Animal names
Animal names arrive from Greek, Latin and indigenous languages, giving spellings English never regularised. Chameleon takes a hard k and stress on the second syllable. Note that squirrel differs sharply between American and British English, one syllable versus two.
Accent
15 words · intermediate · your accent and voice are remembered across the site. More options on the settings page.
The words
More lists like this
Words that lose a syllable
Chocolate, comfortable, vegetable: fewer syllables than the spelling suggests. Hear the real count.
WH words
What, where, who, whole: the WH spelling covers three different sounds. Hear which is which.
Business English words
Entrepreneur, niche, liaison, quarterly: office vocabulary you need to say with confidence.
Travel words
Itinerary, concierge, lounge, queue: airport and hotel vocabulary said the right way.
Colour words
Turquoise, beige, fuchsia, mauve: colour names borrowed from French with tricky vowels.
Job titles
Chauffeur, psychiatrist, colonel, sommelier: occupation names you need for introductions.
Keep practising
Browse every practice list, hear two accents back to back on Compare, or test your ear with the listening quiz.