Sound Gym

gauze · gaze

Same /ɡ…z/ frame — long /ɔː/ vs diphthong /eɪ/ in the middle — a medical bandage vs to stare.

⠿ reorder

noun — a thin, transparent, loosely woven fabric, especially used as a medical dressing — 'gauze bandage' · 'sterile gauze' · 'cover with gauze'

mouth shape

long /ɔː/ — lips round and push forward — sustained, no glide — like 'pause', 'cause', 'draw', 'law' — ends in voiced /z/

gauze

/ɡɔːz/

vowel length

long /ɔː/

⠿ reorder

A person gazing up at stars in the night sky

verb — to stare steadily at something for a long time — 'gaze at the stars' · 'gaze into someone's eyes' · 'fixed gaze'

mouth shape

diphthong /eɪ/ — mouth opens mid-high then glides to a smile — NO rounding of the lips — like 'maze', 'blaze', 'haze' — ends in same voiced /z/

gaze

/ɡeɪz/

vowel length

diphthong /eɪ/

Same /ɡ…z/ frame — lip position is the key

gauze

/ɡɔːz/

long /ɔː/ — lips round forward

like: pause · cause · draw · law

≠

gaze

/ɡeɪz/

diphthong /eɪ/ — lips spread to smile

like: maze · blaze · haze · daze

Key difference — rounded vs spread lips

Both start with /ɡ/ and end with voiced /z/. The vowel is entirely different. For gauze, lips round and push forward — a sustained /ɔː/ sound, like “pause” or “law”. No movement. For gaze, lips start mid-open and glide into a slight smile — the diphthong /eɪ/, like “maze” or “blaze”. Feel the glide.

Example sentences

gauze:“The nurse wrapped the wound in sterile gauze.”

gauze:“She wore a gauze scarf that let the light through.”

gaze:“He could gaze at the mountains for hours.”

gaze:“She held his gaze across the crowded room.”

Hear it in a sentence

“The nurse wrapped the wound carefully with a strip of sterile gauze.”

“She sat at the window and gazed out at the empty street below.”

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.

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