k/k/
Raise the back of your tongue to touch the soft palate (velum). Stop the air, then release.
How to pronounce closely in American English
KLOH·slee
Start here
Americans pronounce closely as KLOH-slee (/ˈkloʊsli/). Stress falls on the first syllable — keep everything else short and quick. You'll hear it in sentences like "Observe the wisdom of the wizard closely" or "Note the tone of the whole proposal closely" — more examples below.
Now you try.
Record yourself saying "closely" and play it back. The mic stays on your device — nothing's uploaded.
Sound by sound
Every sound in "closely".
2 syllables, 6 sounds. Tap a syllable to jump to its row, then explore each sound's mouth shape and how it's made.
l/l/
Place the tip of your tongue against the alveolar ridge just behind your top front teeth, the same contact point as /t/, /d/, and /n/. The difference is what happens to the air: for /l/, you let it flow continuously around the <em>sides</em> of the tongue (that's why /l/ is called a lateral). Turn your voice on the whole time. Lips stay relaxed, no rounding or flaring. For the Dark L variant at the end of a syllable, also pull the back of the tongue up and back toward the soft palate.
oh/oʊ/
Start with your mouth slightly open, then close your jaw slightly as your lips round. Shift your tongue back slightly, then stretch the back up.
s/s/
Place your tongue tip near the roof of your mouth behind your top teeth. Push air through the narrow gap. No voicing.
l/l/
Place the tip of your tongue against the alveolar ridge just behind your top front teeth, the same contact point as /t/, /d/, and /n/. The difference is what happens to the air: for /l/, you let it flow continuously around the <em>sides</em> of the tongue (that's why /l/ is called a lateral). Turn your voice on the whole time. Lips stay relaxed, no rounding or flaring. For the Dark L variant at the end of a syllable, also pull the back of the tongue up and back toward the soft palate.
ee/i/
Pull the corners of your lips back slightly. Arch the middle-front of your tongue high toward the roof of the mouth.
In real conversation
Hear "closely" in the wild.
Click any sentence to see the full breakdown — every link, every reduction, every flap-T.
"International observers monitored the ceasefire agreement closely."
ihn·ter·NA·shuh·nuhl uhb·ZUR·verz MAH·nuh·terd dhuh SEES·fahy·er uh·GREE·muhnt KLOH·slee
"Note the tone of the whole proposal closely."
NOHT dhuh TOHN uhv dhuh HOHL pruh·POH·zuhl KLOH·slee
"Observe the wisdom of the wizard closely."
uhb·ZURV dhuh WIHZ·duhm uhv dhuh WIH·zerd KLOH·slee
"She follows the results of the tennis grand slams closely."
shee FAH·lohz dhuh ruh·ZUHLTS uhv dhuh TEH·nuhs GRAND SLAMZ KLOH·slee
Find another
Looking for a different word or sentence?
Search the entire library
/
Press / anywhere to focus the search box.
Watch out
Common pronunciation mistakes in American English.
The textbook way isn't wrong — it's just not how anyone actually says it.
01
Stressing the wrong syllable.
Stress falls on the first syllable, not the others. Stretch KLOH — keep everything else short and quick.
kloh·SLEE→KLOH·slee
Questions
Questions people ask about this.
How is "closely" stressed in American English?
Stress falls on the first syllable — say "KLOH" with a longer, fuller vowel and keep every other syllable short and quick. The respell "KLOH-slee" marks the stressed syllable in capitals so the rhythm is easy to read at a glance.
Is the American pronunciation of "closely" different from British English?
American English uses different vowel shapes, a relaxed retroflex R, and connected-speech tricks like flap-T and glottal-stop T that British Received Pronunciation generally avoids. The respell "KLOH-slee" reflects the casual American form; British dictionaries typically print a citation form with crisper consonants and different vowel choices.
Stop reading about "closely". Start saying it.
SayWaader is the AI pronunciation coach for American English. Practice 5 minutes a day. Get a 5-axes accent assessment. Sound like you live here.