HOW TO PRONOUNCE
folk
/foʊk/
Press play to hear how to pronounce folk.
American Pronunciation Guide · 1:05
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Move from the long “o” directly to “k.”
Use one syllable and the vowel heard in go. Use no l sound between that vowel and k, even though the spelling includes the letter.
1 syllable
TRY SAYING
“The musicians played a folk song.”
APG practice sentence · CC BY-SA 4.0
CMU Pronouncing Dictionary ↗What does folk mean?
noun
- People, persons.
- One’s relatives, especially one’s parents.
- Ellipsis of folk music.
More meanings (6)
adjective
- Of or pertaining to the inhabitants of a land, their culture, tradition, or history.
- Of or pertaining to common people as opposed to ruling classes or elites.
- Of or related to local building materials and styles.
- Believed or transmitted by the common people; not academically or ideologically correct or rigorous.
proper noun
- A surname.
noun
- (archaic) A people; a tribe or nation; the inhabitants of a region, especially the native inhabitants.
Definitions regrouped for readability · CC BY-SA 4.0
IPA pronunciation
/foʊk/
Pronunciation used in the listening tip.
CMU Pronouncing Dictionary ↗Pronunciation varies by speaker and region. About these dictionary pronunciations.
In the pages of books
See this word in context.
“Of course, I was, dear boy. Don’t you know that it is only very foolish folk who talk sense all the time?”
“Nowt o’ th’ sort. What’s tha’ been doin’ with thysel’—hidin’ out o’ sight an’ lettin’ folk think tha’ was cripple an’ half-witted?”
More book examples (3)
Jack stood before his folk clad in like wise with them, save that his head was bare but for an oak wreath.
Lie down and sleep and rest you fair, Nor fear, O simple folk, to take The bounty of a child of care.
The folk here hold almost universally that the captain is simply a hero, and he is to be given a public funeral.