The Letter O

In American English

In this lesson, we will learn about all the sounds of the letter O. It is the fifteenth letter of the English alphabet.

The fifteenth letter of the English alphabet is 'O'. It is also the fourth vowel in the English language.

Vowels are sounds that are pronounced without any restriction in the vocal tract. It means we can produce it with the unrestricted flow of air.

Uppercase Form	O
Lowercase	o
Name	o (pronounced /oʊ/)
Common Sounds	/oʊ/, /ə/, /ɑ/, /ɔ/, /ʌ/

Pie Chart of 'o' Pronunciation in American English

The Letter O: Sounds

Vowels in the English language can have many many sounds. Here we will look at some of its common ones.

Common Sounds

Sound 1: /oʊ/

'o' sounds /oʊ/:

potato /pəˈteɪ.t̬oʊ/

hotel /hoʊˈtel/

radio /ˈreɪ.di.oʊ/

Sound 2: /ə/

'o' sounds /ə/:

bacon /ˈbeɪ.kən/

lemon /ˈlem.ən/

mirror /ˈmɪr.ər/

Sound 3: /ɑ/

'o' sounds /ɑ/:

pop /pɑp/

stop /stɑp/

mop /mɑp/

Sound 4: /ɔ/

'o' sounds /ɔ/:

dog /dɔɡ/

soft /sɔft/

off /ɔf/

Sound 5: /ʌ/

'o' also sounds /ʌ/:

mother /ˈmʌð.ɚ/

some /sʌm/

oven /ˈʌv.ən/

Other Sounds

Sound 6: /uː/

'o' can also sound /uː/:

to /tuː/

movement /ˈmuːv.mənt/

lose /luːz/

Sound 7: /ʊ/

'o' sounds /ʊ/:

wolf /wʊlf/

woman /ˈwʊm.ən/

Sound 8: /wʌ/

'o' also sounds /wʌ/:

once /wʌns/

one /wʌn/

Tip!

'o' can also sound /ɪ/ in the word 'women':

women /ˈwɪm.ɪn/

The Letter O: Multigraphs

'O' can also appear in combination with other letters (mainly vowels and sometimes consonants). They can create distinct vowels:

oo

'oo' commonly has four sounds:

/uː/
/ʊ/
/ʌ/
/ɔ/

1. 'oo' mainly sounds /uː/:

tooth /tuːθ/

broom /bruːm/

spoon /spuːn/

2. 'oo' in the middle of words sounds /ʊ/:

foot /fʊt/

hook /hʊk/

book /bʊk/

3. 'oo' also sounds /ʌ/ in some words:

blood /blʌd/

flood /flʌd/

4. 'oo' can also sound /ɔ/:

door /dɔɹ/

poor /pɔɹ/

floor /flɔɹ/

oa

'oa' commonly has three sounds:

/oʊ/
/ɔː/
/ɑː/

1. 'oa' mainly sounds /oʊ/:

goat /ɡoʊt/

coach /koʊtʃ/

coat /koʊt/

2. 'oa' also sounds /ɔː/:

roar /rɔːr/

board /bɔːrd/

3. Sometimes, 'oa' sounds /ɑː/:

broad /brɑːd/

abroad /əˈbrɑːd/

oe

'oe' commonly has two sounds:

/oʊ/
/uː/

1. 'oe' sounds /oʊ/:

doe /doʊ/

hoe /hoʊ/

toe /toʊ/

2. 'oe' also sounds /uː/:

shoe /ʃuː/

canoe /kəˈnuː/

Tip!

'oe' sounds /ʌ/in the word 'does':

does /dʌz/

'oe' sounds /iː/ in French loanwords:

phoenix /ˈfiːnɪks/

foetus /ˈfiːtəs/

eo

'eo' sounds /ə/:

sturgeon /ˈstɝːdʒən/

dungeon /ˈdʌndʒən/

pigeon /ˈpɪdʒən/

Tip!

