Back to all sounds
Diphthong

Diphthong OW / Mouth Vowel

The diphthong vowel sound heard in words like "now", "house", "out", and "down". Often called the MOUTH vowel. It starts with a low vowel, similar to /æ/ or /ɑ/, and glides towards a high back rounded vowel /ʊ/.

ow
Phonetic System (Merriam-Webster):ow

Watch the Sound

Click the video to watch in fullscreen mode

Example Words

Main Example

now
Phonetic: naʊ

Common Words

nownaʊ
househaʊs
outaʊt
downdaʊn
aboutəˈbaʊt
howhaʊ
soundsaʊnd
mouthmaʊθ
towntaʊn
foundfaʊnd

Minimal Pairs

Listen and compare similar sounds

ow
now
naʊ
Compare with
N
no
noʊ
ow
down
daʊn
Compare with
D
dawn
dɔn
ow
house (noun)
haʊs
Compare with
H
house (verb)
haʊz
ow
found
faʊnd
Compare with
F
phoned
foʊnd

Tongue Twister

How can a clam cram in a clean cream can?

Try it yourself

Practice saying this tongue twister

Technical Details

  • CategoryDiphthong
  • VoicingVoiced
  • Place of ArticulationLow-Back-to-High-Back
  • Manner of ArticulationVowel (Diphthong)
  • Mouth PositionStart with the jaw wide open, tongue low (either front /æ/ or central /ɑ/). Then, glide the tongue high and back while rounding the lips for the /ʊ/ sound. The jaw closes significantly during the glide.