The <k> in “knee” is silent; it is pronounced /n i/, not /k n i/. The reason this cluster is so difficult for Anglo-Saxon is exactly because English lacks it;

The <k> in “knee” is silent; it is pronounced /n i/, not /k n i/. The reason this cluster is so difficult for Anglo-Saxon is exactly because English lacks it; it historically had it, which explains the many words that are written as such, for etymological reasons. Even the actual word “gnu" is pronounced /n u/, not /g n u/, but the “GNU operating system” is typically pronounced /g @ 'n u/, in two syllables, with stress on the second.