How to pronounce 'ou' and 'ow'

This pronunciation lesson is about the pronunciation of ou and ow, two confusing letter-pairs that can be pronounced in a number of different ways. Today we’ll deal with words in which they sound either as /əʊ/ or /ɑʊ/.

How to pronounce 'ou' and 'ow'

Section one: Spotting the problem

Short words in English are usually more difficult to understand when pronounced incorrectly. Many of the words with 'ou' and 'ow' in them are short words. Listen to the following words first. For now, I’ll pronounce them with the same /əʊ/ diphthong.

In fact, the vowel sound in four of them should be /ɑʊ/, and /əʊ/ in just two. Don't worry, with a little practice you will soon get them right.

Section two: Correcting the problem

Let’s take two examples: slow and how. Both are written with ow in them. Both end in an /ʊ/ vowel sound, but the initial vowel is different in the two: /ə/ in slow, and /a/ in how. Listen: /əʊ/; /ɑʊ/.

Repeat the two diphthongs after me, making the transition from the first vowel to the second slowly: /ə-ʊ/; /ɑ-ʊ/. When you say /əʊ/, keep your lips close to each other. When you say /ɑʊ/, let your chin fall to make a larger opening between your lips. Put your index finger on your chin to control the smaller and larger movements.

Section three: Practice

Now I’ll repeat the words from the first example, but this time they will be pronounced properly.

Great! Now practise with the following words. The first six will be pronounced with /əʊ/, and the second six with /ɑʊ/. Keep your lips close together when pronouncing the first group and let your chin fall when pronouncing the second group.

In these next sentences, both diphthongs are used. The underlined letters mark the /əʊ/ sound, while the ones pronounced with /ɑʊ/ are in bold type.

• The mouse ran about the tower.
• The crowd shouted loudly.
• She put down her pillow slowly.
• He sat below in the shadow of a willow tree.
• We found the crow on the bough.

Now try to construct your own sentences. Here are some words you could combine: loud, couch, now, shower, although, allow, house, mouth, out, down, snow, town, sound, hour, count, power, know, pillow, brown, fountain. If you’re not certain which diphthong each word is pronounced with, use a good English dictionary to make sure.

Section four: Memorize

It is a particularly good idea to memorize the correct sounds with the words. For this, practise with the following examples. You can also memorize the sentences you created, as I suggested earlier.

Try to use authentic texts and a monolingual English dictionary to find more real-life word combinations to practise with. Keep practicing with all the articles in the series on pronunciation:

• How to pronounce the sounds /s/ and /z/
• How to pronounce the sound /w/
• How to pronounce the sound /h/
• How to pronounce the /s/ before consonant