What sounds does ough make?
ough is one phonogram: four letters that work as a team and are read as one chunk. It is number 57 of the 70 phonograms, and it has more sounds than any other, six in all. In thought, for example, seven letters make just three sounds: thought.
That sounds alarming, but two things make it manageable. First, children meet only about a dozen ough words in primary school. Second, those words fall into six small groups, and the words in each group often rhyme: thought, bought, brought, fought; rough, tough, enough. Learn the six sounds, learn one anchor word for each, and the rest follow.
The ough words, grouped by sound
The sounds are listed in the order children learn them, with the anchor word from the 70 phonograms chart. Every word here is said the way most Australians say it.
| # | Sound | Anchor word | More words with this sound |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | /ō/ | though | although, dough, doughnut |
| 2 | /ōō/ | through | throughout, breakthrough |
| 3 | /uf/ | rough | tough, enough |
| 4 | /of/ | cough | trough |
| 5 | /aw/ | thought | bought, brought, fought, ought, sought, nought |
| 6 | /ow/ | drought | bough, plough |
A couple of words don't fit any of the six. In thorough and borough, the ough is unstressed and comes out as a quick, weak "uh". Children rarely meet them before the upper primary years, so leave them until they turn up.
The 12 ough words your child will actually meet
These are the ough words that turn up again and again in reading and writing from about Year 2 to Year 4. Each is split into its phonograms, so you can see that the rest of the word is ordinary: only the ough needs thinking about.
- though though
- although although
- through through
- rough rough
- tough tough
- enough enough
- cough cough
- thought thought
- bought bought
- brought brought
- fought fought
- drought drought
Notice how many of them share a shape. Thought, bought, brought and fought are one family, and so are rough, tough and enough. Teaching them as families halves the work.
Why does English have so many ough sounds?
Because the spelling stopped changing before the pronunciation did. Hundreds of years ago, the gh in words like though, night and enough was said out loud, as a throaty sound like the ch in the Scottish word loch. Over the following centuries that sound faded. In some words it disappeared completely (though, through, thought); in others it turned into /f/ (rough, tough, cough, enough). The vowels in front of it were shifting at the same time, and people in different regions said the same words differently.
Meanwhile, printing and the first dictionaries were fixing spellings in place. So the written word kept its old ough, while the spoken word drifted six ways. The good news for children is that the drift happened long ago: the six sounds are settled now, and they don't change from one book to the next.
How to teach ough at home
- Say all six sounds, in order. Point to an ough card and say /ō/, /ōō/, /uf/, /of/, /aw/, /ow/ together, in the same order every time, like a little chant. Ten seconds a day for a week or two and it sticks. This is how all of the 70 phonograms are taught: every sound of a phonogram learned together, so nothing comes as a surprise later.
- Give each sound an anchor word. Though, through, rough, cough, thought, drought. One silly sentence holds all six, in order: "Though I went through rough country with a cough, I thought about the drought."
- When reading, try the sounds in order. Meeting enough for the first time, your child tries "en-oh" (not a word), "en-oo" (not a word), then "en-uff", and recognises it. If two tries both make words, the sentence decides.
- When spelling, think in families. If they can spell thought, they can spell bought, brought, fought and sought. Write the families in columns and add to them as new words appear.
- Keep it short. Two or three ough words in a week is plenty. They'll come up in reading far more often than in spelling tests.
ough or augh?
The most common ough mistake isn't about ough at all. Caught, taught, daughter and naughty are spelled with augh, and they sound just like the /aw/ group: bought rhymes with caught. A tip that covers the everyday words: the past tenses of catch and teach use augh (caught, taught), while the past tenses of buy, bring, fight, think and seek use ough (bought, brought, fought, thought, sought).
For what to call ough itself (a phonogram, a grapheme, a "quadgraph"?), see Digraph vs phonogram vs phoneme vs grapheme.
Questions parents ask
How many sounds does ough make?
Six main sounds: /ō/ in though, /ōō/ in through, /uf/ in rough, /of/ in cough, /aw/ in thought and /ow/ in drought. A couple of longer words, thorough and borough, end in a quick, weak uh sound instead, but most children don't meet those until the upper primary years.
What order should children learn the ough sounds in?
Use the order on the 70 phonograms chart: /ō/ as in though, /ōō/ as in through, /uf/ as in rough, /of/ as in cough, /aw/ as in thought and /ow/ as in drought. Saying all six in the same order every time means a child always knows what to try next when the first sound doesn't make a real word.
Why does ough have so many sounds?
Hundreds of years ago the gh in these words was said as a throaty sound, like the ch in the Scottish word loch. Over time that sound dropped out of some words and turned into /f/ in others, and the vowels changed too. English spelling settled down before the pronunciation did, so the old spelling stayed while the sounds went six different ways.
What is the difference between ough and augh?
Both can say /aw/, as in bought and caught. A handy tip: the past tenses of catch and teach use augh (caught, taught), while the past tenses of buy, bring, fight, think and seek use ough (bought, brought, fought, thought, sought).
When do children learn ough words?
Usually from Year 2, with the common ones in place by about Year 4. Words like though, through, thought and enough tend to come first because they turn up so often in reading. The rarer ones, like bough and trough, can wait.