How to pronounce owe in American English

IPA /oʊ/ Syllables 1 · oh Stress 1st syllable

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Americans pronounce owe as OH (/oʊ/). You'll hear it in sentences like "I owe you an apology for the way I behaved yesterday".

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Sound by sound

Every sound in "owe".

1 syllable, 1 sound. Explore each sound's mouth shape and how it's made.

oh/oʊ/

Start with your mouth slightly open, then close your jaw slightly as your lips round. Shift your tongue back slightly, then stretch the back up.

In real conversation

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"I owe you an apology for the way I behaved yesterday."

ahy OH yoo uhn uh·PAH·luh·jee fer dhuh WAY ahy buh·HAYVD YEH·ster·day

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Questions

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Is the American pronunciation of "owe" different from British English?

American English uses different vowel shapes, a relaxed retroflex R, and connected-speech tricks like flap-T and glottal-stop T that British Received Pronunciation generally avoids. The respell "OH" reflects the casual American form; British dictionaries typically print a citation form with crisper consonants and different vowel choices.