Heteronym
"Console" has two different pronunciations with two different meanings. Say KON-sohl when it means a control panel or gaming device (noun), and kun-SOHL when it means to comfort someone (verb). Which one is correct depends entirely on the sentence.
noun
KON-sohl
a control panel or gaming device
“He bought a new console.”
verb
kun-SOHL
to comfort someone
“She tried to console her friend.”
Each button speaks the respelling, not the spelling — otherwise the speech engine would pick a single default pronunciation for both senses.
| Pronunciation | Part of speech | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| KON-sohl | noun | a control panel or gaming device |
| kun-SOHL | verb | to comfort someone |
"Console" has two different pronunciations with two different meanings. Say KON-sohl when it means a control panel or gaming device (noun), and kun-SOHL when it means to comfort someone (verb). Which one is correct depends entirely on the sentence.
Pronounced KON-sohl, "console" is a noun meaning a control panel or gaming device. For example: "He bought a new console."
Pronounced kun-SOHL, "console" is a verb meaning to comfort someone. For example: "She tried to console her friend."
"Console" is a heteronym: two distinct words that happen to be spelled the same way. English spelling did not standardise around pronunciation, so unrelated words sometimes converged on one spelling while keeping separate sounds.
See the full entry for “console”, browse all 76 heteronyms and stress pairs, or learn how English stress works.