Native Phrase Lab
WillowbrookWord 508 of 545 · Silent letters
How to pronounce whole
/həʊl/ British English
HOHL
1 beat (syllable).
a Crossed-out letters are silent.
✗ Many people say
WOHL
✓ Say
HOHL
My tip
The w is silent. It sounds exactly like hole.
In a sentence
I ate the whole pizza!
Now you say it
- Listen to me two or three times.
- Say it slowly, one beat at a time: HOHL.
- Say the sentence at normal speed.
Questions
How do you pronounce whole?
In British English, whole is pronounced /həʊl/. Say it like this: HOHL. The w is silent. It sounds exactly like hole.
How many syllables are in whole?
When you say it, whole has 1 syllable: HOHL.
More words like this: silent letters
Practise these sounds
- The schwa, /ə/The small, weak sound in this word. It’s one of the 4 sounds you can practise completely free in my Sound Atlas.
- The strong beat: /əʊ/ as in “go”Meet this sound and hear it in my Sound Atlas. Free.
- The Sound MapAll 44 sounds of British English, in my voice. Free.
- Pitch Perfect: the Silent letters setHear me say it, record yourself, and see your sound under mine. A premium game.
- More gamesFive of my English games are free to play.