Pronunciation of Ough Words in IELTS Speaking

The IELTS exam tests the grammar, English speaking skills and vocabulary of the candidates. The use of a variety of skills contribute positively towards the IELTS scores. In the IELTS speaking test, candidates will be scored down if the grammar is not up to the mark. Candidates can use IELTS Speaking Practice Papers to get experience on the test and increase their vocabulary.

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Uses of Ough

In the English language, -OUGH is one of the most confusing spellings. In IELTS Speaking, the candidates are tested based on their speaking skills which includes grammar, vocabulary and IELTS pronunciation. There are no rules for exactly how “OUGH” will be pronounced in a word. Students just have to memorize the pronunciation of different OUGH words.

1. It is pronounced as oh
2. adding the ‘ug’ between ‘the o’ and h creates a more meaningful passion to it.
3. It can be used in expressing joy and happiness
4. It can be used in expressing anger, for example “ ough,stop that please, ough!”

List of -OUGH words

1. thought - Adding a ‘th’ to -ough results in the aw sound, followed by a “T” sound. The -gh is silent, so these words rhyme with port. The sound becomes TH-AW-GH-T.

This spelling is quite common in past simple verbs, for example bought, sought, caught.

Example: I thought we would have a whole month off work.

2. rough – the uh sound in up, followed by an “F” sound, resulting in words rhyming with stuff. For example, tough, enough. The sound becomes R-OUH-F

Example: The cloth had a rough appearance but was comfortable to wear.

3. plough – the “ow” sound in “now”. For example, bough. It also appears with a final “t” sound in drought, which rhymes with “out”. The sound becomes PL-OW-GH.

Example: Ravi helped his father plough his fields

4. through - the “oo” sound in “too”. The -gh is silent, so words like this rhyme with do. The sound becomes TH-R-OO.

Example: The pain she went through was terrible.

5. slough – in British English, the same as plough; in American English, like through. Another uncommon word, a slough means a place where the land is very muddy, like a swamp. The sound becomes SL-OW-GH

Example: Reptiles have to slough their skin in order to grow

6. though - the “oh” sound in “go”. The -gh is silent, so words rhyme with “so”. For example, dough, although. The sound becomes TH-OH

Example: He somehow ate the food even though he wasn’t hungry.

7. lough - the “ock” sound in “lock”, so this word sounds the same as ‘lock’. This is an old Irish word for a lake. The sound becomes L-OCK

Example: The officer escorted his army from the northern part of the lough to the southern part.

8. thorough - In British English, the -ough isn’t stressed, and so becomes the weak “schwa” sound, like the -er in father. In American English, the -ough is pronounced, the oh sound in go. Another example of this pattern is borough. The sound becomes THO-ROH

Example: He was trying to be thorough while speaking.

9. cough - the “o” sound in “off”, followed by an “F”. Rhymes with off, for example, trough. The sound becomes CO-OF

Example: She had a cough and cold and hence, did not come to the meeting.

10. hiccough – more commonly spelt as ‘hiccup’, and pronounced with the ‘uh’ sound in ‘cup’. The sound becomes HIC-UHP

Example: She struggled to speak through the hiccup.