One syllable: coals.
kohlz
/koʊlz/
coals is pronounced kohlz (/koʊlz/). It has one syllable (coals), with the stress on "coals". Coals refers to the plural of coal, a combustible rock primarily used for fuel. In everyday use, 'coals' can describe multiple pieces of coal or metaphorically refer to charcoal or cinders associated with burning. The term appears in contexts like energy, heating, or historical references to coal mining. It denotes a tangible material as well as a figurative source of heat or energy.
Coals refers to the plural of coal, a combustible rock primarily used for fuel. In everyday use, 'coals' can describe multiple pieces of coal or metaphorically refer to charcoal or cinders associated with burning. The term appears in contexts like energy, heating, or historical references to coal mining. It denotes a tangible material as well as a figurative source of heat or energy.
- You commonly merge the /l/ into the preceding vowel, saying /koʊz/ instead of /koʊlz/. Correct by explicitly articulating a light /l/ before the final /z/, keeping the tongue tip at the alveolar ridge. - Another frequent error is flattening the /oʊ/ into a pure /o/ or /əʊ/; practice with a slow glide from /o/ to /ʊ/ to preserve the diphthong. - Some speakers drop the z-sound in rapid speech, pronouncing /koʊl/ or /koʊz/ inconsistently; ensure your vocal folds vibrate for the final /z/ and finish crisply with /z/.
"We burned the coals slowly to keep the stove warm."
"The miners ferried shovelfuls of coals from the tunnel."
"A pile of glowing coals rested at the bottom of the barbecue pit."
Say /koʊlz/. Start with a rounded, close-to-dipthong /oʊ/ as in 'go', then move to the voiced alveolar sibilant /z/. The tongue taps the alveolar ridge for the /l/ before the /z/ in many speakers, producing a light /lz/ cluster. Stress is on the single syllable word, with a smooth transition from /oʊ/ to /lz/. In careful speech, ensure the /l/ is clear before the /z/, not merged into the vowel. IPA: US /koʊlz/, UK /ˈkəʊlz/, AU /ˈkoːlz/.
Two common errors are pronouncing the final /lz/ as a simple /l/ or as /z/ alone, and flattening the /oʊ/ into a pure /o/ or /aʊ/. To fix: keep the diphthong /oʊ/ intact—start with a rounded /o/ then glide to /ʊ/ or /ə/ depending on accent, then land on the crisp /lz/. Ensure the /l/ has a clear contact before /z/; don’t voice the /l/ too strongly and blend it into /z/. Practicing with minimal pairs like ‘coal’ vs. ‘coles’ can help you hear the final consonant cluster.
In US English, /koʊlz/ often has a sturdy /l/ before the /z/ with a clear diphthong /oʊ/ and a relatively pronounced /l/. In UK English, /kəʊls/ may feature a slightly shorter or more centralized /oʊ/ quality, and the /l/ can be lighter or “clear” depending on the speaker, with less rhotic emphasis. Australian English tends to retain a broad /oː/ or /əʊ/ glide, with a similarly clear /l/ and /z/, but vowel quality can be more centralized and the /l/ might be darker in some regions. Across all, the final /lz/ remains a voiced consonant cluster, but vowel length and rhotacization influence perceived sound.
The difficulty often lies in the /oʊ/ diphthong’s precise articulation and the /lz/ cluster after it. Maintaining the glide of /oʊ/ while transitioning to the /l/ and then the voiced /z/ requires precise tongue positioning: raise the back of the tongue slightly for /o/ and lead into a front, light /l/ before the alveolar /z/. Some speakers may insert an extra vowel or mispronounce the /l/ as a vowel-like sound, or voice the /l/ too soon. Practicing slow transitions and tapping the /l/ with the tip of the tongue helps stabilize the final cluster.
A unique aspect is ensuring the /l/ is light and non-syllabic in rapid speech; many speakers reduce it, resulting in /koʊz/ or /koʊlz/ with a weak /l/. Emphasizing the /l/ before /z/ is key to-seem to separate the clusters in careful speech. Another distinct feature is the potential reduction of the second vowel to a schwa in casual speech in some dialects, yielding /kəʊlz/ rather than /koʊlz/. Familiarize yourself with both the full form and the reduced form in context.
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- US: Maintain a bright /oʊ/ with relaxed lips; keep the /l/ light and the /z/ voiced with a steady airflow. - UK: Emphasize a slightly more centralized /əʊ/ for /oʊ/ and a crisper /l/ before /z/; rhoticity is less relevant here as /coals/ is not rhoticized. - AU: Expect a broader vowel in /oʊ/ or /əʊ/ and a clear /l/ before /z/. Tie the vowel glide to the following l like US but with subtle regional coloration.
Coal originates from the Old English word coale, related to the Proto-Germanic word kolan- or kol-, which referred to coal, charcoal, or embers. Its semantic field broadened to mean the mineral fuel we know today through Middle English, with influences from Old Norse and Dutch trade networks that popularized coal as a key energy source. The earliest clear attestations in English date from the medieval period, when coal was increasingly mined and used for heating and metallurgy. Over centuries, 'coal' evolved from a general term for burning rock to a precise mineral name for a specific sedimentary carbon-rich rock. The plural form 'coals' simply follows standard English pluralization for countable nouns, used when referring to multiple pieces of coal or multiple types/sources of coal. The compound forms like 'coals' appear in historical mining reports, ship logs, and economic discussions about coal production and usage. In modern usage, 'coals' retains its literal sense and can appear in figurative phrases, particularly in literature and poetry to evoke heat, energy, or industry.
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💡 These words have similar meanings to "coals" and can often be used interchangeably.
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Words that rhyme with "coals"
-als sounds
-les sounds
Practice with these rhyming pairs to improve your pronunciation consistency:
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