WAWL-nuhts
/ˈwɔˌlnʌts/
walnuts is pronounced WAWL-nuhts (/ˈwɔˌlnʌts/). Walnuts refer to the edible nuts of Juglans species, typically harvested for their hard shells and rich, slightly bitter kernels. They are commonly used in baking, cooking, and snacking, valued for their nutty flavor and nutritional fats. In culinary contexts, “walnuts” can also describe dishes or products that include this nut ingredient.
Walnuts refer to the edible nuts of Juglans species, typically harvested for their hard shells and rich, slightly bitter kernels. They are commonly used in baking, cooking, and snacking, valued for their nutty flavor and nutritional fats. In culinary contexts, “walnuts” can also describe dishes or products that include this nut ingredient.
"She bakes the walnut tart for Sunday dessert."
"A handful of walnuts makes a quick, healthy snack."
"The salad was topped with roasted walnuts and feta."
Pronounce it as /ˈwɔːl.nʌts/ for US and UK. The first syllable carries primary stress, with /ɔː/ as in 'law' and a light /l/ immediately followed by /n/. The second syllable reduces to a schwa-like /ə/ in many casual speech, but in careful speech you’ll hear /nʌts/ with /ʌ/ like 'strut' and final /ts/ as a crisp, unaspirated sibilant. Mouth position: start with a rounded, open vowel for /ɔː/, then glide into an alveolar stop cluster /l/ + /n/. Audio examples on Pronounce or YouGlish can help confirm the exact transitions.
Common errors: 1) Reducing the /ɔː/ in the first syllable to a short /ɒ/ or /ɑ/ in some American accents. 2) Dropping the /l/ or making it a dark, velarized /ɫ/ in rapid speech. 3) Slurring the second syllable into /wʌts/ or /wɒnts/, losing the /l/ and the /n/ clarity. Correction tips: keep the initial /w/ and /ɔː/ clearly, articulate the /l/ with the tongue blade touching the alveolar ridge, then release into /n/ before the /ʌ/ vowel; end with a crisp /ts/ cluster, not /s/ or /z/. Practice with minimal pairs to maintain the /l/ and /n/ sequence.
US: /ˈwɔːl.nʌts/ with strong rhoticity and a clear /ɔː/ in the first syllable; US tends to a more pronounced /l/ and slightly less rounded /ɔː/. UK: /ˈwɔː.lʌts/ often retains a lighter /l/ and a more clipped /ts/ ending; some speakers show a more centralized /ʌ/ or /ə/ in fast speech. AU: /ˈwɔːlnæts/ may exhibit a more centralized /æ/ in the second syllable or a lengthened /ɔː/ before /l/; some speakers may merge /l/ and /n/ more smoothly in casual speech. Real-world variations depend on vowel shifts and local rhotics; listening with native speaker examples helps calibrate your ear.
The difficulty comes from the cluster /ˈwɔːl.nʌts/ combining a rounded, tense first vowel, a liquid /l/, and a final sibilant + stop cluster /ts/. The /l/ and /n/ adjacency can cause assimilation or elision in fast speech, while the /ɔː/ vs /ɔ/ vowel quality challenges non-rhotic listeners. Additionally, the plural form adds an extra syllable and the /t/ in /ts/ must be released crisply to avoid a lazy ending. Practice by isolating /ɔːl/ and /n/ with slow, then progressively faster repetition to achieve clean phonetic transitions.
Walnuts uniquely combine a long first vowel (/ɔː/), a liquid /l/, and a voiceless alveolar affricate /ts/ at the end. This triad requires precise mouth configuration: a rounded /ɔː/ leads into a light /l/ with the tongue tip at the alveolar ridge, followed by the /n/ and a crisp, tangy /ts/ release. It’s a word where stress placement drives perception: the first syllable must be clearly stressed to avoid misperception as ‘wal-nuts’ with equal stress, ensuring the listener recognizes the nut name immediately.
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The word walnuts comes from Old English wenalt, related to the German Walnuss. The term evolved from Proto-Germanic *walnan- or *walnad- referring to the fruit of the walnut tree. Middle English absorbed forms like walnute and walnutes, with the plural Waldnutes later simplifying to walnuts around the 15th century. The semantic shift centered on the nut itself rather than the tree. The root likely traces further to Proto-Indo-European *wel- meaning “to turn” or “to wheel,” a speculative link to the curved, wrinkled shell shape. Over time, walnuts maintained their status as a prized, nutrient-dense food across European cuisines, migrating globally through trade, colonization, and culinary exchange. First known written appearances in English texts occur in medieval recipe compilations, reflecting both agricultural and gastronomic significance. The term’s modern pronunciation adheres to standard stress patterns (WAL-nuts), with vowel qualities aligning to English long /ɔː/ or /ɑː/ in different dialects, depending on regional vowel shifts.
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💡 These words have similar meanings to "walnuts" and can often be used interchangeably.
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Words that rhyme with "walnuts"
-uts sounds
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