knuckle
noun · one of the joints of your fingers
- NUKnʌk (stressed)
- ləl
- NUKnʌk (stressed)
- ləl
- US /ˈnʌk.əl/NUK-l Recorded voice
- UK /ˈnʌk.əl/NUK-l Your device’s voice
How to pronounce knuckle
Knuckle is pronounced NUK-l, with two syllables and the stress on the first. The first k is silent and the second is said, so it rhymes with buckle and chuckle.
- 2 syllables
- Stress on NUK
- US and UK IPA
- Checked in Cambridge and Oxford
IPA checked in the Cambridge Dictionary and Oxford Learner’s Dictionaries. The recording is American English.
Knuckle, sound by sound
Each sound in the IPA, with a word you already know that has it.
USUK American and British English/ˈnʌk.əl/
NUKstressed
- /n/as in now
- /ʌ/as in cup
- /k/as in cat
l
- /ə/as in about
- /l/as in leg
Say knuckle yourself
Press the microphone and say it once. Your browser writes down what it hears: if it writes knuckle, you were understood. If it writes another word, you see which sound changed.
Tip. The k at the start is silent: NUK-l. The k in the middle is said.
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Common knuckle pronunciation mistakes
What people often say instead, and how to fix it. Say NUK-l.
Not
kuh-NUK-lSaying the first k. Start with N.
Not
NOK-lReading u as in not. It is the short u of cup.
Not
NOO-klReading u as in tune. The vowel is the short u of cup.
Knuckle 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.
She knocked on the door with her knuckle.
The boxer hurt his knuckle in the first round.
Rub the sore knuckle with a little ice.
Which k is silent in knuckle?
Only the first one. The word has two k letters, and the k in the middle is a normal sound. Say n, then uk, then the light l: NUK-l.
The first k is silent for the same reason as in knee and knife. English once said the k before n, and speakers stopped around the 1600s. The word itself goes back to Old English cnucel, from an old Germanic root.
The ending is weak. Do not say a full vowel before the l: it is NUK-l, not NUK-ool. Make a quick fist, tap your knuckles on the desk and say it.
Words that sound like knuckle
Rhymes and words that share its tricky sound. Open any of them in the checker and say it.
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