How to pronounce thou
Say it like THOW. Thou 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 thou. Choose Slow to hear each sound clearly.
- THOW
- Main stress
- Lighter stress
- Unstressed
Thou pronunciation, sound by sound
Read the parts left to right, then blend them together without pausing.
- THOWSay this part loudest and longest. The vowel is the "ow" in now.
American vs British pronunciation of thou
American and British speakers say thou in essentially the same way: /ðaʊ/ in the US and /ðaʊ/ in the UK.
British respelling: THOW.
What does thou mean?
- the cardinal number that is the product of 10 and 100
Where does thou come from?
From Late Middle English thouen, theu, thew, thou, thowe, thowen, thui, thuy (“to address (a person) with thou, particularly in a contemptuous or polite manner”), from the pronoun thou: see etymology 1 above.
Similar and opposite words
Similar meaning
- m
- k
- g
- grand
Words that rhyme with thou
Practicing rhymes is a quick way to lock in the vowel sound of thou.
Questions about saying thou
How do you pronounce thou?
Say THOW. The American pronunciation is /ðaʊ/. In British English it is /ðaʊ/. Press play above to hear it at normal speed or slowly.
How many syllables are in thou?
Thou is a single syllable, so the whole word carries the stress. Broken into parts: THOW.
Do Americans and Brits say thou the same way?
Almost exactly. The American form is /ðaʊ/ and the British form is /ðaʊ/, so you can use either pronunciation with any listener.