One syllable: clean.
kleen
/klin/
clean is pronounced kleen (/klin/). It has one syllable (clean), with the stress on "clean". Clean refers to free from dirt or impurities, spotless in appearance, or to remove dirt through washing. It can describe accuracy, neatness, or ethical integrity, depending on context. In linguistics or everyday speech, it often conveys precision or untainted quality, and when used as a verb, it means to make something clean or to erase data, emotions, or records.
Clean refers to free from dirt or impurities, spotless in appearance, or to remove dirt through washing. It can describe accuracy, neatness, or ethical integrity, depending on context. In linguistics or everyday speech, it often conveys precision or untainted quality, and when used as a verb, it means to make something clean or to erase data, emotions, or records.
- You might habitually shorten or delete the /l/ in fast speech, so you end up with /kin/ or /kin/ with a weak /l/. Practice by isolating the hard /k/ release, then the /l/ with a light touch at the alveolar ridge, then the /n/ with a clean nasal stop. - You could overemphasize the /i/ vowel, turning it into a longer, tense vowel; keep it short and tense, similar to the vowel in ‘sit’ rather than ‘seer’. - In rapid speech, you may merge the /l/ and /n/ into a mixed alveolar alvelo-nasal sound; keep a brief separation and a crisp /n/ release. - Work on voice onset time for the /k/; avoid overly aspirated initial /k/ that makes the word feel shouted. - Ensure your mouth is not closed too long at the end; release smoothly into the nasal rather than trailing with a closed mouth.
"The kitchen sparkled after she wiped down every surface, leaving it completely clean."
"He gave his sneakers a thorough cleaning and now they look almost new."
"The software update cleaned up several bugs and improved performance."
Pronounce it as /klin/ with a hard /k/ onset, a short front high vowel /i/ (as in see), and a clear nasal /n/. The stress is on the single syllable CLEAN. Mouth position: bring the tip of the tongue to the alveolar ridge just behind the teeth, release with a quick puff, and finish with a crisp /n/. Audio reference: think of a clean, clipped one-syllable word; you can compare to ‘keen’ for vowel quality but end with a clear /l/ and /n-/. IPA: US/UK/AU all share /klin/.
Common errors include: 1) Slurring the final /n/ into a nasalized vowel or dropping the /n/ entirely in fast speech. 2) Misplacing the tongue for /l/, producing a dark or vowel-like sound instead of a light /l/. 3) Averaged or elongated /i/; keep it a short, tense vowel rather than a prolonged vowel. Correction tips: keep the tongue tip at the alveolar ridge for /l/ and lightly touch the alveolar area for /n/; finish with a crisp /n/ release and avoid vowel elongation.
In US English, /klin/ tends to be slightly more tightly articulated; the /i/ is near close-front, and the /n/ is dental-alveolar with clear alveolar contact. UK English often features a crisper /l/ with slight vowel reduction in rapid speech; AU speakers can have a more centralized vowel and a lighter release on /n/. The rhoticity is not relevant here since clean contains no rhotic vowel; the main variance is in vowel duration and the alveolar /l/ shade. Overall, the core /klin/ remains stable, but the surrounding vowel and consonant timing can differ.
Key difficulty is the quick, precise sequence /k/ + /l/ + /i/ + /n/. The /l/ in particular can be challenging because many learners misuse it as a dark, back-placed sound or merge it with a vowel. Additionally, the /i/ vowel in this word is a tense, high front vowel that requires a crisp tongue height, not a lax or reduced vowel. Mastery requires coordinating tongue-tip placement for /t/like /k/ release, precise alveolar contact for /l/, and a clear end with /n/.
A unique feature is its tightly packed consonant cluster at the end: /klin/. Unlike many other one-syllable words, clean ends with a nasal consonant immediately following an alveolar lateral /l/. This requires maintaining tongue contact for /l/ while transitioning to the nasal /n/. Also, the vowel /i/ is a short, tense vowel, not the longer diphthong or schwa-like quality you might hear in some unstressed syllables. Focus on clean articulation and crisp release from /k/ to /l/ and /n/.
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- US: Crisp /k/ release and a light, clear /l/; minimal vowel length; non-rhoticity does not apply here. - UK: Slightly crisper /l/ with a possibly more forward tongue position; brisk vowel reduction in fast speech; ensure /i/ remains tense. - AU: Slightly more centralized vowel, softer /k/ release, and a tendency toward a more even tempo; keep the final /n/ clean and nasal-free. IPA references: /klin/ across accents; focus on /l/ lightness and /i/ quality.
The word clean comes from the Old English clǣne, which is related to the Proto-Germanic klainaz and Proto-Indo-European *klei- meaning “to cling, adhere” or “to stick together.” In Old English, clǣne carried the sense of being free of filth and also of moral integrity (as in “clean hands”). Over time, the term broadened to cover not only physical cleanliness but also correctness, honesty, and purity of form in various domains. By Middle English, clean carried a strong sense of unpolluted or unspoiled, both literally and figuratively, including “not stained by error” and “free from blemish.” The metaphorical extension to “clean” in data, performance, or record-keeping parallels the physical sense of removing unwanted material. The first known written attestations appear in Old English texts around the 9th century, with later glosses in Middle English that show a stable semantic core: absence of dirt, impure material, or contamination, plus the evaluative sense of being morally or aesthetically right. In modern usage, clean remains a high-frequency term across commerce, technology, hygiene, and virtue contexts, retaining both its tactile and abstract senses. It also appears in phrasal forms (clean up, clean out, clean-cut) that reinforce the idea of removing, purifying, or ideal neatness.
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💡 These words have similar meanings to "clean" and can often be used interchangeably.
🔄 These words have opposite meanings to "clean" and show contrast in usage.
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Words that rhyme with "clean"
-een sounds
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