Ough (orthography)

Ough (orthography)

Ough is a letter sequence often seen in words in the English language. In Middle English, where the spelling arose, it was probably pronounced with a back rounded vowel and a velar fricative, e.g., or . It is by far the sequence of letters with the most unpredictable pronunciation, having at least six pronunciations in North American English and over ten in British English. A few of the more common are these:

/oʊ/ as in "though" (cf. toe).

/uː/ as in "through" (cf. true).

/ʌf/ as in "rough" (cf. ruffian).

/ɒf/ as in "cough" (cf. coffin).

/ɔː/ as in "thought" (cf. taut).

/aʊ/ as in "bough" (cf. to bow).