7 ways to say “OUGH”
Posted by: Josef EssbergerIt’s a pity that English is not phonetic! In some languages, you can look at a word and know immediately how to pronounce it. But in English you need to be a little more careful.
Take the letters “ough”, for example. They occur in many words, but they do not always sound the same.
1. though (like o in go)
2. through (like oo in too)
3. cough (like off in offer)
4. rough (like uff in suffer)
5. plough (like ow in flower)
6. ought (like aw in saw)
7. borough (like a in above)
So how do you know the pronunciation of a word? Well, fortunately “ough” is an extreme example. English words are not always that difficult. But in general, when you learn a new word, you should also make sure you know its pronunciation. If you do not have a teacher or someone to say the word for you, you can look in a dictionary. All good dictionaries give the pronunciation for each word, often with special symbols. So it’s a good idea to look at your dictionary carefully and learn the pronunciation symbols. After that, you’ll always be able to find the pronunciation of any word, easily. Try it with the 7 “ough” words above.
Posted by Josef Essberger May 2023
Josef founded EnglishClub for learners and teachers of English in 1997
One comment
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Mary Ann Kressin says:
This is one that I always use to shut people up when they complain about anyone who can’t speak or pronounce English like a native. I just ask them to explain the following list, why each word is pronounced differently. And usually they are stumped, and get my point. Many don’t even know one of my words: tough, trough, though, through, thought. City people don’t know what a trough is usually. :)) And I only had 5 of the 7!!