Chance (noun): a favorable or possible opportunity; a probability or risk. It can also denote an occasion arising unexpectedly. In everyday use, it often implies possibility with some degree of uncertainty, as in taking a chance or leaving things to chance. It contrasts with certainty, emphasizing chance as something contingent and not guaranteed.
- Confusing the vowel sound: many learners use a closed, rounded vowel as in ‘dance’ /dæns/ while the correct is the short lax /æ/ (US) or a longer /ɑː/ (UK). Practice with minimal pairs: /tʃæns/ vs /tʃeɪns/. - Final cluster timing: learners often drop the /n/ or /s/ and say /tʃans/ or /tʃæns/ with a clipped suffix. Practice by saying the word in slow motion: /tʃ/ + /æ/ + /n/ + /s/ and then blend. - Word boundary: between vowels and the 'z' or 's' sound, keep the /n/ clear rather than turning it into a nasalization.
- US: /tʃæns/ with a lax /æ/, tip of tongue behind bottom teeth. - UK: /tʃɑːns/ or /tʃæns/ depending on region; non-rhotic accents may reduce the length of the vowel; add a slightly longer nucleus before /ns/. - AU: /tʃæns/ with a more open front vowel and a crisp /n/ before /s/. All variants maintain the /tʃ/ onset and the /ns/ ending; keep the final /s/ audible in careful speech.
"I took a chance and invested in the startup."
"There’s a good chance it will rain tomorrow."
"She won the prize by sheer chance."
"We’ll go for a walk, on the off chance that he’s free."
Chance comes from the Old French word chançe, which meant ‘fortune’ or ‘luck,’ and from the Latin candidus meaning ‘bright’ or ‘shining,’ though in this path its sense narrowed to ‘a favorable or unlikely outcome.’ The word entered Middle English as chancel, later shifting to its current form in the 14th century with the broader sense of risk, opportunity, or probability. The modern sense of ‘opportunity’ or ‘risk’ evolved as marketplaces, gambling, and personal risk discussions became common, reinforcing the idea that outcomes are subject to elements of luck rather than certainty. The pronunciation likely began with a hard ch sound /tʃ/ followed by vowel changes through the Great Vowel Shift era, consolidating into the modern /tʃæns/ with the silent e feature from historical spelling conventions. First known uses appear in texts around the 13th–14th centuries in various European languages, later cemented in English legal and common usage to denote both chance and fate in everyday speech. As English expanded in the post-medieval period, the term spread into idiomatic expressions such as “chance of” and “take a chance,” reflecting the growing emphasis on probability, risk, and opportunity in daily life.
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💡 These words have similar meanings to "Chance" and can often be used interchangeably.
🔄 These words have opposite meanings to "Chance" and show contrast in usage.
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Words that rhyme with "Chance"
-nce sounds
Practice with these rhyming pairs to improve your pronunciation consistency:
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Pronounce as /tʃæns/ in General American and /tʃɑːns/ in many UK accents. Start with a light 'ch' sound made by the roof of the mouth and the tongue blade (like chair), then move to a short, open front vowel (æ as in cat, or ɑː in some UK varieties). End with a crisp /ns/ cluster, ensuring the /n/ is clear before the /s/. Listen to a native speaker for nuance, but aim for a steady, single-syllable release. IPA: US /tʃæns/, UK /tʃɑːns/, AU /tʃæns/.
Two common errors: (1) Replacing /æ/ with /e/ or /ɛ/, saying ‘tshence’ instead of /tʃæns/. Focus on a lax, open-front vowel; (2) Turning the final /ns/ into /n/ or /s/ without the nasal+fricative transition, which makes it sound clipped. To correct: keep the /æ/ or /ɑː/ steady before finishing the /ns/ with a brief, audible /s/. Practice with a mirror to keep the mouth rounded and certain the tongue finishes the /s/.
In General American, /tʃæns/ with a short, flat /æ/ and a clear /s/. In many UK accents, you may hear /tʃɑːns/ or a shorter /æ/ with a lighter /s/, and some speakers may have a more rounded or relaxed vowel. Australian speech typically aligns with /tʃæns/ but can feature slightly broader front vowels and a more pronounced alveolar stop onset. The rhoticity does not majorly affect this word, but vowel quality and the length of the nucleus can vary.
Because it’s a short word with a tricky vowel contrast and a consonant cluster at the end. The /æ/ or /ɑː/ nucleus sits tightly before the /ns/ cluster, requiring precise tongue positioning to avoid an after-glide or de-voicing error. Also, English relies on subtle vowel length and quality shifts across accents; keeping a crisp onset /tʃ/ and clean /ns/ without adding extra vowel sounds is essential.
The 'a' is not silent and functions as a stressed vowel nucleus in most dialects. The word is one syllable with primary stress on the entire word. The vowel is typically pronounced as /æ/ (US) or /ɑː/ (some UK varieties), so it’s an audible vowel voice within the syllable. The final /ns/ is a voiceless alveolar fricative sequence that follows the vowel.
🗣️ Voice search tip: These questions are optimized for voice search. Try asking your voice assistant any of these questions about "Chance"!
- Shadowing: listen to slow, clear audio of /tʃæns/ and repeat, matching timing, then speed up. - Minimal pairs: /tʃæns/ vs /tʃeɪns/ vs /tʃɑːns/ to tune vowel. - Rhythm: practice a sentence like 'There’s a chance that the plan will work' emphasizing the one-beat word with a light following beat. - Stress and intonation: keep CHANCE stressed as a single, loud syllable; practice falling intonation in longer sentences.
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