2 syllables: chil, ling. Stress on chil.
CHIL-ing
/ˈtʃɪlɪŋ/
chilling is pronounced CHIL-ing (/ˈtʃɪlɪŋ/). It has two syllables (chil-ling), with the stress on "chil". Chilling is the act or experience of causing or feeling cold, or of making someone feel frightened or excited in a suspenseful way. In everyday use, it can describe physically cold sensations, or describe a mood or scene that creates fear or suspense. It can also refer to relaxing or lingering in a casual, informal sense, especially in American slang (e.g., 'chilling at home').
Chilling is the act or experience of causing or feeling cold, or of making someone feel frightened or excited in a suspenseful way. In everyday use, it can describe physically cold sensations, or describe a mood or scene that creates fear or suspense. It can also refer to relaxing or lingering in a casual, informal sense, especially in American slang (e.g., 'chilling at home').
"The winter wind was chilling and made my cheeks numb."
"The horror movie had a chilling atmosphere that lingered after the credits."
"We spent the evening chilling on the sofa with some tea."
Pronounce as /ˈtʃɪl.ɪŋ/ in US and UK English. The first syllable is stressed: /ˈtʃɪl/ with a
People often merge the two syllables into a quick /tʃɪlɪŋ/ with reduced clarity between /l/ and /ɪ/. Another frequent error is misplacing the /tʃ/ as a harder or softer sound, or pronouncing /t/ instead of /tʃ/. Ensure you keep the /l/ as a light, clear alveolar lateral, and avoid adding a drawn-out vowel in the second syllable. Practice with a clean hiatus between syllables and emphasize the initial /tʃ/ followed by /ɪl/.
Across US/UK/AU, the core /tʃ/ and /ɪ/ + /l/ sequence remains, but vowel length can differ slightly. US often has a tight, clipped /ɪ/ and the second syllable reduces quickly, while UK vowels may sound a touch purer in /ɪ/ and keep a steadier rhythm. Australian English typically features a slightly broader diphthong quality and maybe a more centralized /ɪ/ in unstressed positions, but the stress pattern remains CHIL-ling.
The difficulty lies in balancing the initial affricate /tʃ/ with the following light /ɪ/ and the clear /l/. It’s easy to blend /tʃ/ with /l/ or to reduce /ɪ/ into a schwa. Also, the two-syllable rhythm requires stable stress on the first syllable while keeping the second syllable crisp. Practice keeping the edge of the tip behind the upper teeth for /tʃ/ and heightening the front of the tongue for /ɪ/.
Note the two phonemes in quick succession: /tʃ/ then /ɪ/. A useful cue is to begin the /tʃ/ with the tongue blade behind the upper teeth, then immediately drop to a high-front /ɪ/. Keep the /l/ light and quick—don’t let it become a heavy, drawn-out sound. Visualize a brief stop after /tʃ/ before the /ɪ/, like a tiny break in airflow that confirms two distinct syllables.
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Chilling derives from chill, which comes from the Old English ciele or cyele meaning cold, and from the Proto-Germanic *khelôną, reflecting coldness or the act of making cold. The verb chill appeared in Middle English as a sense of cooling or reducing warmth, with figurative extensions to numb, frighten, or reduce intensity. In the 19th and 20th centuries, chilling gained colloquial usage to describe relaxing or hanging out (e.g., 'chilling at home'), a development influenced by informal speech patterns in American English where short, clipped forms and the nominalized present participle -ing take on flexible semantic roles. The phrase 'chilling with friends' evolved from this usage, often implying leisure, but the primary semantic core remains tied to cold sensation or a suspenseful, scary vibe in modern contexts. First known uses appear in literature and diaries describing physical coldness, evolving later to describe mood and social behavior; the sense of something being chilling in a frightening or eerie way appears in 19th-century horror and travel writing, while the 'chill out' sense emerged late 20th century in youth slang.
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Words that rhyme with "chilling"
-ing sounds
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