Heard spelling

chelaza

Spelled chalaza. an unstressed vowel

Chelaza looks like a different word.

It does, and one is nearby: chela is the pincer of a crab or a scorpion, from a Greek word for claw. Chalaza is unrelated and means a hailstone.

The unstressed first syllable gives nothing away, so any vowel fits it by ear. Holding on to the meaning helps more than listening does: a small hard lump, the little knot at the base of the ovule where the stalk, the coats and the nucellus meet.

Say

kuh-LAY-zuh

Letters

C-H-A-L-A-Z-A