What is the /cl/ Sound?
First, let's look at a few examples of words with the English /cl/ sound:
- clue
- clerk
- nuclear
- nuclear
- uncle
- circle
According to Baruch College's Tools for Clear Speech, the cl /kl/ sound is made by doing the following:
“/kl/ is a cluster, which is a combination of two sounds. The first sound is /k/, which is made by lifting the back of your tongue towards the soft palate and then pushing the air out of your throat quickly. Before you let the air out, stop it briefly behind your tongue. Just after, you need to make an /l/ sound. This sound is made by touching your tongue to the top of your mouth behind your teeth and vibrating the vocal cords as you let the air flow around the sides of your tongue. The starting position for this sound, therefore, is with your lips open and your tongue raised to your soft palate, ready to push your tongue forward to produce the /l/ sound. These sounds are made almost simultaneously. This is a quick transition and will take practice.”
If you need more help articulating the /cl/ sound, check out this video to learn the correct tongue and mouth placement.
Practicing the /cl/ Sound
Everything you need to pronounce the English /cl/ sound correctly is on this page. Just follow the instructions.
What do you have to do?
Practice for 5 minutes a day for 7 days.
That’s it.
Your goal is to pronounce the /cl/ sound clearly and easily by the end of day 7.
Let’s do it!
This guide to the American English /cl/ sound is full of useful information. Click the link below to jump to the part you are looking for:
- Day 1 of the /cl/ sound
- Day 2 of the /cl/ sound
- Day 3 of the /cl/ sound
- Day 4 of the /cl/ sound
- Day 5 of the /cl/ sound
- Day 6 of the /cl/ sound
- Day 7 of the /cl/ sound
- Additional /cl/ sound resources
- PDF download of the /cl/ sound
Day 1: The /cl/ Sound
If you are ready, let’s start with the practice for day one.
It’s pretty simple.
Watch the video and follow along.
Listen and repeat.
🔊 Click here to listen to the audio version
Minimal Pairs
Your Goal: To feel the difference between the /cl/ sound and similar sounds like /l/ or /k/.
- clay - lay
- clip - lip
- clap - cap
- cling - king
Vowel Collection
- clean - clan - clone
- click - clerk - clock
Syllable Stress Collection
Your Goal: To practice the /cl/ sound while also developing a better understanding of proper syllable stress.
- closure
- clarify
- nuclear
- unclean
Reduced Sounds Collection
Your Goal: To practice the /cl/ sound while also working on linking words and phrases together.
- There are a lot of bicycles in front of the clinic.
- It has to be recyclable.
Tongue Twister Collection
Your Goal: To practice the /cl/ sound while improving your speaking speed and enunciation.
- Close the clip bags and clamp them shut.
- Clever clerk classes climb up the mountain.
Day 2: The /cl/ Sound
Just like day one, except simpler.
Watch the video and follow along.
Listen and repeat.
🔊 Click here to listen to the audio version
Minimal Pairs
Your Goal: To feel the difference between the /cl/ sound and similar sounds like /l/ or /k/.
- clap - lap
- clip - lip
- kippers - clippers
- clock - cock
Vowel Collection
Your Goal: To practice the /cl/ sound while also improving your pronunciation of the English vowel sounds.
- clue - clear - Claire
- cluck - cloke - Clark
Syllable Stress Collection
Your Goal: To practice the /cl/ sound while also developing a better understanding of proper syllable stress.
- exclude
- secluded
- exclaim
- declare
Reduced Sounds Collection
Your Goal: To practice the /cl/ sound while also working on linking words and phrases together.
- Will I see you at the club?
- I must have missed a clue.
Tongue Twister Collection
Your Goal: To practice the /cl/ sound while improving your speaking speed and enunciation.
- How can a clam cram in a clean cream can?
- Clean clams crammed in clean cans.
Day 3: The /cl/ Sound
Today will be the last day you only listen and repeat.
Tomorrow, you will have to start to speak.
But let’s focus on today.
Just like yesterday, watch the video and follow along.
Listen and repeat.
🔊 Click here to listen to the audio version
Minimal Pairs
Your Goal: To feel the difference between the /cl/ sound and similar sounds like /l/.
- clock - lock
- cloud - loud
- climb - lime
- clap - lap
Vowel Collection
- cloud - clad - clod - Claud
- cycle - circle - sickle
Syllable Stress Collection
Your Goal: To practice the /cl/ sound while also developing a better understanding of proper syllable stress.
- unclear
- cyclical
- acclaim
- client
Reduced Sounds Collection
Your Goal: To practice the /cl/ sound while also working on linking words and phrases together.
- What type of oracle makes a claim like this?
- We have got to clean the cubicle.
Tongue Twister Collection
Your Goal: To practice the /cl/ sound while improving your speaking speed and enunciation.
- The clown club clones the clover leaves.
- The cleft made him cling to the clipped rock.
Day 4: The /cl/ Sound
Time to speak.
You will notice that these are the words, phrases, and sentences you repeated on day one.
Today, your job is different.
Open up a Google Doc, enable voice typing and speak.
Watch the video to see how it works.
- clay - lay
- clip - lip
- clap - cap
- cling - king
- clean - clan - clone
- click - clerk - clock
- closure
- clarify
- nuclear
- unclean
- There are a lot of bicycles in front of the clinic.
