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How to pronounce calm

Calm is pronounced KAHM, with the vowel in father and a silent L. It is one syllable. Some Americans say the L, KAHLM, but KAHM is the main form in both American and British English.

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  • 1 syllable
  • Stress on KAHM
  • US and UK IPA
  • Checked in Cambridge and Oxford

calm

One syllable

adjective, verb and noun · peaceful and quiet, not angry or worried

  1. KAHMkɑːm (stressed)
  • US /kɑːm/KAHM Recorded voice
  • UK /kɑːm/KAHM Your device’s voice

Also said: US /kɑːlm/.

IPA checked in the Cambridge Dictionary and Oxford Learner’s Dictionaries. Cambridge also lists /kɑlm/, with the L, for American English. The recording is American English.

Calm, sound by sound

Each sound in the IPA, with a word you already know that has it.

USUK American and British English/kɑːm/

  1. KAHMstressed

    • /k/as in cat
    • /ɑː/as in father
    • /m/as in man

Say calm yourself

Press the microphone and say it once. Your browser writes down what it hears: if it writes calm, you were understood. If it writes another word, you see which sound changed.

Tip. One syllable with the ah of father. The L is silent: KAHM.

Record yourself and play it next to our recording: the quickest way to hear a difference.

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calm

    Common calm pronunciation mistakes

    What people often say instead, and how to fix it. Say KAHM.

    • NotKALM

      Using the a in cat and a full L. The vowel is the ah in father, and the L is usually silent.

    • NotKAM

      Dropping the L but keeping the cat vowel, so it sounds like cam. Open your mouth for ah.

    • NotKAH-lum

      Adding a vowel between L and M. It is one syllable.

    Calm in a sentence

    Hear each one, slow it down, then say it. Words change a little when they join others, so practise them in sentences too.

    • Try to stay calm and breathe slowly.

    • The sea was calm this morning.

    • A short walk helps me calm down.

    Do you pronounce the l in calm?

    Usually not. In calm, palm, balm and psalm, the L is silent and the A is the long ah in father. English took calm from French calme, and the word may go back to Italian calma.

    Some Americans do say the L, and Cambridge lists KAHLM for American English. These forms grew from the spelling. The form without L is the one both dictionaries give first.

    The real trap for learners is the vowel. Many say the a in cat, which makes calm sound like cam. Open your mouth wide for ah, then close it on the M.

    Words that sound like calm

    Rhymes and words that share its tricky sound. Open any of them in the checker and say it.

    More words with silent letters

    All 170 difficult words

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