PRONUNCIATION / Science and learning

How to pronounce chameleon

Check chameleon pronunciation with CMUdict sound tokens and stress, then practise two original sentences and download a voiceover audition worksheet.

The dictionary sound sequence

CMUdict lists this North American English pronunciation for chameleon. Read each sequence from left to right. The numbers mark vowel stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

Dictionary variant 1

K AH0 M IY1 L IY0 AH0 N

Syllable estimate: 4 vowel nuclei
Primary stress: 2nd vowel position

Check chameleon in Merriam-Webster and listen to available dictionary audio.

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 chameleon in context

Chameleon names a reptile and also describes someone who adapts their appearance or behavior to different situations. Wildlife narration should use concrete observations, while a figurative character description needs an example of the change. Clear context prevents the metaphor from competing with the literal subject.

The chameleon moved slowly along the branch.
As a performer, she was a chameleon who could inhabit sharply different roles.

Read the sound tokens

Each example word below is a cue for the named sound, rather than a respelling of chameleon. Unstressed vowels may sound reduced. These cues follow the CMU phoneme-set key (Appendix A).

Ksound in keyconsonant

AHsound in hutvowel

Msound in meconsonant

IYsound in eatvowel

Lsound in leeconsonant

Nsound in kneeconsonant

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.

Worksheet pronunciation variant

Your plain-text audition worksheet

How to pronounce chameleon

Word: chameleon
Dictionary variant: 1 of 1
CMUdict ARPABET: K AH0 M IY1 L IY0 AH0 N
Vowel nuclei / estimated syllables: 4
Primary stress: 2nd vowel position

ORIGINAL AUDITION SCRIPT
The chameleon moved slowly along the branch.
As a performer, she was a chameleon who could inhabit sharply different roles.

REVIEW CHECKLIST
[ ] Read both sentences naturally; keep the source wording.
[ ] Compare the intended pronunciation with the selected dictionary variant.
[ ] Listen for vowel sounds, consonants, and word stress in context.
[ ] Check with a speaker or another dictionary when accent or meaning matters.
[ ] Generate and listen to a short Murmur sample before exporting the full script.

Practice note: Test chameleon with the animal description or character comparison your script actually uses. Listen for smooth delivery through the whole word and keep the defining observation close enough that the listener can understand the literal subject or metaphor immediately.

CMUdict is a North American English lexicon, not a recording or a complete accent guide.
Variant order is dictionary order; it is not a ranking of correctness.
Source: https://github.com/cmusphinx/cmudict/blob/74790861f652b15e4ac49015a90074ad62a27690/cmudict.dict
Source commit: 74790861f652b15e4ac49015a90074ad62a27690
License: https://www.murmurtts.com/downloads/cmudict-license.txt
Reference: https://www.murmurtts.com/pronunciation/chameleon

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. The dictionary maintainers acknowledge that errors and omissions can remain; check another source or a speaker when the pronunciation matters.

CMUdict README · Included dictionary license

Source version and checksum

Commit: 74790861f652b15e4ac49015a90074ad62a27690

Dictionary SHA-256: 81917843c7f44ce2b094ac63873c2c7a4cf802040792c455ba3ca406891c3d22

Build a pronunciation test suite for local TTS · Browse all word references