One syllable: Chess.
ches
/tʃɛs/
Chess is pronounced ches (/tʃɛs/). It has one syllable (Chess), with the stress on "Chess". Chess is a two-player strategy board game played on an 8×8 grid, where each side uses 16 pieces with the aim of checkmating the opponent’s king. The term also refers to the game itself as a field of study or competition, and is used metaphorically to describe strategic thinking in other domains. In everyday speech, it’s commonly used to denote the activity or scene of competitive play.
nounChess is a two-player strategy board game played on an 8×8 grid, where each side uses 16 pieces with the aim of checkmating the opponent’s king. The term also refers to the game itself as a field of study or competition, and is used metaphorically to describe strategic thinking in other domains. In everyday speech, it’s commonly used to denote the activity or scene of competitive play.
How to Pronounce Chess
"We spent the afternoon learning chess openings and endgames."
"Her chess club meets every Thursday after class."
"The tournament drew players from around the world to compete in blitz and classical games."
Pronounce it as a single syllable /tʃez/. Start with a voiceless postalveolar affricate /tʃ/ (like 'ch' in chair), followed by /e/ as in 'bet' but shorter, and end with /z/. The mouth starts with the tongue at the post-alveolar ridge, lips neutral, then finishes with a voiced alveolar fricative /z/. There’s no extra syllable or vowel sound. You can listen to this in pronunciation videos and dictionary audio, then imitate the syllable’s exact mouth shape and release.
Common errors include pronouncing it as /tʃæs/ with a short /æ/ like 'cat', or turning the final /z/ into an /s/ (making /tʃes/). Another slip is devoicing the final /z/ to /s/ in rapid speech. To correct: keep a mid-front vowel close to /e/ with a quick, crisp release, and voice the final consonant as /z/ with vibrating vocal folds. Practice by saying 'check' first, then glide into the /e/ vowel and finish with /z/.
In US/UK/AU, the word remains monosyllabic with /tʃ/ at the start, but vowel quality can vary slightly: US often has a shorter, tenser /e/ quality, UK and AU may exhibit a slightly more open-mid /eɪ/ influence when depending on regional speech, though standard pronunciation keeps /e/. All three varieties typically vocalize a voiced final /z/. Rhoticity does not change the word itself, but neighboring sounds in phrases may reflect the accent.
The challenge comes from the clipped /tʃ/ onset blended into a pure /e/ vowel and a voiced final /z/ in a clean, single syllable. Learners often vowel-consonant blend too long, lengthen the vowel, or devoice the final /z/ into /s/. Focusing on a precise tongue blade position for /tʃ/ and maintaining voice for /z/ helps stabilize pronunciation.
Chess lacks a vowel after the initial consonant cluster; it’s a closed syllable with a simple onset /tʃ/ and nucleus /e/ followed by a voiced /z/. The unique aspect is the short, stapled vowel that sounds like /e/ rather than a diphthong, and the presence of a voiced fricative ending, which requires ongoing vocal fold vibration. Mastery involves a crisp /tʃ/ release and steady /z/ voice.
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Chess derives from the Persian game shatranj, which in turn descends from the Sanskrit chaturanga, a term that described four forces or divisions of the army. The French adopted the term échecs (from the Arabic shatranj), which then gave English the word chess in early modern times. The name originally referred to the entire game and its pieces, with various regional names for specific pieces over the centuries. The modern chess terminology stabilized in English by the 15th–16th centuries, coinciding with the rise of standardized rules in Europe. The term “chess” thus traces a linguistic path from an ancient Indian battlefield concept through Persian and Arabic culture, into Western Europe, where it also influenced other romance-based languages’ naming for the game. Today, the word is almost universally understood in its current form, though many languages retain local equivalents that echo the game’s early caravans and kingdoms.
💡 Etymology tip: Understanding word origins can help you remember pronunciation patterns and recognize related words in the same language family.
Help others use "Chess" correctly by contributing grammar tips, common mistakes, and context guidance.
💡 These words have similar meanings to "Chess" and can often be used interchangeably.
🔄 These words have opposite meanings to "Chess" and show contrast in usage.
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Words that rhyme with "Chess"
-ess sounds
Practice with these rhyming pairs to improve your pronunciation consistency:
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