The NOW Diphthong /aʊ/

One of the most common diphthongs in American English. Hear it in out, down, house, sound.

IPA /aʊ/ Respell ow Category Diphthong
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The /aʊ/ vowel, the now sound, is the gliding vowel in words like out, down, house, and sound. Start with the jaw dropped and the tongue flat, then glide smoothly into a relaxed, lightly rounded lip shape. It's a two-part vowel, and the most common mistake non-native speakers make is cutting that glide short, which leaves the word sounding flat. Slide all the way through to the lightly rounded finish, but don't force a tight pucker.

How to make it

Three small adjustments.

Get them right and the sound takes care of itself.

Start with a dropped jaw and flat tongue. Glide into a relaxed, slightly rounded lip position as the back of the tongue stretches up.

First position of /aʊ/ in out
Second position of /aʊ/ in out

Mouth shape

/aʊ/ as in out

Jaw

Drops for the start, comes up for the end.

Tongue

Wide and flat in the first position, with the tip touching the back of the bottom front teeth. The back of the tongue then stretches up as you glide into the second position.

Lips

Upper lip might lift slightly or be relaxed in the first position. Lips come together into a relaxed, light rounding for the second position, not a tight circle.

Easy to confuse

Compare with similar sounds.

If your sound is sliding into a neighbor, here's how to tell them apart.

/aʊ/ vs /oʊ/

GO Diphthong

/aʊ/ (now) and /oʊ/ (no) get confused by learners, especially because 'ow' spells both. The difference is in the starting position: /aʊ/ starts with a wide-open jaw and flat tongue, while /oʊ/ starts with the jaw half-closed and the lips already slightly rounded.
Hear it in words

16 everyday words.

Tap any word for its full breakdown — every reduction, every flap-T.

now
NOW
out
OWT
how
HOW
down
DOWN
house
HOWS
sound
SOWND
loud
LOWD
cloud
KLOWD
ground
GROWND
mouth
MOWTH
south
SOWTH
doubt
DOWT
proud
PROWD
brown
BROWN
shout
SHOWT
count
KOWNT
Hear it in sentences

In real conversation.

5 short sentences where this sound shows up. Tap to play; click the title for the full breakdown.

How about we go out around the town now?

HOW uh·BOWT wee GOH OWT uh·ROWND dhuh TOWN NOW?

The crowd found the sound of the loud shout profound.

dhuh KROWD FOWND dhuh SOWND uhv dhuh LOWD SHOWT pruh·FOWND.

The cloud surrounded the mountain house around noon.

dhuh KLOWD suh·ROWN·duhd dhuh MOWN·tuhn HOWS uh·ROWND NOON.

The clown bowed down to the loud crowd.

dhuh KLOWN BOWD DOWN tuh dhuh LOWD KROWD.

The brown mouse was found on the ground outside.

dhuh BROWN MOWS wuhz FOWND ahn dhuh GROWND OWT·sahyd.
FAQ

Common questions about /aʊ/.

What's the easiest way to pronounce the /aʊ/ vowel?
Start by dropping your jaw and leaving your tongue flat and relaxed, like you're about to say the vowel in father. Then in one continuous motion, bring your jaw up slightly and let your lips come together into a relaxed, loose rounding. The whole sound is that unbroken glide between the two shapes. Don't rush it, and don't force a tight pucker. Let the word travel all the way from the wide start to the lightly rounded finish.
Why does my /aʊ/ sound choppy or foreign?
You're probably either cutting the glide short or freezing on the first sound and forcing a tight circle at the end. /aʊ/ is a diphthong, so it requires a continuous physical shift from a wide-open jaw to lightly rounded lips. Speakers of languages with pure, static vowels often just say a flat ah shape and stop there. The fix is to focus on closing the jaw smoothly without forcing the lips into a tight pucker.
Does the OW spelling always make the /aʊ/ sound?
No, and this is a major source of reading confusion. The OW spelling can make the wide gliding /aʊ/ in now, down, cow, town. But it just as commonly makes the long /oʊ/ in know, show, snow, throw. There's no rule that predicts which one a given word gets; you have to learn the pronunciation with the word. When in doubt, listen to whether it rhymes with how or go.

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