2 syllables: knock, ing. Stress on knock.
NAH-king
/ˈnɑkɪŋ/
knocking is pronounced NAH-king (/ˈnɑkɪŋ/). It has two syllables (knock-ing), with the stress on "knock". Knocking refers to the act of striking a surface, typically with a closed fist or knuckles, to gain attention or signal presence. In common usage, it also denotes the activity of producing a repetitive, hollow sound by tapping on doors, walls, or objects. The term can function as a present participle or gerund in phrases like 'knocking on the door' and appears in idioms such as 'knocking ten bells' in some dialects.
Knocking refers to the act of striking a surface, typically with a closed fist or knuckles, to gain attention or signal presence. In common usage, it also denotes the activity of producing a repetitive, hollow sound by tapping on doors, walls, or objects. The term can function as a present participle or gerund in phrases like 'knocking on the door' and appears in idioms such as 'knocking ten bells' in some dialects.
"She could hear the knocking at the door and went to answer."
"The old wooden door answered with a hollow knocking sound."
"Knocking softly on the window, he asked to come in."
Pronounce it as KNOC-king with primary stress on the first syllable: /ˈnɒk.ɪŋ/ in US/UK/AU. Start with the /n/ nasal, then /ɒ/ (open back rounded vowel like 'lot'), followed by a hard /k/ release, then /ɪ/ (short 'i'), ending with a velar nasal /ŋ/. Ensure the /k/ is released crisply before the /ɪ/ and that the /n/ blends into the /ɒ/ without a separate vowel. You’ll hear a quick, clean transition from the plosive to the vowel, then the nasal.
Two common errors: (1) Pronouncing the sequence as /nɒkɪŋ/ with a glide or omission of the /k/ release, leading to /ɒkɪŋ/ or /nɒkɪn/. (2) Slurring /kn/ into one sound or misplacing stress (e.g., saying knOCKing with stress on the second syllable). To correct: produce a clear alveolar /n/ then a clean stop release /k/ before the /ɪ/; maintain a strong initial stress, then a crisp ending with /ŋ/. Practice by isolating /n/ + /k/ and rehearing the release into /ɪŋ/.
In rhotic US, /ˈnɒ.kɪŋ/ like UK; US often uses a shorter /ɒ/ or broader /ɒ/ depending on region; UK RP maintains /ˈnɒ.kɪŋ/ with non-rhoticity not affecting this word. Australian tends to front or centralize /ɒ/ slightly and may have a more fronted /ɪ/; the /ŋ/ can be lighter. Overall, rhotics are less pronounced in UK; vowel differences in /ɒ/ vs. /ɒː/ can shift slightly by region; the /k/ release remains essential across all varieties.
The difficulty mainly lies in the /kn/ onset and the /k/ release into /ɪ/. English speakers rarely encounter a hard /k/ immediately after /n/ in the same syllable; you often blend, producing /n/ and /k/ coalescence or misplacing the /k/. The transition from a plosive /k/ to a front vowel /ɪ/ requires precise tongue positioning and timing. Another challenge is maintaining the short, clipped initial vowel without elongation.
In 'knocking,' the 'k' is not silent; it is a voiceless velar stop /k/ that is released. The letter 'k' in 'kn-' is pronounced as a sound, even though historically it is silent in some spellings. The 'n' immediately precedes it with tongue contact behind the teeth before the /k/ release, so the sequence is /n/ + /k/ + /ɪŋ/. Knowing this prevents skipping the /k/ or misplacing the release.
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The verb knock comes from Old English cnoccian, akin to Dutch knokken and German knacken, all rooted in a Proto-Germanic base knōk- meaning a strike or blow. Early forms in Old English (before 1100) described knocking as a knocking sound or strike and were applied to doors or objects. Over time, knock acquired a broader semantic range: to collide or strike (as in ‘knock the ball’), to defeat or exhaust (as in ‘knock out’), and to recognize success or failure (as in ‘knock at the door’ and idiomatic uses). The present participle knocking emerges in Middle English as -ing forms began to be used to create gerunds and participles, maintaining the sense of ongoing action. The usage of knocking on doors as a social action remained stable into Modern English, with the phrase becoming a common way to announce presence or request entry. In American and British varieties, spelling remained knock with -ing yielding knocking, a standard for progressive aspect or gerund usage. The term also entered colleagues’ and musicians’ jargon (as in knocking on wood) and as an onomatopoeic descriptor of the sound made by the action. First known written appearances appear in religious or legal texts describing doorways and entries, then extending into everyday narrative by the 16th to 18th centuries. Modern use retains the core sense of a physical knock producing a resonant, hollow sound, often tied to social interaction and consent. “Knocking” as a noun or verb is now ubiquitous in both speech and writing across English dialects.
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💡 These words have similar meanings to "knocking" and can often be used interchangeably.
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Words that rhyme with "knocking"
-ing sounds
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