Pronunciation

How to pronounce “cologne

“cologne” is pronounced /kəˈloʊn/ (kuh-LOHN) in American English and /kəˈləʊn/ in British English — 2 syllables, stressed on “loʊn”.
The sound

Say “cologne” in 2 beats

Say it like this

cologne

/kəˈloʊn/

The voice you hear here is American; the British form is /kəˈləʊn/ (see the table below), and a British voice is available in the app's settings.

2 beats
  1. loʊnloʊnstress
IPA (American)
/kəˈloʊn/
IPA (British)
/kəˈləʊn/
Respelling
kuh-LOHN
Syllables
2 — kə-LOƱN
Stress
Stress the second syllable: kə-LOƱN. “loʊn” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllable falls away from it.
Part of speech
noun
Difficulty
Pro — the sounds are ordinary, the rhythm is where it slips
Accents

American and British are not the same here

American

/kəˈloʊn/

British

/kəˈləʊn/

No audio here: sayit’s voice is American, so a British button would play the American word. Read the transcription instead.

Watch out

Where “cologne” goes wrong

  • Often heard

    koh-LOG-nee

    the gn is a plain n: kuh-LOHN

Meaning

What “cologne” means

  1. noun

    a commercial center and river port in western Germany on the Rhine River; flourished during the 15th century as a member of the Hanseatic League

  2. noun

    a perfumed liquid made of essential oils and alcohol

Say it in a sentence

He wore the same cologne for thirty years without changing it.
Sound by sound

The sounds inside this word

5 sounds, in the order you say them

Each sound has its own page: where the tongue goes, what it is usually confused with, and words to drill it on.

Questions

cologne”, answered

How do you pronounce “cologne”?

“cologne” is pronounced /kəˈloʊn/ (kuh-LOHN) in American English and /kəˈləʊn/ in British English — 2 syllables, stressed on “loʊn”. Build it as kə-LOƱN, then run the second syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.

How many syllables does “cologne” have?

2: kə · loʊn. The beat lands on the second, “loʊn”. Read letter by letter it looks like 3 (koh-LOG-nee), and that careful version is not wrong — but ordinary speech runs it to 2.

Is “cologne” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /kəˈloʊn/ (kuh-LOHN); British English says /kəˈləʊn/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “cologne” mean?

As a noun: a commercial center and river port in western Germany on the Rhine River; flourished during the 15th century as a member of the Hanseatic League For example: “He wore the same cologne for thirty years without changing it.” It carries 1 other sense as well — all of them said the same way.

Where is the stress in “cologne”?

Stress the second syllable: kə-LOƱN. “loʊn” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllable falls away from it.

Practise this word

Now say “cologne” and see every sound

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