11 pronunciations of "ough"? I've always heard it as seven: thought, though, thr... | Hacker News

Hacker Newsnew | past | comments | ask | show | jobs | submit

		thaumasiotes on April 24, 2014 \| parent \| context \| favorite \| on: Why Chinese Is So Damn Hard (1992) 11 pronunciations of "ough"? I've always heard it as seven: thought, though, through, tough, trough, plough, and, somewhat questionably, hiccough. What are the others supposed to be?

frooxie on April 25, 2014 [–]

The number depends on the dialect. Wikipedia describes it as "at least six pronunciations in North American English and over ten in British English", listing ten of them: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ough_%28orthography%29

Guidelines | FAQ | Lists | API | Security | Legal | Apply to YC | Contact