Phonics word list

Ow words with long o

In short

Ow says long o, /ō/, as in snow, grow and window. The same spelling says /ow/ in cow, so ow words split almost evenly between two sounds. Our checked list has 173 words where ow says /ō/.

At a glance

Words in our list: 173
By syllables: one syllable: 57 · two syllables: 91 · three or more syllables: 25
Taught in: Lesson 86 in the sequence

One spelling, more than one sound

Most lists mix these up. We count each sound separately, so a student practicing one sound only sees words that make it.

How many words in our list spell each sound with ow
Sound	Example	Words	List
/ō/	low	173	This page
/ow/	how	155	See the list

Ow words that say /ō/, most common first

Spelling units show how each word breaks into the letters that spell one sound; a_e is a vowel and silent e working together. Readable after is the first lesson where a student can sound out the whole word.

One syllable

57 words, most common first.

One syllable
Word	Spelling units	Syllables	Readable after
low	l·ow	1	Lesson 86
owe	ow·e	1	Lesson 86
own	ow·n	1	Lesson 86
row	r·ow	1	Lesson 86
blow	b·l·ow	1	Lesson 86
flow	f·l·ow	1	Lesson 86
grow	g·r·ow	1	Lesson 86
know	kn·ow	1	Lesson 98
owed	ow·ed	1	Lesson 86
owes	ow·e·s	1	Lesson 86
show	sh·ow	1	Lesson 86
slow	s·l·ow	1	Lesson 86
flown	f·l·ow·n	1	Lesson 86
grown	g·r·ow·n	1	Lesson 86
grows	g·r·ow·s	1	Lesson 86
known	kn·ow·n	1	Lesson 98
knows	kn·ow·s	1	Lesson 98
shown	sh·ow·n	1	Lesson 86
shows	sh·ow·s	1	Lesson 86
throw	th·r·ow	1	Lesson 86
growth	g·r·ow·th	1	Lesson 86
showed	sh·ow·ed	1	Lesson 86
thrown	th·r·ow·n	1	Lesson 86
throws	th·r·ow·s	1	Lesson 86
bowl	b·ow·l	1	Lesson 86
glow	g·l·ow	1	Lesson 86
owns	ow·n·s	1	Lesson 86
rows	r·ow·s	1	Lesson 86
snow	s·n·ow	1	Lesson 86
blown	b·l·ow·n	1	Lesson 86
blows	b·l·ow·s	1	Lesson 86
flows	f·l·ow·s	1	Lesson 86
glows	g·l·ow·s	1	Lesson 86
owned	ow·n·ed	1	Lesson 86
slows	s·l·ow·s	1	Lesson 86
flowed	f·l·ow·ed	1	Lesson 86
glowed	g·l·ow·ed	1	Lesson 86
slowed	s·l·ow·ed	1	Lesson 86
mow	m·ow	1	Lesson 86
tow	t·ow	1	Lesson 86
crow	c·r·ow	1	Lesson 86
lows	l·ow·s	1	Lesson 86
sown	s·ow·n	1	Lesson 86
sows	s·ow·s	1	Lesson 86
stow	s·t·ow	1	Lesson 86
tows	t·ow·s	1	Lesson 86
bowls	b·ow·l·s	1	Lesson 86
crows	c·r·ow·s	1	Lesson 86
mowed	m·ow·ed	1	Lesson 86
rowed	r·ow·ed	1	Lesson 86
snows	s·n·ow·s	1	Lesson 86
towed	t·ow·ed	1	Lesson 86
bowled	b·ow·l·ed	1	Lesson 86
crowed	c·r·ow·ed	1	Lesson 86
snowed	s·n·ow·ed	1	Lesson 86
stowed	s·t·ow·ed	1	Lesson 86
growths	g·r·ow·th·s	1	Lesson 86

Two syllables

The 60 most common of 91 words. 31 more are in our list.

