How to Pronounce the /o/ Sound

Explore the /o/ sound in phonology, focusing on its articulation and role in pronunciation. Understand its characteristics and how it differs from other vowels.

In this lesson, we are going to learn how the sound /o/ is produced by looking at the articulatory organs.

What Type of Sound Is /o/?

/o/ is the most rounded sound in the English phonology and it is between /ɔ/ and /u/.

How to Produce /o/?

Mouth Configuration for /o/

To produce it, as in the picture, close your tongue slightly and fully round your lips. Try to put your lips in a mid-open position like the sound /ɔ/, though less than it. Also, the lips are rounded like the sound /ʊ/ but less round than the /o/ sound.

Which Letters are Pronounced as /o/?

The sound /o/ is represented by the following letters:

program /ˈproʊ.ɡræm/

hotel /hoʊˈtel/

window /ˈwɪn.doʊ/

no /noʊ/

/o/ Around the World

As you see in the table below, most of the common languages around the world have this sound. So, you do not have difficulty producing it.

	Existence	Example
Mandarin	✔	果 (guǒ)
Spanish	✔	poso
Hindi	✔	दोस्त
Bengali	✔	ওজন
Portuguese	✔	avô
Russian	✔	о́блако
Japanese	✔	おに
Vietnamese	✔	cô
Turkish	✔	tokmak
French	✔	saut
German	✔	originell
Italian	✔	ombra
Persian	✔	تو
Standard Arabic	x	-
Korean	✔	오늘
Indonesian	✔	toko
Filipino	✔	yero
Hungarian	✔	ok
Dutch	✔	boot
Polish	x	-
Romanian	✔	oraș
Swedish	✔	mål
Czech	✔	pod
Greek	✔	οδός
Ukrainian	✔	ору́дний
Urdu	✔	دوست

Listening

Let's listen to the pronunciation of the /o/ sound which has been mentioned below:

Down below, there are two other sounds similar to the /o/ sound. At first, listen to the /ɔ/ sound and then listen to the /ʊ/ sound:

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What Type of Sound Is /o/?
How to Produce /o/?
Which Letters are Pronounced as /o/?
/o/ Around the World
Listening

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