Unit 15: Spelling the sound /ou/: ou, ow

as in cloud

There are two ways of spelling the sound /ou/ : ou and ow

There is one firm rule to help you:  Only two words use ou to spell this sound at the end of a word:

thou (old form of 'you')
miaou (sound made by a cat - also miaow)

All other words use ow to spell this sound at the end of a word.

Some helpful hints for other words:
In the middle of a word, it can be ou or ow but ou is the most common.
Before n and l, it is usually ow e.g. down, howl.
Before nd, use ou: round, found.

Some examples:

ou as in cloud	ow as in cow
ouch our* out loud proud shroud foul* noun flour* hour* sour scour lout scout shout spout sprout stout bound found ground hound mound pound round sound wound couch crouch pouch slouch count mount mouth south house grouse mouse spouse rouse blouse ounce bounce pounce flounce trounce lounge scrounge	owl bow* brow how now prow row sow vow fowl* howl growl prowl scowl brown clown crown down drown frown gown town crowd
Note: Words marked * are homophones. Please see page 8.

Go to next page: Some practice in these ou and ow words