The Letter O

In British 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	/ɒ/, /əʊ/, /uː/, /ʌ/, /ə/

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: /ɒ/

'o' sounds /ɒ/:

clock /klɒk/

stop /stɒp/

orange /ˈɒr.ɪndʒ/

Sound 2: /əʊ/

'o' also sounds /əʊ/:

potato /pəˈteɪ.təʊ/

hotel /həʊˈtel/

radio /ˈreɪ.di.əʊ/

Sound 3: /uː/

'o' can also sound /uː/:

to /tuː/

movement /ˈmuːv.mənt/

lose /luːz/

Sound 4: /ʌ/

'o' also sounds /ʌ/:

mother /ˈmʌð.ə(r)/

honey /ˈhʌn.i/

oven /ˈʌv.ən/

Sound 5: /ə/

'o' sounds /ə/:

bacon /ˈbeɪ.kən/

lemon /ˈlem.ən/

mirror /ˈmɪr.ə(r)/

Other Sounds

Sound 6: /ʊ/

'o' sounds /ʊ/:

wolf /wʊlf/

woman /ˈwʊm.ən/

Sound 7: /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/
/ɔː/

1. 'oo' 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 /ɔː/:

door /dɔː(r)/

poor /pɔː(r)/

floor /flɔː(r)/

oa

'oa' commonly has two sounds:

/əʊ/
/ɔː/

1. 'oa' mainly sounds /əʊ/:

goat /ɡəʊt/

coach /kəʊtʃ/

coat /kəʊt/

2. 'oa' sounds /ɔː/:

broad /brɔːd/

board /bɔːd/

roar /rɔː(r)/

oe

'oe' commonly has two sounds:

/əʊ/
/uː/

1. 'oe' sounds /əʊ/:

doe /dəʊ/

hoe /həʊ/

toe /təʊ/

2. 'oe' at the end of words sounds /uː/:

shoe /ʃuː/

canoe /kəˈnuː/

Tip!

'oe' sounds /ʌ/in the word 'does':

does /dʌz/

'oe' sounds /iː/ in French loanwords:

phoenix /ˈfiː.nɪks/

foetal /ˈfiː.təl/

foetus /ˈfiː.təs/

eo

'eo' sounds /ə/:

sturgeon /ˈstɜː.dʒən/

dungeon /ˈdʌn.dʒən/

pigeon /ˈpɪdʒ.ən/

Tip!

'eo' in the word people sounds /i:/:

people /ˈpiːpl/

oi

'oi' commonly has two sounds:

/ɔɪ/
/ə/

1. 'oi' sounds /ɔɪ/:

joint /dʒɔɪnt/

coin /kɔɪn/

toilet /ˈtɔɪ.lət/

2. 'oi' also sounds /ə/:

tortoise /ˈtɔː.təs/

porpoise /ˈpɔː.pəs/

ou

'ou' commonly has six sounds:

/aʊ/
/ʌ/
/uː/
/əʊ/
/ə/
/ɔ:/ or /ʊə/

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 /əʊ/:

shoulder /ˈʃəʊldə(r)/

boulder /ˈbəʊldə(r)/

soul /səʊl/

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

enormous /ɪˈnɔː.məs/

famous /ˈfeɪ.məs/

6. 'ou' also sounds /ɔ:/ or /ʊə/ in the word tour and its combinations:

contour /ˈkɒn.tɔː(r)/ or /ˈkɒntʊə(r)/

tour /tʊə(r)/, /tɔː(r)/

tourist /ˈtʊə.rɪst/, /ˈtɔː.rɪst/

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 /ɒ/:

cough /kɒf/

our

'our' commonly has two sounds:

/ɔː/
/ə/

1. 'our' mainly sounds /ɔː/:

four /fɔː(r)/

court /kɔːt/

pour /pɔː(r)/

2. 'our' also sounds /ə/ at the end of words:

harbour /ˈhɑːbə(r)/

vapour /ˈveɪpə(r)/

labour /ˈleɪbə(r)/

ough

'ough' commonly has four sounds:

/aʊ/
/əʊ/
/ɔː/
/ə/

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

drought /draʊt/

bough /baʊ/

2. 'ough' sounds /əʊ/ in some words:

although /ɔːlˈðəʊ/

doughnut /ˈdəʊnʌt/

3. 'ough' also sounds /ɔː/:

thought /θɔːt/

brought /brɔːt/

sought /sɔːt/

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

thorough /ˈθʌrə/

borough /ˈbʌrə/

ow

'ow' commonly has two sounds:

/əʊ/
/aʊ/

1. 'ow' sounds /əʊ/:

window /ˈwɪn.dəʊ/

snow /snəʊ/

bowl /bəʊl/

2. 'ow' also sounds /aʊ/:

owl /aʊl/

cow /kaʊ/

town /taʊn/

oy

'oy' sounds /ɔɪ/:

toy /tɔɪ/

oyster /ˈɔɪ.stə(r)/

royal /ˈrɔɪ.əl/

or

'or' commonly has two sounds:

/ɔː/
/ɜː/

1. 'or' sounds /ɔː/:

fork /fɔːk/

scorpion /ˈskɔː.pi.ən/

stork /stɔːk/

2. 'or' also sounds /ɜː/:

word /wɜːd/

world /wɜːld/

work /wɜːk/

Tip!

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

escargot /ɪˈskɑː.ɡəʊ/

Peugeot /ˈpɜːʒəʊ/

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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