'eo' in the word people sounds /iː/:

people /ˈpiːpl/

oi

'oi' commonly has two sounds:

/ɔɪ/
/ə/

1. 'oi' sounds /ɔɪ/:

joint /dʒɔɪnt/

coin /kɔɪn/

toilet /ˈtɔɪlət/

2. 'oi' also sounds /ə/:

tortoise /ˈtɔɹ.təs/

porpoise /ˈpɔːɹpəs/

ou

'ou' commonly has six sounds:

/aʊ/
/ʌ/
/uː/
/oʊ/
/ə/
/ʊ/

1. 'ou' in the middle of words has four sounds; the first one is /aʊ/:

house /haʊs/

cloud /klaʊd/

mountain /ˈmaʊn.tɪn/

2. 'ou' also sounds /ʌ/:

touch /tʌtʃ/

tough /tʌf/

cousin /ˈkʌz.ən/

3. 'ou' also sounds /uː/:

group /ɡruːp/

soup /suːp/

you /juː/

4. 'ou' also sounds /oʊ/:

shoulder /ˈʃoʊl.dɚ/

boulder /ˈboʊl.dɚ/

soul /soʊl/

5. 'ou' at the end of words sounds /ə/:

enormous /ɪˈnɔɹ.məs/

famous /ˈfeɪ.məs/

6. 'ou' also sounds /ʊ/ in the word tour and its combinations:

contour /ˈkɑːn.tʊr/

tour /tʊr/

tourist /ˈtʊr.ɪst/

Tip!

'eou' in eous and 'iou' in ious sound /ə/:

outrageous /ˌaʊtˈreɪ.dʒəs/

contagious /kənˈteɪ.dʒəs/

Warning!

In the word 'cough', the letters 'ou' sound /ɑː/:

cough /kɑːf/

our

'our' mainly sounds /ɔːr/:

four /fɔːr/

court /kɔːrt/

pour /pɔːr/

ough

'ough' commonly has four sounds:

/aʊ/
/oʊ/
/ɑː/
/oʊ/ or /ə/

1. 'ough' sounds /aʊ/, in other words, 'gh' is silent in these cases:

drought /draʊt/

bough /baʊ/

2. 'ough' sounds /oʊ/ in some words:

although /ɑːlˈðoʊ/

doughnut /ˈdoʊ.nʌt/

3. 'ough' also sounds /ɑː/:

thought /θɑːt/

brought /brɑːt/

sought /sɑːt/

4. 'ough' also sounds /oʊ/ or /ə/ if it is placed at the last syllable:

borough /ˈbɝː.oʊ/

thorough /ˈθɝː.oʊ/

ow

'ow' commonly has two sounds:

/oʊ/
/aʊ/

1. 'ow' sounds /oʊ/:

window /ˈwɪn.doʊ/

snow /snoʊ/

bowl /boʊl/

2. 'ow' also sounds /aʊ/:

owl /aʊl/

cow /kaʊ/

town /taʊn/

oy

'oy' sounds /ɔɪ/:

toy /tɔɪ/

oyster /ˈɔɪ.stɚ/

royal /ˈrɔɪ.əl/

or

'or' commonly has two sounds:

/ɔːr/
/ɜːr/

1. 'or' sounds /ɔːr/:

fork /fɔːrk/

scorpion /ˈskɔːr.pi.ən/

stork /stɔːrk/

2. 'or' also sounds /ɜːr/:

word /wɜːrd/

world /wɜːrld/

work /wɜːrk/

Tip!

'ot' at the last syllable of French loanwords sounds /oʊ/:

escargot /ˌɛskɑɹˈɡoʊ/

The Letter O: Uses

The letter 'o' is used as:
• The vocative case in titles, before a noun, usually capitalized; for example O Canada or O Lord, save thy people
• 'Zero' when saying phone numbers, etc. like: My number is six o double three (= 6033)
• The symbol for the chemical element oxygen

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