Is there any rule how to pronounce words with endings "-ough"?

Question

I found two pronunciations for the same ending (ugh), one sounds like F, and the other one sounds like omitting of the ending ugh.

That's what I found and you're happily invited to edit this post and to add more examples or change incorrect examples:

Sounds like f: though, tough, cough.

Sounds like omitting the ending: bough, dough, thorough, slough, through

Sounds like p: hiccough

Anyway, I couldn't find a rule which can explain when it should be pronounced as p, f, or be omitted. Is there such rule?

As a note, in some dialects (BrE, I think) hiccough is pronounced like "cough". — Catija, Feb 19 '17 at 00:16
@Catija - No. We pronounce the word like it has a 'p' on the end in BrE and I am unaware of any dialects pronouncing it like it has an 'f' on the end — Chris Rogers, Feb 19 '17 at 00:31
@AdorableSpectacle - Though is pronounced with the same ending as dough — Chris Rogers, Feb 19 '17 at 00:36
To complicate matters, slough can be pronounced with an f sound, or with no f sound, depending on the meaning. And I don’t think there’s any “rule” for this; ough has a few possible pronunciations and they are what they are. — J.R., Feb 19 '17 at 00:46
Nine pronunciations of "ough" are listed in one answer to "How can native English speakers read an unknown word correctly?" — Jasper, Feb 19 '17 at 01:59

score 1 · Answer 1 · answered Feb 19 '17 at 00:45

As EnglishClub says

In some languages, you can look at a word and know immediately how to pronounce it. But in English you need to be a little more careful.

There is no rule for pronunciations of words ending in ugh and there are 8 different ways to pronounce the end of these words (see the link above).

English words are not always that difficult. But in general, when you learn a new word, you should also make sure you know its pronunciation. If you do not have a teacher or someone to say the word for you, you can look in a dictionary. All good dictionaries give the pronunciation for each word, often with special symbols. So it's a good idea to look at your dictionary carefully and learn the pronunciation symbols. After that, you'll always be able to find the pronunciation of any word, easily

Is there any rule how to pronounce words with endings "-ough"?

1 Answers1