How to pronounce spow
Say it like SPOW. Spow is a single syllable, so the whole word carries the stress.
Click the play button next to American or British to hear how to pronounce spow. Choose Slow to hear each sound clearly.
- SPOW
- Main stress
- Lighter stress
- Unstressed
Spow pronunciation, sound by sound
Read the parts left to right, then blend them together without pausing.
- SPOWSay this part loudest and longest. The vowel is the "ow" in now.
American vs British pronunciation of spow
American and British speakers say spow in essentially the same way: /spaʊ/ in the US and /spaʊ/ in the UK.
British respelling: SPOW.
What does spow mean?
- An imaginary action resembling the headcarrying of a teapot, used in the Wug Test to investigate the acquisition of the past participle form in English-speaking children.
Where does spow come from?
Pseudoword, coined ex nihilo by American psycholinguist Jean Berko Gleason in the 1950s as a word that children taking the test would not have heard before.
Words that rhyme with spow
Practicing rhymes is a quick way to lock in the vowel sound of spow.
Questions about saying spow
How do you pronounce spow?
Say SPOW. The American pronunciation is /spaʊ/. In British English it is /spaʊ/. Press play above to hear it at normal speed or slowly.
How many syllables are in spow?
Spow is a single syllable, so the whole word carries the stress. Broken into parts: SPOW.
Do Americans and Brits say spow the same way?
Almost exactly. The American form is /spaʊ/ and the British form is /spaʊ/, so you can use either pronunciation with any listener.