/aʊ/ — the /aʊ/ sound
the /aʊ/ sound
Vowels · Gliding vowels
This sound hasn't been scored yet.
How to make it
Start with the mouth wide and round the lips towards /ʊ/.
Watch a native speaker say it
See the mouth and tongue before you record — hearing a sound rarely tells you where the tongue goes.
Rachel's English · English Sounds - OW [aʊ] Diphthong - How to make the OW as in NOW Diphthong Watch on YouTube
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Words with this sound
Tap the speaker to hear a native speaker say it.
cow
/kaʊ/
hour
/ˈaʊər/
how
/haʊ/
our
/ˈaʊər/
out
/aʊt/
wow
/waʊ/
hours
/ˈaʊɚz/
house
/haʊs/
mouse
/maʊs/
mouth
/maʊθ/
ouch
/ˈaʊt͡ʃ/
ours
/ˈaʊɚz/
Minimal pairs
Two words that differ by exactly one sound. Listen until you can tell them apart, then say them yourself.
- aʊ
wow
/waʊ/
oʊwhoa
/woʊ/
- aʊ
how
/haʊ/
ɑːhah
/hɑː/
- aʊ
out
/aʊt/
iːeat
/it/
- aʊ
mouse
/maʊs/
ɪmiss
/mɪs/
- aʊ
sound
/saʊnd/
esend
/send/
- aʊ
out
/aʊt/
æat
/æt/
- aʊ
owl
/aʊl/
ɔːall
/ɔːl/
- aʊ
power
/ˈpaʊər/
ʊpoor
/pʊɚ/
Test yourself on this sound
Read these 8 words in one recording. The AI scores every sound and tells you whether your /aʊ/ came out right.