Two syllables
Word	Spelling units	Syllables	Readable after
below	b·e·l·ow	2	Lesson 86
lower	l·ow·er	2	Lesson 86
owing	ow·i·ng	2	Lesson 109
owner	ow·n·er	2	Lesson 86
borrow	b·o·rr·ow	2	Lesson 86
follow	f·o·ll·ow	2	Lesson 86
lowest	l·ow·e·s·t	2	Lesson 86
owners	ow·n·er·s	2	Lesson 86
slower	s·l·ow·er	2	Lesson 86
slowly	s·l·ow·l·y	2	Lesson 86
window	w·i·n·d·ow	2	Lesson 86
yellow	y·e·ll·ow	2	Lesson 86
borrows	b·o·rr·ow·s	2	Lesson 86
follows	f·o·ll·ow·s	2	Lesson 86
growing	g·r·ow·i·ng	2	Lesson 86
knowing	kn·ow·i·ng	2	Lesson 98
showing	sh·ow·i·ng	2	Lesson 86
slowest	s·l·ow·e·s·t	2	Lesson 86
unknown	u·n·kn·ow·n	2	Lesson 98
windows	w·i·n·d·ow·s	2	Lesson 86
borrowed	b·o·rr·ow·ed	2	Lesson 86
followed	f·o·ll·ow·ed	2	Lesson 86
throwing	th·r·ow·i·ng	2	Lesson 86
arrow	a·rr·ow	2	Lesson 86
arrows	a·rr·ow·s	2	Lesson 86
fellow	f·e·ll·ow	2	Lesson 86
hollow	h·o·ll·ow	2	Lesson 86
lowers	l·ow·er·s	2	Lesson 86
narrow	n·a·rr·ow	2	Lesson 86
owning	ow·n·i·ng	2	Lesson 86
shadow	sh·a·d·ow	2	Lesson 86
blowing	b·l·ow·i·ng	2	Lesson 86
fellows	f·e·ll·ow·s	2	Lesson 86
flowing	f·l·ow·i·ng	2	Lesson 86
glowing	g·l·ow·i·ng	2	Lesson 86
lowered	l·ow·er·ed	2	Lesson 86
rainbow	r·ai·n·b·ow	2	Lesson 86
shallow	sh·a·ll·ow	2	Lesson 86
slowing	s·l·ow·i·ng	2	Lesson 86
swallow	s·w·a·ll·ow	2	Lesson 94
swallows	s·w·a·ll·ow·s	2	Lesson 94
swallowed	s·w·a·ll·ow·ed	2	Lesson 94
lowly	l·ow·l·y	2	Lesson 86
mower	m·ow·er	2	Lesson 86
showy	sh·ow·y	2	Lesson 86
snowy	s·n·ow·y	2	Lesson 86
bowler	b·ow·l·er	2	Lesson 86
disown	d·i·s·ow·n	2	Lesson 86
grower	g·r·ow·er	2	Lesson 86
lowing	l·ow·i·ng	2	Lesson 86
mowers	m·ow·er·s	2	Lesson 86
rowing	r·ow·i·ng	2	Lesson 86
towing	t·ow·i·ng	2	Lesson 86
blowout	b·l·ow·ou·t	2	Lesson 96
bowling	b·ow·l·i·ng	2	Lesson 86
crowbar	c·r·ow·b·ar	2	Lesson 86
crowing	c·r·ow·i·ng	2	Lesson 86
growers	g·r·ow·er·s	2	Lesson 86
hollows	h·o·ll·ow·s	2	Lesson 86
lowdown	l·ow·d·ow·n	2	Lesson 96

Three or more syllables

25 words, most common first.

