Lips
Round your lips and open the jaw to a medium position, as the animation shows. The rounding is firmer than for the short "o" in "lot".
Short vowels
/ɔ/ · /ɔː/as in thought
The vowel in "thought". A long, deep "aw" with rounded lips and the tongue pulled back.
Example words: thought, law, saw, caught, walk
Accent
Mouth
How do you pronounce the /ɔ/ · /ɔː/ sound?
Tongue
Pull the tongue back and keep it low-to-mid in the mouth. The sound resonates at the back.
Length
Long. Give it real duration: "caught" is long and rounded, while "cot" is short and more open. Don't cut it off early.
Video lesson
Try it
- Say an open "ah", then slowly round your lips while keeping the sound going.
- Pull the tongue slightly back as the lips round. You'll hear it darken into "aw".
- Hold that "aw" for a full second.
- Try: thought, law, saw.
Check
Record "cot, caught" (or "not, nought"). The second word should be clearly longer with rounder lips. If they sound the same, exaggerate the rounding and double the length of "caught".
Common trap
Learners often replace this with a plain open "ah", so "law" sounds like "la" and "caught" like "cot". The fix is lips plus length: round them and hold the sound. Also watch spelling. "Saw", "law", and "thought" look different but share this same vowel.
Practice: /ɔ/ · /ɔː/
Words
thoughtθˈɔt
lawlˈɔ
sawsˈɔ
caughtkˈɔt
walkwˈɔk
Sentences
I thought I saw your daughter.ˌaɪ θˈɔt ˌaɪ sˈɔ jʊɹ dˈɔɾəɹ.
We walked and talked all morning.wˌi wˈɔkt ænd tˈɔkt ˈɔl mˈɔɹnɪŋ.
She bought four small forks at the store.ʃˌi bˈɔt fˈɔɹ smˈɔl fˈɔɹks æt ðə stˈɔɹ.
He taught his daughter to draw.hˌi tˈɔt hɪz dˈɔɾəɹ tə dɹˈɔ.
The tall boy caught the ball.ðə tˈɔl bˈɔɪ kˈɔt ðə bˈɔl.
Words
thoughtθˈɔːt
lawlˈɔː
sawsˈɔː
caughtkˈɔːt
walkwˈɔːk
Sentences
I thought I saw your daughter.ˌaɪ θˈɔːt ˌaɪ sˈɔː jɔː dˈɔːtə.
We walked and talked all morning.wˌiː wˈɔːkt and tˈɔːkt ˈɔːl mˈɔːnɪŋ.
She bought four small forks at the store.ʃˌiː bˈɔːt fˈɔː smˈɔːl fˈɔːks at ðə stˈɔː.
He taught his daughter to draw.hˌiː tˈɔːt hɪz dˈɔːtə tə dɹˈɔː.
The tall boy caught the ball.ðə tˈɔːl bˈɔɪ kˈɔːt ðə bˈɔːl.
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Sounds in the same group
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