I Swear English › Pronunciation › The /or/ Sound - Or, Oar, Awe
How to form the the /or/ sound
303 The Sound ɔː - Or Oar Awe Ore Ought All Author:
When to use it
- The long /ɔː/ is the sound in or and door. Round your lips and hold a full, rounded vowel.
- It is spelled many different ways, which is why it's worth learning by sound, not by letters.
Example words: or, oar, awe, ore, ought, all, author, four, saw, caught, born
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Common mistakes to avoid
| Not quite… | Better |
|---|---|
| Not rounding the lips enough | Push your lips forward into a clear round shape for /ɔː/, otherwise caught sounds like cot. |
| Confusing it with /əʊ/ (as in ‘go’) | /ɔː/ (saw) is a single rounded vowel; /əʊ/ (so) glides from one sound to another. Compare saw / so. |
Frequently asked questions
Why do ‘or, oar, awe, ought’ sound the same?
They all share the long /ɔː/ vowel despite very different spellings — a classic example of English spelling not matching sound.
Is it long or short?
Long — hold it. Port is longer than pot.
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This lesson is part of our free English Pronunciation and Phonetics course — work through it in order or jump to what you need next.