Ou (digraph)

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Ou is a digraph of the Latin alphabet.

Contents 1 English 2 Dutch 3 French 4 Portuguese

[edit] English

In English, ou usually represents the diphthong [aʊ], as in out [aʊt]. This spelling is generally used before consonants, with ow being used instead before vowels and at the ends of words. Occasionally ou may also represent other vowels - [ʌ] as in trouble, [ɔ] as in four, [ʊ] as in would, or [u] as in group.

English ou originally represented [uː], as in French, but its pronunciation has changed as part of the Great Vowel Shift.

[edit] Dutch

In Dutch ou represents [ʌu] in the Netherlands or [oʊ] in Flanders.

[edit] French

In French, ou represents the vowel [u], as in vous [vu] "you", or the approximant consonant [w], as in oui [wi] "yes".

[edit] Portuguese

This digraph stands for the close-mid back rounded vowel [o] or for the falling diphthong [ou], according to dialect.

v • d • e Latin alphabet
Digraphs	Aa aa Ae ae Ai ai Au au Aw aw Ay ay Bh bh Ch ch Ck ck Cö cö Cs cs Cu cu Cz cz Dd dd Dh dh Dj dj Dx dx Dz dz Dž dž Dź dź Dż dż Ea ea Ee ee Ei ei Eu eu Ew ew Ey ey Ff ff Fh fh Gb gb Gh gh Għ għ Gi gi Gj gj Gn gn Gy gy Hs hs Hu hu Ie ie IJ ij Jö jö Kh kh Kp kp Ku ku Lh lh Lj lj Ll ll Ly ly Mb mb Mh mh Mp mp Nd nd Ng ng Nh nh Nj nj Nk nk Ns ns Nt nt Ny ny Nz nz Oa oa Oe oe Oi oi Oo oo Ou ou Ow ow Oy oy Ph ph Qu qu Rd rd Rh rh Rl rl Rn rn Rr rr Rt rt Rz rz Sh sh Sv sv Sy sy Sz sz Th th Tj tj Tr tr Ts ts Tx tx Ty ty Tz tz Ue ue Ui ui Vh vh Wh wh Xh xh Xö xö Yh yh Yk yk Zh zh Zs zs Zv zv
Trigraphs	C'h c'h Dzs dzs Eau eau Ngb ngb Ngh ngh Ngk ngk Nkp nkp Nth nth Nyk nyk Rnd rnd Sch sch
Tetragraphs	Eeuw eeuw Ieuw ieuw Ough ough