2 syllables: cho, king. Stress on cho.
CHOH-king
/ˈtʃoʊkɪŋ/
choking is pronounced CHOH-king (/ˈtʃoʊkɪŋ/). It has two syllables (cho-king), with the stress on "cho". Choking refers to the act of struggling to breathe due to an obstruction in the airway or throat, often causing coughing or gasping. It can describe the sensation of being unable to perform tasks because of fear, nerves, or pressure. In speaking, it can also denote a temporary failure to perform well under performance anxiety. The term blends physical and figurative meanings regarding blockage or failure.
Choking refers to the act of struggling to breathe due to an obstruction in the airway or throat, often causing coughing or gasping. It can describe the sensation of being unable to perform tasks because of fear, nerves, or pressure. In speaking, it can also denote a temporary failure to perform well under performance anxiety. The term blends physical and figurative meanings regarding blockage or failure.
"During the hike, the team faced choking dust that irritated their throats."
"The performer began choking on the words, losing his rhythm under the bright lights."
"She was choking on tears after hearing the devastating news."
You say /ˈtʃəʊ.kɪŋ/ in UK/US and /ˈtʃoʊ.kɪŋ/ in many US dialects. Key stress is on the first syllable. Start with the /tʃ/ blend as in chair, then the long vowel /oʊ/ (lips rounded, jaw relaxed), followed by the /k/ plosive and the final /ɪŋ/ nasal. The two-syllable rhythm should feel like CHO-king with a clear, strong first beat.
Common errors include reducing the /oʊ/ to a short /o/ (co-king) and misplacing the stress, making it /tʃɒk.ɪŋ/ or /ˈtʃɔː.kɪŋ/. Some learners devoice the final /ŋ/ or pronounce it as /tʃoʊ.kɪŋ/ with a trailing vowel. Correction: keep the long /oʊ/ vowel, maintain the final /ŋ/ with velar closure and nasal release, and stress the first syllable /ˈtʃoʊ.kɪŋ/ consistently across phrases.
In US, /ˈtʃoʊ.kɪŋ/ is common with a rounded /oʊ/ and a rhotic tendency causing /r/? not present here; similarly, UK typically /ˈtʃəʊ.kɪŋ/ with a clearer diphthong /əʊ/ and sometimes a reduced first vowel in rapid speech. Australian tends toward /ˈtʃəʊ.kɪŋ/ like UK but with broader vowel qualities and non-rhotic tendencies; some speakers reduce the first syllable vowel to /ə/ or /ɐ/ in casual speech. All share the final /ɪŋ/ and /tʃ/ onset.
The challenge lies in the diphthong /oʊ/ following the initial /tʃ/ and the crisp /k/ before the final /ɪŋ/. Coordinating a rounded, moving vowel with the plosive /k/ requires precise timing, and rapid speech can blur vowel quality, causing a vowel shift toward /əʊ/ or /ɪŋ/. Paying attention to the tense-lax mouth positions and sustaining the /ŋ/ closure after /k/ helps stabilize the word across contexts.
There are no silent letters in choking, and the pronunciation remains fixed: initial /tʃ/ blend, /oʊ/ or /əʊ/ depending on accent, /k/ plosive, and /ɪŋ/ final. In very fast connected speech, the /oʊ/ can reduce toward a schwa-like sound [ə] in some speakers, yielding /ˈtʃə.kɪŋ/. However, this is a reduction, not a silent-letter phenomenon, and careful enunciation preserves the standard /ˈtʃoʊ.kɪŋ/ across formal speech.
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Choking comes from the Middle English choken, from Old English ceocian meaning to turn or press down, related to intestine or throat fullness in older usage, with roots possibly connected to acts of squeezing. The modern sense of preventing air from passing began to coalesce in Early Modern English, influenced by Scandinavian and Germanic verb forms that describe pressing or obstructing. By the 16th–17th centuries, choking was used both literally (to obstruct the airway) and metaphorically (to impede progress or speech). The semantic shift solidified around the 18th century as medical texts described airway obstruction, while figurative uses proliferated in literature to denote emotional or performance pressure. First known printed uses appear in medical descriptions of throat obstruction and in anecdotes about difficulty speaking under duress, signaling a dominant modern interpretation tied to both physical blockage and cognitive strain.
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Words that rhyme with "choking"
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