/oʊ/ — the /oʊ/ sound
the /oʊ/ sound
Vowels · Gliding vowels
This sound hasn't been scored yet.
How to make it
Start with the lips slightly rounded and purse them 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 - OH [oʊ] Diphthong - How to make the OH as in NO Diphthong Watch on YouTube
More videos
Words with this sound
Tap the speaker to hear a native speaker say it.
go
/ɡoʊ/
low
/loʊ/
no
/noʊ/
own
/oʊn/
show
/ʃoʊ/
so
/soʊ/
ago
/əˈɡoʊ/
boat
/boʊt/
bowl
/boʊl/
boy
/boɪ/
door
/doɹ/
goat
/ɡoʊt/
Minimal pairs
Two words that differ by exactly one sound. Listen until you can tell them apart, then say them yourself.
- oʊ
bowl
/boʊl/
ɔːball
/bɔl/
- oʊ
whoa
/woʊ/
aʊwow
/waʊ/
- oʊ
so
/soʊ/
iːsea
/siː/
- oʊ
own
/oʊn/
ɪin
/ɪn/
- oʊ
bowl
/boʊl/
ebell
/bɛl/
- oʊ
own
/oʊn/
æan
/æn/
- oʊ
own
/oʊn/
ɑːon
/ɑːn/
- oʊ
hope
/hoʊp/
ʊhoop
/hʊp/
Test yourself on this sound
Read these 8 words in one recording. The AI scores every sound and tells you whether your /oʊ/ came out right.