How do you pronounce Chaol's name? I kept switching back and forth in my mind between 'Coal' and 'Kay-ol' like chaos and kale lol?

6 likes · like
10 years ago
12 answers

To answer questions about Throne of Glass, please sign up.

Forest I was wondering the same thing, and I came across this pronunciation guide from the author.
http://sarahjmaas.com/extras/throne-o...

flag

Keren Zuravlov I'm not an English native reader and at first I really struggled with chaol's name, I read it as "cho-oul". I got used to it and read all the books up to 'Tower of dawn' pronouncing his name in my head that way. Only in the middle of 'tower of dawn' I decided to Google the right pronunciation of his name and boy was that a mistake. First I regretted not googling it sooner because the actual pronunciation is way better than what I got used to, and now im angry at myself for not doing it sooner because I can't continue reading the book with this 'new' name in my head.
Also, "kale" sound like a type of lettuce to me.

flag

Jennifer I guess it's Kale, but this is seriously one of my biggest pet peeves with writers. Give your characters names we can pronounce easily in our heads or else it trips up the prose. So glad she changed it from Chaos. Lol, how cliche can you possibly get with that? Glad she realized it. Don't get me wrong, I've enjoyed her books.

flag

Hershey I was wondering that as well. In my mind I say "Ka-wol" for "Chaol".

flag

Cypress wow this whole time i’ve been mentally reading it as “sh-a-ol”, it always felt wrong but i haven’t had the urge to search it up until me being halfway through HOF. great to know it pronounced kale tho because that is way easier to read.

flag

Blackbird1106 its like saying kale

flag

Jenny I alternated between "kale" and "shale". I couldn't decide which. Then decided it was regional, and didn't matter really.

flag

BlueJ Chaol is said like "kale"

flag

Emmysoo When I first saw his name I remember staring at it for a long time and decided on ch-ol. Like coal but with a h. I guess either I didn't see the a or it got cancled out. There are a few videos on youtube where Sarah says kale. Kale is the correct pronunciation.

flag

Ayva In the audiobook she pronounces it as "Kay-All"

flag

Kendra According to the author, Chaol was originally called "Chaos" in earlier versions. Then she replaced the "s" with an "l", so pronounce it as if you're saying "chaos" but with an l.

flag

Alexis D. I always pronounced it like ch-oal like with the h sound in there. But I kind of want to know how the author prounonces it.

flag

About Goodreads Q&A

Ask and answer questions about books!

You can pose questions to the Goodreads community with Reader Q&A, or ask your favorite author a question with Ask the Author.

See Featured Authors Answering Questions

Learn more