--- title: "How to pronounce calm | Murmur" description: "Calm has two CMUdict forms, KAHM (K AA1 M) with a silent l and KAHLM (K AA1 L M) with the l sounded; both are listed." canonical: "https://www.murmurtts.com/pronunciation/calm" --- [Murmur](https://www.murmurtts.com/)/[Pronunciation](https://www.murmurtts.com/pronunciation)/calm Pronunciation · Everyday language # How to pronounce calm Calm has two CMUdict forms, KAHM (K AA1 M) with a silent l and KAHLM (K AA1 L M) with the l sounded; both are listed. [Buy $49](https://murmur-licenses.tarunyadav9761.workers.dev/checkout)[Download free for Apple Silicon (3-day Pro trial)](https://murmur-updates.tarunyadav9761.workers.dev/download/latest)Intel Mac? [Download here](https://murmur-updates.tarunyadav9761.workers.dev/download/intel).Not sure? Apple menu > About This Mac shows your chip. Free plan with Kokoro voices, 3,000 characters a day · 3-day Pro trial, then $49 once ## The dictionary sound sequence CMUdict lists these 2 North American English pronunciations for **calm**. Read each sequence from left to right. The numbers mark vowel stress: **1** primary, **2** secondary, **0** unstressed. Dictionary variant 1 `K AA1 M` **Syllable estimate** 1 vowel nucleus **Primary stress** 1st vowel position Dictionary variant 2 `K AA1 L M` **Syllable estimate** 1 vowel nucleus **Primary stress** 1st vowel position [Check calm in Merriam-Webster and listen to available dictionary audio](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/calm). Syllable counts come from vowel tokens; CMUdict does not supply syllable boundaries here. Variant order follows the dictionary and does not rank correctness. This lexicon does not represent every accent or context. ## Use calm in context Calm is used everywhere, from meditation apps to weather forecasts, and whether the l is sounded varies by region. Both forms are common in the US and both appear in CMUdict, so either works as long as it stays the same through a recording. 1. Take a deep breath and stay calm. 2. The sea was calm all morning. ### A practice cue Decide whether you sound the l, and let palm and balm follow the same choice. ## Read the sound tokens Each example word below is a cue for the named sound, rather than a respelling of calm. Unstressed vowels may sound reduced. These cues follow the [CMU phoneme-set key (Appendix A)](https://www.cs.cmu.edu/~aria/Papers/MastersThesis.pdf#page=115). `K`sound in **key**consonant`AA`sound in **odd**vowel`M`sound in **me**consonant`L`sound in **lee**consonant Take it to your next recording ## Make an audition worksheet Select a dictionary variant for your checklist. The two original sentences retain their normal spelling; this worksheet helps you review a recording rather than forcing a speech engine to use phonemes. Copying and downloading happen in your browser. No script upload or audio generation is needed. ## Dictionary source The phonemes on this page come from [CMU Pronouncing Dictionary](https://github.com/cmusphinx/cmudict/blob/74790861f652b15e4ac49015a90074ad62a27690/cmudict.dict). The dictionary maintainers acknowledge that errors and omissions can remain; check another source or a speaker when the pronunciation matters. 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Murmur generates speech locally on Apple Silicon and Intel Macs, and on 64-bit Windows 10 and 11 as a beta. Try your audition sentences with your chosen model and voice, listen for pronunciation, and review the result before exporting. A dictionary sequence does not guarantee a model’s output. [Buy $49](https://murmur-licenses.tarunyadav9761.workers.dev/checkout)[Download free for Apple Silicon (3-day Pro trial)](https://murmur-updates.tarunyadav9761.workers.dev/download/latest)Intel Mac? [Download here](https://murmur-updates.tarunyadav9761.workers.dev/download/intel).Not sure? Apple menu > About This Mac shows your chip.[Explore Murmur](https://www.murmurtts.com/?utm_source=pronunciation&utm_medium=pseo&utm_campaign=wave1&utm_content=calm#product)[Get Murmur free by sharing it](https://www.murmurtts.com/free?utm_source=pronunciation&utm_medium=pseo&utm_campaign=wave1&utm_content=calm)