4 syllables: Co, los, si, ans. Stress on los.
kuh-LAH-shuhnz
/kəˈlɑːʃənz/
Colossians is pronounced kuh-LAH-shuhnz (/kəˈlɑːʃənz/). It has four syllables (Co-los-si-ans), with the stress on "los". Colossians is a proper noun referring to an ancient city and, in religious contexts, to the Epistle to the Colossians in the New Testament. As a plural proper noun, it denotes people or letters associated with Colossus- and Colossae-related communities, and is used in academic, theological, and scriptural discussions. Pronounced with stress on the second syllable, it has a distinct three-syllable rhythm that benefits from careful vowel articulation.
nounColossians is a proper noun referring to an ancient city and, in religious contexts, to the Epistle to the Colossians in the New Testament. As a plural proper noun, it denotes people or letters associated with Colossus- and Colossae-related communities, and is used in academic, theological, and scriptural discussions. Pronounced with stress on the second syllable, it has a distinct three-syllable rhythm that benefits from careful vowel articulation.
How to Pronounce Colossians
"The Colossians letter is part of the Pauline corpus."
"Researchers compared the Colossians inscriptions to other Hellenistic texts."
"In class, we discussed the political structure of Colossae and its inhabitants, the Colossians."
Say ko-LOSS-ee-ənz with primary stress on the second syllable. In IPA: kəˈlɒs.i.ənz for US/UK; the final -z becomes /z/. Break it into three syllables: ko-LOSS-i-ans, with a light, unstressed first vowel. For audio reference, listen to the pronunciation in standard Bible study recordings where Colossians appears distinctly as /kəˈlɒs.i.ənz/ and ensure the middle /ɒ/ is open and rounded. Practicing slowly at first helps lock the rhythm.
Common errors: misplacing the stress on the first or third syllable (pronouncing ko-LOH-shee-ans); softening or over-articulating the /ɒ/ or the /l/ so it sounds like /ə/ or /lɒ/; and mispronouncing the final -ians as -yans or -ions. Correction tips: keep the primary stress on the second syllable, ensure an open back vowel /ɒ/ in that syllable, and finish with a clear /ənz/ rather than rolling the ending into a long vowel. A quick practice drill: ko-LOSS-i-ənz, then ko-LOSS-ee-ənz, then ko-LOSS-i-änz.
In US and UK English, the core is /kəˈlɒs.i.ənz/, with rhoticity affecting the initial schwa in some American variants. The /ɒ/ in the second syllable is a short open back vowel in British and American speech, though Americans sometimes reduce it slightly. Australians typically maintain a broader /ɒ/ with a more rounded lip shape, and the final /z/ remains voiced. Overall, the primary variation is vowel quality and the treatment of the middle vowel, not the syllable count.
The difficulty lies in the unstressed first syllable schwa, the open back /ɒ/ in the stressed second syllable, and the sequence -s.pronounced- as /s/ across syllables, plus the ending /ənz/ that requires a clear /ə/ before the final /nz/. Mastery requires careful articulation of the middle vowel and a crisp end consonant without voicing bleed into the next word. Working on the three-syllable rhythm with a tight jaw and neutral lip position helps maintain clarity.
The middle vowel in Colossians is a short o, transcribed /ɒ/ in many dialects (UK and many US pronunciations). It’s a pointed, open back vowel made with a small mouth opening and rounded lips. Keep the tongue low-mid and avoid turning it into a schwa or a long o. Practicing with paired words like 'Colossans' or 'Colossus' helps anchor the vowel quality and stress pattern.
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Colossians derives from Colossae, an ancient city in Lycia (modern-day Turkey). The root is the Greek Colossae (Κολωσσαί), used in classical and Hellenistic contexts to denote the inhabitants or things pertaining to Colossae. The term Colossae itself likely stems from a Greek root meaning “abounding in the large” or “capped/dressed,” though the exact semantic evolution is debated. The name appears in classical references to the region and is assimilated into Latin as Colossaeus/Colossaeans and into English as Colossians. In biblical usage, Colossians denotes the church community there and, as a letter, the apostle Paul’s Epistle to the Colossians. First known written use in English appears in early modern biblical translations; the form Colossians solidified in religious scholarship from the 16th–17th centuries onward. The term therefore carries both geographic specificity and doctrinal significance, occupying a stable, formal niche in theological language. It has since been used widely in academic discourse, sermon literature, and biblical studies to discuss the Epistle and the Colossaeans as a historical people group.
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Words that rhyme with "Colossians"
-ons sounds
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