Pronunciation

How to pronounce “color

“color” is pronounced /ˈkʌlɚ/ (KU-luh) in American English and /kʌlə/ in British English, and /ˈkɔlɚ/ is also accepted — 2 syllables, stressed on “col”.
The sound

Say “color” in 2 beats

Say it like this

color

/ˈkʌlɚ/

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

2 beats
  1. colstress
  2. or
IPA (American)
/ˈkʌlɚ/
IPA (British)
/kʌlə/
Also accepted
/ˈkɔlɚ/
Respelling
KU-luh
Syllables
2 — COL-or
Stress
Stress the first syllable: COL-or. “col” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllable falls away from it.
Part of speech
noun, verb, adjective
Difficulty
Beginner — most learners get this on the first take
Accents

American and British are not the same here

American

/ˈkʌlɚ/

British

/kʌlə/

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

Meaning

What “color” means

  1. noun

    a visual attribute of things that results from the light they emit or transmit or reflect

    a white color is made up of many different wavelengths of light

  2. noun

    interest and variety and intensity

    the Puritan Period was lacking in color

  3. noun

    the timbre of a musical sound

    the recording fails to capture the true color of the original music

Say it in a sentence

She couldn't decide which color to paint the fence.
Sound by sound

The sounds inside this word

4 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

color”, answered

How do you pronounce “color”?

“color” is pronounced /ˈkʌlɚ/ (KU-luh) in American English and /kʌlə/ in British English, and /ˈkɔlɚ/ is also accepted — 2 syllables, stressed on “col”. Build it as COL-or, then run the first syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.

How many syllables does “color” have?

2: col · or. The beat lands on the first, “col”.

Is “color” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /ˈkʌlɚ/ (KU-luh); British English says /kʌlə/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “color” mean?

As a noun: a visual attribute of things that results from the light they emit or transmit or reflect For example: “a white color is made up of many different wavelengths of light” It carries 2 other senses as well — all of them said the same way.

Where is the stress in “color”?

Stress the first syllable: COL-or. “col” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllable falls away from it.

Practise this word

Now say “color” 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.