How to pronounce “colonel”
Say “colonel” in 2 beats
colonel
/ˈkɝnəl/
The voice you hear here is American; the British form is /ˈkɜːnəl/ (see the table below), and a British voice is available in the app's settings.
- kɝkɝstress
- nəlnəl
- IPA (American)
- /ˈkɝnəl/
- IPA (British)
- /ˈkɜːnəl/
- Respelling
- KUR-nuhl
- Syllables
- 2 — Kɝ-nəl
- Stress
- Stress the first syllable: Kɝ-nəl. “kɝ” 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
American and British are not the same here
/ˈkɝnəl/
/ˈkɜːnəl/
No audio here: sayit’s voice is American, so a British button would play the American word. Read the transcription instead.
Where “colonel” goes wrong
- Often heard
“KOL-oh-nel”/ˈkɑlənɛl/
the spelling misleads; it is /ˈkɝnəl/, exactly like kernel
- Often heard
“koh-loh-NEL”
two syllables, not three, and the first l is not pronounced at all
What “colonel” means
- noun
a commissioned military officer in the United States Army or Air Force or Marines who ranks above a lieutenant colonel and below a brigadier general
Say it in a sentence
“The colonel spoke briefly and then handed over to his deputy.”“colonel”, answered
How do you pronounce “colonel”?
“colonel” is pronounced /ˈkɝnəl/ (KUR-nuhl) in American English and /ˈkɜːnəl/ in British English — 2 syllables, stressed on “kɝ”. Build it as Kɝ-nəl, then run the first syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.
How many syllables does “colonel” have?
2: kɝ · nəl. The beat lands on the first, “kɝ”. Read letter by letter it looks like 3 (KOL-oh-nel), and that careful version is not wrong — but ordinary speech runs it to 2.
Is “colonel” said differently in British English?
Yes. American English says /ˈkɝnəl/ (KUR-nuhl); British English says /ˈkɜːnəl/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.
What does “colonel” mean?
As a noun: a commissioned military officer in the United States Army or Air Force or Marines who ranks above a lieutenant colonel and below a brigadier general For example: “The colonel spoke briefly and then handed over to his deputy.”
Where is the stress in “colonel”?
Stress the first syllable: Kɝ-nəl. “kɝ” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllable falls away from it.
Now say “colonel” and see every sound
Record it once and sayit lines your audio up against the target sound by sound — what landed, what slipped, and what it sounded like instead.