To pronounce "bough", say BOUGH — one syllable, IPA /ˈbaʊ/. Tap play below to hear it in four English accents, or practice it syllable by syllable.
bough
Tap to hear · American accent
Accent
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Speed
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1
Syllable
5
Letters
/ˈbaʊ/
🇺🇸 IPA (US)
/bˈaʊ/
🇬🇧 IPA (UK)
"bough" is a single-syllable word — say it in one clean beat. It rhymes with endow and bow, if that helps it stick.
Sounds exactly like: bow, bao — easy to mix up when writing.
noun
“When the bough breaks, the cradle will fall.”
Real example sentences from Tatoeba (CC-BY) — tap to hear each one, or see it used on YouGlish.
Practicing rhymes trains the same ending sounds.
"Bough" has one syllable.
The IPA transcription of "bough" is /ˈbaʊ/.
Bough: A firm branch of a tree.
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