronunciation

Hello, everyone.

It's Hadar, and this is the Accent's Way.

Today we're going to talk about three words that look the same,

but pronounced differently, and they mean different things.

And those words are 'costume', 'custom', and 'customs'.

Now, let's begin with 'costume'.

Costume is the outfit you wear for Halloween, or Purim if you are Jewish.

It's when you dress up, okay, as something.

So, a 'costume' is pronounced with a 'k' sound, and then it's

the 'aa' as in 'father' - 'kaa'.

And then there is an S - 'kaas', 'kaas'.

The second syllable is 'tuwm' - a T sound, the 'uw' as in food, and an N - 'tuwm'.

You can also say 't(y)uwm' - with a'y' sound right before the 'uw' - 't(y)uwm'.

So it's either 'kaas-tuwm', or 'kaas-t(y)uwm', both are okay.

So that's 'costume'.

Then we have 'custom'.

Custom is behavior, or things that you do that are very

specific to a place or a society.

So for example, singing Christmas carols during Christmas is a custom.

We also use it in 'custom-made', so when something is tailored into the

specific needs of an individual.

Or 'custom settings', when you are changing the basic settings

of a system to fit to your needs, to accommodate your needs.

Okay?

So that's custom.

It's also the root of the word 'customer', okay?

To pronounce the word custom and customer, you start with a 'cup' sound - 'kus'.

So it's very similar to 'costume', but here it's not the 'aa' as in father.

So it's not 'kaas', it's 'kus' 'kus'.

A 'cup' sound is like a stressed schwa.

The jaw is relaxed, the tongue is relaxed, and the lips are not rounded at all.

'kus' 'kus'.

The second syllable is 't'm', 't'm'.

It's a T sound, a schwa, and an M - 't'm'.

So the first word has 'tuwm' - it's a long 'uw' sound and this word

has a schwa: 't'm', 'kus-t'm'.

The cup sound and the schwa are very, very similar.

You can even say it's the same sound, only that the first

syllable is stressed - CUStom.

And if you want to add the ER at the end - customer, that's just

another schwa with an R: 'kus-t'm'r'.

costume - custom - customer.

The third word is 'customs'.

Customs is an authority or agency in a country that is responsible for the flow

of goods into and outside of the country.

So you all know this.

When you're walking out of the airport, you're walking out of the plane and you

just want to get into a cab and explore the city, but then you have customs.

And you have to think if you have something to declare or not.

I always freak out, although I never have something to declare.

But I'm afraid that someone is going to catch me and start searching my bags.

Yeah, so that's 'customs'.

I'm sure you all know what it is now that I've described this experience.

So, 'customs' is basically the word 'custom' with an S, okay.

So, same exact pronunciation: 'kus' - a cup sound, 'kus', and then

't'm' - with a schwa, 'kus-t'm'.

And then the S is pronounced as a Z: 'kus-t'mz'.

The fact that there is an S here doesn't mean it's plural,

okay, it's not the plural form.

Actually, customs is the singular form.

The plural form of customs - and I had to look it up - is

'customs duties' - with an S.

So, it's not customs duty - customs duties.

So that's the plural form.

Okay?

So, to conclude: the first word is 'costume' - 'aa' as in father: drop

your jaw, relax your lips - 'kaas-tuwm'.

And then long 'uw' as in food, think like there is an extra W there - 'kaas-tuwm'.

Then we have 'custom'.

Don't drop your jaw, close your mouth, relax your lips - 'kus-t'm'.

And lastly, 'customs', with a Z.

Okay, that's it.

Now, do you have an interesting story or an interesting customs experience?

Let me know in the comments below, if it was frightening or funny.

I love customs stories, I have a ton of them to tell you about.

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Thank you so much for watching.

Have a lovely lovely week.

And I'll see you next week in the next video.

Bye.