Pronouncing the ow letter combination: How and When to Use in English

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Pronouncing the ow letter combination

The ow letter combination can be pronounced in two different ways:

now

show

Most often, ow is pronounced as in how . This is common at the end of a word or when ow is followed by the letters l or n, like so:

tower

clown

Sometimes, ow is pronounced as in know . This happens mostly at the end of a word, like so:

yellow

window

Do not confuse ow and aw.

low

law

Exercise 1

How do you pronounce this word?

How is pronounced:


How do you pronounce this word?

How is pronounced:

Here you heard who and not how

This is the correct pronunciation of how: . At the end of this word, ‑ow is pronounced , like in clown and town . This pronunciation is common when ow is followed by the letters n or l.

In this clip you heard hey  , not how . We say hey to attract someone's attention. Example: hey, you guys, where are you going?

Exercise 2

How do you pronounce this word?

Drown is pronounced…


How do you pronounce this word?

Drown is pronounced…

Here you heard drawn . Drawn is the past participle of to draw. Example: I have drawn a butterfly.  

You heard drown , in which ow makes the sound , like in tower and down .

Here you heard dry  , not drown

Exercise 3

Which word did you hear?


Which word did you hear?

You heard know , in which the ‑ow at the end is pronounced . Other words that contain the same sound are: grow  , window and show .

New is pronounced , which does not sound the same as know .

Now is pronounced , but here you heard know . In the word now, the ow letter combination is pronounced as , just like in how or cow


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