How to pronounce “kneel”
Say “kneel” in one beat
kneel
/nil/
The voice you hear here is American; the British form is /niːl/ (see the table below), and a British voice is available in the app's settings.
- kneelnil
- IPA (American)
- /nil/
- IPA (British)
- /niːl/
- Respelling
- NEEL
- Syllables
- 1 — kneel
- Stress
- One syllable, so the whole word carries the beat — say /nil/ in one unbroken piece rather than clipping the vowel.
- Part of speech
- noun, verb
- Difficulty
- Pro — the sounds are ordinary, the rhythm is where it slips
American and British are not the same here
/nil/
/niːl/
No audio here: sayit’s voice is American, so a British button would play the American word. Read the transcription instead.
What “kneel” means
- noun
supporting yourself on your knees
- verb
rest one's weight on one's knees
“In church you have to kneel during parts of the service”
Say it in a sentence
“You have to kneel to read the inscription on the stone.”“kneel”, answered
How do you pronounce “kneel”?
“kneel” is pronounced /nil/ (NEEL) in American English and /niːl/ in British English — one syllable. It is one unbroken piece — /nil/ — with no pause anywhere inside it.
How many syllables does “kneel” have?
One, despite the 2 vowel letters in the spelling. The whole word is /nil/ — a single beat.
Is “kneel” said differently in British English?
Yes. American English says /nil/ (NEEL); British English says /niːl/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.
What does “kneel” mean?
As a noun: supporting yourself on your knees For example: “You have to kneel to read the inscription on the stone.” It carries 1 other sense as well — all of them said the same way.
Where is the stress in “kneel”?
One syllable, so the whole word carries the beat — say /nil/ in one unbroken piece rather than clipping the vowel.
Now say “kneel” 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.