Sound Gym
mall · mole
Different rounded vowels — long /ɔː/ holds still while diphthong /oʊ/ glides forward.
Mall: a flat sustained /ɔː/ — like saying aw, lips rounded and still. Mole: glides from /o/ to /ʊ/ — lips are moving during the vowel. Important for Arabic and French speakers.
mouth shape
lips rounded and still — one long 'aw' sound, tongue does not move
mall
/mɔːl/
vowel length
plays as: “shopping mall”
mouth shape
lips round then glide forward — two sounds blended together
mole
/moʊl/
vowel length
plays as: “a mole dug a hole”
Three meanings of “mole”
The animal
A small, burrowing mammal with velvety fur and tiny eyes. Lives underground and digs tunnels.
"A mole dug up our garden last night."
A skin mark
A small, dark spot on the skin — a pigmented lesion. Most are harmless.
"The doctor checked the mole on her arm."
Chemistry unit
A unit of measurement equal to 6.022 × 10²³ particles — Avogadro's number.
"One mole of water weighs about 18 grams."
Key difference
Mall: one fixed sound — lips rounded and stay still throughout. Mole: your lips are moving during the vowel — they start rounded and push forward into a glide. You can feel the movement with your fingers on your lips.
Hear it in a sentence
“The shopping mall was packed on the Saturday before Christmas.”
“A mole dug up three fresh mounds of earth in the front lawn overnight.”
Hear it in the wild
Real speech from native speakers — the most reliable way to check a pronunciation, since automated audio can vary by device and browser.
mall
Hear native speakers say “mall” in real sentences — news, lectures, and podcasts.
Opens YouTube-sourced clips in a new tab.
mole
Hear native speakers say “mole” in real sentences — news, lectures, and podcasts.
Opens YouTube-sourced clips in a new tab.
How teachers explain this
Approved tips from the community, sorted by helpfulness
Word families
mall family ▸
mole family ▸
Related pairs
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