2 syllables: Col, ours. Stress on Col.
KUHL-urz
/ˈkʌlɚz/
Colours is pronounced KUHL-urz (/ˈkʌlɚz/). It has two syllables (Col-ours), with the stress on "Col". Colours is a plural noun referring to the property of objects that can be perceived as red, blue, green, etc. It denotes hues and chromatic qualities, often used in discussion of aesthetics, design, and perception. In British English, 'colours' includes the letter 'u' as in 'colour', while American usage uses 'colors' with the same pronunciation minus the 'u'.
nounColours is a plural noun referring to the property of objects that can be perceived as red, blue, green, etc. It denotes hues and chromatic qualities, often used in discussion of aesthetics, design, and perception. In British English, 'colours' includes the letter 'u' as in 'colour', while American usage uses 'colors' with the same pronunciation minus the 'u'.
How to Pronounce Colours
"The colors of the sunset ranged from pink to gold."
"She chose vibrant colours for the mural."
"The colours in the flag represent different regions."
US: /ˈkʌ.lɚz/ (two syllables, primary stress on the first; the 'o' is lax as in 'cup'; the 'r' is rhotic. UK/AU: /ˈkʌ.ləz/ or /ˈkə.ləz/ depending on vowel reduction; final /z/ as in 'zoo' end. Mouth: start with a short open-mid 'uh' sound, lips neutral, then a light, quick /l/ with tongue at the alveolar ridge, then a schwa-ish vowel before the final /z/. You’ll hear a slight syllable-timing with a crisp final z.
Two frequent errors: (1) Over-elongating the second syllable, producing /ˈkʌ.lɜːˈz/; keep it short and unaccented as /ˈkʌ.lərz/. (2) Mispronouncing the initial vowel as /ɒ/ or /ɔː/ in non-rhotic accents; aim for /ˈkʌ/ with a lax vowel. For non-rhotic varieties, you may drop the /r/ before the final consonant if linked to a following word; in tight speech, it remains a light rhotic release in American. Practice with a light schwa before z: /lər/ or /lərz/.
US: rhotic /ˈkʌ.lɚz/ with full /r/ in coda; syllables are distinctly separated. UK/AU: non-rhotic or semi-rhotic influences; some speakers reduce to /ˈkʌ.ləz/ or /ˈkə.ləz/ with a schwa in the first syllable and a softer final /z/. Vowel quality varies: American /ʌ/ as in 'cup', British /ʌ/ or /ə/ depending on region; Australian often features a centralized vowel in unstressed syllables. Lip rounding is minimal; tongue tip near alveolar ridge for the /l/.
The blend of an unstressed second syllable and the final voiced alveolar fricative /z/ can blur in fast speech. Non-native speakers often misplace the primary stress or reduce the first vowel too much, becoming /ˈkɒ.laz/ or /ˈkʌ.lɔːz/. The presence of two vowels in rapid succession (o-u) can tempt incorrect vowel spelling or mis-timing of the /l/ transition. It helps to emphasize the first syllable and maintain a brief, crisp /lər/ before the /z/.
The word has a clear two-syllable rhythm with primary stress on the first syllable. The /l/ is light and alveolar, and the second syllable often contains a schwa (or reduced vowel) before the voiced final /z/. In careful speech, you’ll articulate /ˈkʌ.lərz/ (US) or /ˈkə.ləz/ (UK/AU) with a quick, short /l/ and a crisp /z/. Pay attention to the placement of the tongue for the /ɹ/ in rhotic dialects; in rhotic American, the /r/ is pronounced, while in non-rhotic UK/AU, it may be less prominent.
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The word colours comes from Middle English colours, borrowed from Old French couleurs and ultimately from Latin colōrēs, plural of colōr. The Latin root color- refers to hue, pigmentation. The transition into English maintained the plural -s ending for count nouns and adjectives used descriptively. Early forms in English display attested spellings such as colour(s) across 14th–16th centuries. The concept of color as a perceptual property of light waves arose in philosophy and science from antiquity onward, but the word itself consolidated in the medieval/early modern period as trade, painting, and textiles expanded. The British spelling preserves the 'u' before 'r' due to etymological influences from French and Latin forms, whereas American English standardized to colors. The sense broadened beyond pigments to describe outcomes, statuses (colors of flags), and symbolic meanings, and later to digital contexts (color spaces). First known printed uses appear in 14th–15th century English texts as colour, with color variants appearing in dictionaries by the 1600s, cementing the modern plural colors/colours in respective dialects.
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💡 These words have similar meanings to "Colours" and can often be used interchangeably.
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Words that rhyme with "Colours"
-ers sounds
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