OW Sound: Speech Therapy Guide, Words & Games
The OW sound is written /aʊ/ in the phonetic alphabet, and most children master it by age 3. This guide covers how to make the OW sound, 42 practice words split across initial, medial, and final position, and the errors children make most often.
Example OW words: out, hours, ourselves, ours (beginning); about, down, found, without (middle); now, how, wow, somehow (end).
The "ow" in cow, house, out and down. The mouth starts wide open in an "ah" and glides back and up toward the long OO, so the lips round as the sound finishes.
How to Make the OW Sound
Cue it as the "ouch" sound. The lips should start relaxed and end rounded — if they never round, it flattens into a plain "ah".
IPA Symbol: /aʊ/
Most children master the OW sound by age 3. Vowels come in earlier than most consonants: children generally have their full vowel system before the late-developing consonants such as /R/, /S/ and /TH/. Vowel errors are far less common than consonant errors, so one that is still there in a school-age child is worth raising with a speech-language pathologist.
Common OW Sound Errors
- Substituting the broad A sound (Broad A as in father) for the OW sound.
- Substituting the AW sound (AW as in saw) for the OW sound.
OW Word Lists by Position
Practice these words organized by where the OW sound appears. Start with the position your child finds easiest, or open the complete OW word list.
Initial OW Words
OW at the beginning of words
Medial OW Words
OW in the middle of words
Final OW Words
OW at the end of words
More OW Word Lists & Resources
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