One syllable: chunks.
chuhngks
/tʃʌŋks/
chunks is pronounced chuhngks (/tʃʌŋks/). It has one syllable (chunks), with the stress on "chunks". Chunks refers to multiple small, compact pieces or segments separated from a whole. It can also describe groups of lines of text, or informal, sizeable portions of information or material broken into manageable parts. The term is commonly used in linguistics, cooking, data analysis, and everyday speech to denote modular parts. The meaning shifts with context, but always conveys segmentation into noticeable units.
Chunks refers to multiple small, compact pieces or segments separated from a whole. It can also describe groups of lines of text, or informal, sizeable portions of information or material broken into manageable parts. The term is commonly used in linguistics, cooking, data analysis, and everyday speech to denote modular parts. The meaning shifts with context, but always conveys segmentation into noticeable units.
- Mispronouncing the nucleus as a full /ə/ or a lax /ɐ/; instead, keep it as a short /ʌ/ (as in 'strut'). Practise with a mirror, shaping the mouth for /ʌ/ without lip rounding. - Slowing or over-enunciating the final /ks/; think of it as a quick kiss of two sounds rather than two separate syllables. Use a brisk /k/ release followed immediately by /s/. - Over-aspirating the initial /tʃ/ or letting the tongue tip drift; keep the tongue blade high for the ch sound and then drop into the /ʌ/ without a pause. - In rapid speech, the /ŋ/ can blend with a preceding vowel; keep the velar nasal tight against the soft palate to avoid a nasalized or misplaced /ŋ/. - Non-native speakers sometimes insert a vowel between /ŋ/ and /k/ (e.g., /ŋəks/). Keep it as /ŋks/ with no extra vowel.
"She organized the report into useful chunks to make it easier to read."
"The teacher asked us to break the paragraph into chunks of three sentences each."
"In coding, chunks of data were processed in parallel to speed up the run."
Pronounce as /tʃʌŋks/ in US, UK, and AU. Start with the voiceless postalveolar affricate /tʃ/ (as in chair), followed by the short /ʌ/ vowel (as in cut), then the velar nasal /ŋ/ (like ‘sing’), and end with the voiceless /ks/ cluster. Ensure the /ŋ/ is a velar nasal with the tongue body raised toward the soft palate, and finish crisply on /s/. You can listen to native pronunciation on Pronounce or Forvo and mimic the transition from /ʌ/ to /ŋ/ to /ks/ without inserting extra vowels.
Two frequent errors: (1) replacing /ʌ/ with a more open or rounded vowel, producing “chongks” or “changks.” (2) mis-sequencing the consonant cluster at the end, saying “chunk-iss” with an extra plate before /s/. Correction: keep the nucleus as /ʌ/ (not /ə/ or /ɑ/), and snap the final /ks/ quickly after the /ŋ/ without inserting another vowel. Practice by isolating /ʌ/ and /ŋk/ and then fuse into /ŋks/.
In all three accents, initial /tʃ/ and final /ks/ remain stable. The main difference is vowel quality: US /ʌ/ is a mid-back lax vowel; UK often has a slightly tenser /ʌ/; AU tends to a more centralized or raised vowel in some speakers. The rhoticity does not affect chunks since there is no rhotics. The /ŋ/ remains constant across accents. Overall, the vowel length and clarity of the /ʌ/ can vary; emphasize crisp /ks/ ending in all.
Two main challenges: (1) the vowel /ʌ/ is relatively short and can be reduced in fast speech, risking a lax or schwa-like sound. (2) the final /ks/ cluster requires precise timing; blending /ŋ/ into /k/ before /s/ can blur the consonants if you move too quickly. Focus on a clean nucleus /ʌ/ and a precise stop release for /k/ before the /s/ to avoid conflating the syllables.
No—the initial /tʃ/ sound is the same in chunks and does not alter the ending cluster. The end is /ŋks/ where the /ŋ/ is the velar nasal; the /k/ and /s/ are a voiceless stop and a sibilant. Pay attention to making /ŋ/ a smooth bridge into /k/—don’t separate into two syllables. This is a common source of over-articulation in quick speech.
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- US: angling toward a slightly more rear /ʌ/ with a crisp, non-rhotic output of final /ks/; ensure rhoticity does not affect chunks since there is no /r/. - UK: perceived vowel height may be a touch higher, the /ʌ/ may sound shorter and tenser; emphasize the /ŋ/ reinforcement before /k/ to avoid vowel intrusion. - AU: tendency toward a centralized /ʌ/ or near-schwa; maintain a clear /ŋ/ and quickly release into /ks/. IPA guidance: /tʃʌŋks/ across all; keep vowels compact, avoid vowel lengthening. - Common pitfalls: reduce vowels before final clusters, leading to /tʃəŋks/ or /tʃɒŋks/; practice with controlled tempo and mirror cues to ensure consistent placement of the tongue and jaw. - Practical tip: record yourself saying chunks in a sentence, then compare with native samples to coast into the target vowel quality.
Chunks comes from mid-century American English, built on the noun chunk, which itself likely traces to a Germanic root akin to chunk “to bite, chew” or “piece” via dialectal forms. The word chunk began as a general term for a lump or thick piece and expanded metaphorically to mean any sizable portion or segment. Its plural form chunks is simply the regular inflection of chunk, used widely from cooking (chunk of meat) to linguistics (language chunks) and computing (data chunks). First known uses appear in the 19th century American literature, with increasing colloquial usage in the 20th century as a flexible label for interchangeable units within larger systems. Over time, chunks acquired the sense of modularity, scale, and ease of handling in both technical and everyday discourse. In modern usage, the word is informal but ubiquitous in both spoken and written English, frequently paired with adjectives like “small,” “manageable,” or “data.”
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💡 These words have similar meanings to "chunks" and can often be used interchangeably.
🔄 These words have opposite meanings to "chunks" and show contrast in usage.
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Words that rhyme with "chunks"
-nks sounds
Practice with these rhyming pairs to improve your pronunciation consistency:
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