- It has to be recyclable.
- Close the clip bags and clamp them shut.
- Clever clerk classes climb up the mountain.
Day 5: The /cl/ Sound
Let’s revisit the words, phrases, and sentences you practiced on day two.
Just like yesterday, open up a Google Doc, enable voice typing, and get ready to speak.
Let’s do it!
- clap - lap
- clip - lip
- kippers - clippers
- clock - cock
- clue - clear - Claire
- cluck - cloke - Clark
- exclude
- secluded
- exclaim
- declare
- Will I see you at the club?
- I must have missed a clue.
- How can a clam cram in a clean cream can?
- Clean clams crammed in clean cans.
TIP*** Are there some words that the computer does not understand no matter how many times you say them? No worries, just skip it and move on. No one is perfect.
Day 6: The /cl/ Sound
You are so close to day 7.
Be proud that you have made it this far :)
In today’s lesson, let’s circle back to the words, phrases, and sentences you repeated on day three and practice saying them aloud.
- clock - lock
- cloud - loud
- climb - lime
- clap - lap
- cloud - clad - clod - Claud
- cycle - circle - sickle
- unclear
- cyclical
- acclaim
- client
- What type of oracle makes a claim like this?
- We have got to clean the cubicle.
- The clown club clones the clover leaves.
- The cleft made him cling to the clipped rock.
Day 7: The /cl/ Sound
Congratulations!!!
You have made it to the very last day of this /cl/ sound practice course.
Do you feel like your pronunciation of this sound is improving?
Let’s finish with a simple, but challenging exercise.
Just like you did on days 4, 5, and 6, open up a Google Doc and enable voice typing.
This time, try to get the technology to recognize these six tongue twisters.
- Close the clip bags and clamp them shut.
- Clever clerk classes climb up the mountain.
- How can a clam cram in a clean cream can?
- Clean clams crammed in clean cans.
- The clown club clones the clover leaves.
- The cleft made him cling to the clipped rock.
Now, turn voice typing off and try to say each tongue twister as fast as possible.
Watch the video to learn how to go through this exercise.
Additional Resources: The /cl/ Sound
Words with the /cl/ sound
| Beginning | Middle | End |
| clue | nuclear | |
| clerk | sclera | |
| clear | unclean | |
| clean | recycled | |
| clever | nucleus | |
| clan | nuclear | |
| cluster | circlet | |
| closed | acclaim | |
| clone | incline | |
| club | exclude | |
| classes | decline | |
| clarity | unclear | |
| classic | cycling | |
| closure | seclude | |
| clarify | exclaim | |
| clutch | declare | |
| clinic | cyclical | |
| client | ||
| clock | ||
| cloud |
Minimal Pair Collection
Minimal Pair initial /cl/ and /l/
clay - lay
clip - lip
clap - lap
clock - lock
cloud - loud
climb - lime
Minimal Pair initial /cl/ and /k/
clap - cap
cling - king
kippers - clippers
clock - cock
Vowel Collection
- clean - clan - clone
- click - clerk - clock
- clue - clear - Claire
- cluck - cloke - Clark
- cloud - clad - clod - Claud
- cycle - circle - sickle
Syllable Stress Collection
- closure
- clarify
- nuclear
- unclean
- exclude
- secluded
- exclaim
- declare
- unclear
- cyclical
- acclaim
- client
Reduced Sounds Collection
- There are a lot of bicycles in front of the clinic.
- It has to be recyclable.
- Will I see you at the club?
- I must have missed a clue.
- What type of oracle makes a claim like this?
- We have got to clean the cubicle.
Tongue Twister Collection
- Close the clip bags and clamp them shut.
- Clever clerk classes climb up the mountain.
- How can a clam cram in a clean cream can?
- Clean clams crammed in clean cans.
- The clown club clones the clover leaves.
- The cleft made him cling to the clipped rock.
Additional Resources
- Tools for clear Speech sound sl /kl/ profile
- Miacademy Learning Channel video on the /cl/ sound
- Magoosh How to pronounce consonant blends
Additional Activities for All Sounds
Practice Three Words
Answer the following question:
What do you like to do in your free time?
Pick one, two, or three words from the word bank and include them in your response. If it helps, you may write out the example sentences with the word in context first.
Youglish Research
Visit the Youglish website. Pick a word or phrase you would like to practice. Enter it into the Youglish search bar. Find three examples of the word or phrase in context to shadow.
Teacher Time
During your next English speaking practice session with a teacher or conversation partner, have a list of three to five words you would like to use. Give yourself a point every time you use the word correctly in context and it is understood. Aim to score 5 points within the first 10 minutes (so the rest of the time you focus just on communicating).
Voice Typing
Write out three sentences with challenging words or phrases. Use Google Docs or any other software with the ability to turn speech to text. Read these sentences aloud and check to see if your pronunciation is correct.
***There are a ton of possibilities. These are just a few ideas. Use the word bank, tongue twisters, example sentences, and other resources on this page to continue to work on this sound.
If you have any suggestions, let me know in the comments below. I read and respond to all of them.
Download the PDF version of this 7-day mini-course.
Plus the PDF-version of every single English sound for free.
