Sound Gym

campus · compass

Short /æ/ vs short /ʌ/ — same /-mpəs/ ending, the first vowel determines whether you’re at university or finding your way.

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⠿ reorder

A university campus with students walking between buildings

noun — the grounds and buildings of a university, college, or school — 'on campus' · 'campus life' · 'off-campus housing' · 'campus tour'

mouth shape

short /æ/ — KAM-pus — mouth wide open, tongue low and forward — like 'cat', 'man', 'plan' — the A is bright and flat — same as in 'camp' and 'lamp'

campus

/ˈkæm.pəs/

vowel length

short /æ/

⠿ reorder

noun — a device for finding direction using a magnetic needle; OR a drawing tool for making circles — 'a magnetic compass' · 'compass points' · 'compass bearing' · 'drawing compass'

mouth shape

short /ʌ/ — KUM-pus — central vowel, mouth mid-open, no lip rounding — like 'cup', 'come', 'summer' — the vowel is more central and less open than /æ/ in campus

compass

/ˈkʌm.pəs/

vowel length

short /ʌ/

Vowel spotlight — /æ/ vs /ʌ/ — same /-mpəs/ ending

campus

/kæm.pəs/

short /æ/ — mouth wide, tongue low

like: cat · man · lamp · camp

≠

compass

/kʌm.pəs/

short /ʌ/ — central, mid-open

like: cup · come · summer · drum

Spelling note — why the vowels look the same

Both words have an O in the first syllable: campus and compass. But their pronunciations differ: the A in campus is clearly /æ/ (bright, open), while the O in compass is /ʌ/ (the same “cup” vowel). English O frequently maps to /ʌ/ — compare come /kʌm/, done /dʌn/, son /sʌn/, month /mʌnθ/.

Key difference

Same /-mpəs/ ending. Only the first vowel differs.campus: /æ/— open, flat, bright — jaw drops noticeably — like “cat”.compass: /ʌ/— central, mid-height, less jaw drop — like “cup”. Think: KAMpus (like lamp) vs KUMpuss (like drum).

Example sentences

campus:“The university campusis beautiful in the autumn.”

campus:“Most first-year students choose to live on campus.”

compass:“He used a compassto navigate through the forest.”

compass:“The architect drew a perfect circle with a compass.”

Hear it in a sentence

“The new library is the largest building on the university campus.”

“She used a compass to draw a perfect circle on the graph paper.”

Hear it in the wild

Real speech from native speakers — the most reliable way to check a pronunciation, since automated audio can vary by device and browser.

YouGlish↗

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