2 syllables: chim, neys. Stress on chim.
CHIM-neez
/ˈtʃɪmniz/
chimneys is pronounced CHIM-neez (/ˈtʃɪmniz/). It has two syllables (chim-neys), with the stress on "chim". Chimneys are vertical structures that vent smoke, heat, and gases from buildings or industrial processes. In plural form, they indicate more than one such vent and may vary in material and height. The word emphasizes the plural suffix -ies, while maintaining a clear /i/ vowel in the base “chimney.”.
Chimneys are vertical structures that vent smoke, heat, and gases from buildings or industrial processes. In plural form, they indicate more than one such vent and may vary in material and height. The word emphasizes the plural suffix -ies, while maintaining a clear /i/ vowel in the base “chimney.”
- You might misplace the primary stress on the second syllable; ensure you stress the first syllable: /ˈtʃɪm.niz/ rather than /tʃɪˈmɪnz/. - The transitions from /m/ to /n/ can blur; keep a brief closure at /m/ and clearly release into /n/. - Final /z/ can be devoiced in careful speech; aim for fully voiced /z/ in connected speech for naturalness. Practice stopping the start of the second syllable and maintaining the alveolar contact for /n/ before voicing /z/.
"The old factory had three tall chimneys visible against the blue sky."
"Residents complained about the smoke seeping from the chimneys during the cold snap."
"The architect specified brick chimneys to match the historic facade."
You say CHIM-niz with primary stress on CHIM-. The IPA is /ˈtʃɪm.niz/. The first syllable has a short, lax i as in “kit,” followed by m, then the unstressed second syllable starts with n and ends with an /ɪz/ or /əz/ depending on the speaker’s final consonants. In rapid speech, you may hear a slight linking of the /m/ to /n/ resulting in /ˈtʃɪm nɪz/. Consider listening to native audio for subtle vowel timing.
Common errors: (1) Over-pronouncing the second syllable as strong /niːz/ instead of /nɪz/. (2) Slurring the /m/ and /n/ into a single nasal blend like /ˈtʃɪmnɪz/ without clear /m/ and /n/ separation. (3) Dropping the /tʃ/ cluster or mispronouncing it as /ʃ/ or /tʃ/. Correction: keep /t͡ɕ/–style flow between CH and IM; hold the /m/ briefly, then release into /n/ before the final /ɪz/. Practice slow careful articulation and then speed up.
Across accents, the CH initial is consistently /tʃ/ but vowel quality slightly varies. In US, /ˈtʃɪm.nɪz/ with a slightly shorter first vowel; in UK, /ˈtʃɪm.nɪz/ may have a marginally more clipped /ɪ/ and tighter final /z/. Australian English tends to a similar /ˈtʃɪm.nɪz/ but with broader vowel quality and a less pronounced rhoticity, though /z/ is clear. The primary variation is subtle vowel length and rounding influenced by surrounding vowels and tempo.
The difficulty arises from the consonant cluster /tʃ/ + /m/ and the rapid transition to the /n/ before a voiced /z/. Keeping the /tʃ/ rounded at the palate, followed by a distinct /m/ with proper bilabial closure, then moving to the nasal /n/ without vowel elongation can be tricky. Additionally, final /z/ requires voice onset time control to avoid a hissy or voiceless finish. Focus on clean syllable separation and controlled voicing.
No silent h here. The word starts with a /tʃ/ sound and the following /ɪ/ is a short vowel. The h sound is part of the /tʃ/ blend; your mouth should begin with a light lip rounding and upfront tongue elevation for /tʃ/. There’s no separate /h/ sound after the initial blend in standard pronunciations of chimneys.
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- US: /ˈtʃɪm.nɪz/ with shorter first vowel and crisp /z/. - UK: /ˈtʃɪm.nɪz/ similar, but slightly tenser vowel; keep /ɪ/ compact. - AU: /ˈtʃɪm.nɪz/ with broader vowel quality and more forward tongue position; ensure non-rhoticity does not affect the final /z/. Always maintain clear /tʃ/ onset and allow /n/ to separate from /ɪ/. IPA references: /t͡ʃ/ for CH, /ɪ/ for short i, /m/ bilabial nasal, /n/ alveolar nasal, /z/ voiced alveolar fricative.
chimney derives from the Old English term cimne? (cimete) via Middle English chimeni, from Old French chemine, which itself comes from Latin caminus meaning “chimney, furnace, furnace flue.” The root sense was a channel for smoke, evolving into a masonry column that vents hot air. Early English usage appears in the 14th century, with variations like chimine and chemaine appearing in Middle English texts. The shift to the plural form -ies followed standard English spelling and pronunciation changes in the 19th century. Over time, chimneys expanded beyond domestic hearths to industrial smokestacks, adopting broader architectural and engineering meanings. The term retained core associations with smoke, heat, and ventilation, while the plural form indicates multiple such structures in a single building or landscape. In contemporary usage, “chimneys” can also appear metaphorically (e.g., chimney sweeps, chimney breasts in architecture) and remain tightly linked to gravity-driven draft and venting principles in design and safety codes.
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Words that rhyme with "chimneys"
-ies sounds
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