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If you’re like me, you will never forget the 90s movie Batman and Robin. Unlike most
films that forever remain in our memories, this particular one sticks with me for two
reasons: 1) It is absolutely horrible, and 2) Arnold Schwarzenegger’s role as the cold,
evil super villain ‘Mr. Freeze’ My favorite particular scene is when ‘Mr. Freeze’
is about to shoot everyone with his freeze gun and encase them in solid ice. Right before
letting loose his ray of icy destruction, he utters an incredibly cheesy, yet memorable
line “Alright everyone, chill!” Before we go any further, I feel obligated to advise
you never to mimic Arnold Schwarzenegger when working on your American English pronunciations!
‘Chill’ is defined as “a cold feeling: a degree of cold that can be felt and that
is unusually unpleasant; a feeling of being cold; an illness that makes you feel cold.”
This may be the traditional use of the word, but in today’s lesson we are focusing on
the more contemporary and popular use of the word. This is an American slang lesson.
In the United States, the American slang word ‘chill’ has become a very popular adjective
to use when describing something or responding to a fun activity that a friend has done.
If I had to give it a more updated definition, I would say chill has to primary definitions
Adjective that describes the positive, attractive nature of something (i.e. cool, wicked, sweet,
awesome)
Verb that means to hang out or relax So, you see, chill can be used in a huge number
of situations. And because of its growing popularity in today’s world, especially
among college-aged peeps, I’m going to teach you how to pronounce ‘chill’ properly!
Pronunciation
The ‘CH’ Sound
The trickiest part of ‘chill’ is getting the proper ‘ch’ sound at the beginning
of the word. Some other words that start with the same pronunciation are: choose, charm,
chore, cheap and chapel. Remember not to confuse the ‘ch’ sound with ‘sh’. Let’s
take a look at some of the differences between ‘ch’ and ‘sh’ sounds.
CH
Tongue touches the roof of the mouth. Mouth opens quickly
Rapid burst of air SH
Tongue does not touch roof of the mouth Longer, more continuous sound
Mouth stays almost closed Words beginning with CH
Chicken Chirp
Challenge Choice
Chapped Words beginning with SH
Shocked Short
Shame Shout
Sheep Covering the -ILL
The good thing about ‘chill’ is that it rhymes with so many other words in American
English. Before we look specifically at the pronunciation of ‘chill’, I want you to
recall some more common, very similar sounding words and practice them with me: ill, mill,
pill, will, still, and bill. Chances are you have come across at least a few of these at
some point in the past.
Try repeating these six words a couple of times with me:
Ill Mill
Pill Will
Still Bill
Great job! Now I for some good news: these five words all rhyme with ‘chill’! The
only difference is the ‘ch’ sound at the beginning of the word. Now that we have covered
the ‘ch’ sound at the beginning and identified the proper ‘i’ sound, you will are in
great shape! The last thing we’ll do today is look at a few examples of ‘chill’ in
sentences and conversation.
I hear that new movie Gravity is really chill. Totally the best sci-fi movie this year.
Do you want to come over and chill later? My roommates are having some people over for
a small, relaxed party.
I had a pretty good weekend, but my Mom freaked out at me for no reason. I told her to chill
out.
Wow, you won a new bike? That’s really chill.
There you have it! We’ve covered the pronunciation and usage of the word ‘chill’ in American
English. Try using it in conversation with your friends. I promise it will be a chill
thing to do and they will love it!