Three or more syllables
Word	Spelling units	Syllables	Readable after
tomorrow	t·o·m·o·rr·ow	3	Lesson 86
borrowing	b·o·rr·ow·i·ng	3	Lesson 86
following	f·o·ll·ow·i·ng	3	Lesson 86
follower	f·o·ll·ow·er	3	Lesson 86
lowering	l·ow·er·i·ng	3	Lesson 86
narrower	n·a·rr·ow·er	3	Not in the sequence
overflow	o·v·er·f·l·ow	3	Lesson 86
followers	f·o·ll·ow·er·s	3	Lesson 86
narrowest	n·a·rr·ow·e·s·t	3	Not in the sequence
ownership	ow·n·er·sh·i·p	3	Lesson 86
swallowing	s·w·a·ll·ow·i·ng	3	Lesson 94
shadowy	sh·a·d·ow·y	3	Lesson 86
showiest	sh·ow·i·e·s·t	3	Lesson 110
yellower	y·e·ll·ow·er	3	Lesson 86
hollowing	h·o·ll·ow·i·ng	3	Lesson 86
knowingly	kn·ow·i·ng·l·y	3	Lesson 98
overflows	o·v·er·f·l·ow·s	3	Lesson 86
shadowing	sh·a·d·ow·i·ng	3	Lesson 86
shallower	sh·a·ll·ow·er	3	Lesson 86
tomorrows	t·o·m·o·rr·ow·s	3	Lesson 86
yellowest	y·e·ll·ow·e·s·t	3	Lesson 86
yellowing	y·e·ll·ow·i·ng	3	Lesson 86
followings	f·o·ll·ow·i·ng·s	3	Lesson 86
overflowed	o·v·er·f·l·ow·ed	3	Lesson 86
overflowing	o·v·er·f·l·ow·i·ng	4	Lesson 86

When do these words become readable?

The lessons where the most words on this page become decodable. Words marked not in the sequence have a spelling the sequence never teaches as a pattern.

Lessons where the most words on this page become readable
Readable after	Words
Lesson 86	150
Lesson 94	4
Lesson 96	9
Lesson 98	6
Lesson 109	1
Lesson 110	1
Not in the sequence	2

How do you teach ow words that say /ō/?

Teach ow /ō/ with oa, then teach ow /ow/ later as its own lesson. When both are known, practice the flex. "Ow can say /ō/ or /ow/. Try one. Is it a word?" Sort snow, grow, show against cow, now, town. The sound split above shows how close the two groups are in size.

What mistake do students make with ow words that say /ō/?

Students read snow as /snow/ rhyming with cow. That is a fair try; prompt the flex. Bow, row and sow have both readings and both meanings, which makes a good discussion.

Where do ow words that say /ō/ come in the sequence?

Ow /ō/ is taught with oa and oe. Ow /ow/ comes later with ou. In the sequence we use, the pattern is taught in Lesson 86.

Exceptions worth knowing

Bow, row, sow and lower can be read with either sound, each with its own meaning. Knowledge has ow saying /ŏ/.

Decodable sentences

Every word in these sentences can be read at Lesson 86 or earlier, or is a heart word taught by then.

The snow is low.
Show me the yellow bowl.
The grass will grow.

Questions people ask

What are 5 ow words that say /ō/?

Low, owe, own, row, blow. Those are the five most common of the 173 words where ow says /ō/ in our checked list.

How do you know which sound ow makes?

The spelling doesn't tell you. Try /ō/, then /ow/, and pick the one that makes a word. Context decides bow and row.

What are common ow long o words?

Snow, show, grow, know, slow, low, yellow and window.

When can a student read ow words that say /ō/?

Ow words that say /ō/ are taught at Lesson 86 in the lesson sequence we use. 150 of the 173 words on this page can be sounded out by then; the rest wait for a pattern taught later, and the tables show the lesson for each word.

How this list was built

Every word comes from our lexicon of common English words, each split into spelling units and checked against a pronouncing dictionary, so a word is listed under the sound its spelling really makes. Words a student sees in our assessments are left out. The readable after lesson comes from our decodability engine, which checks each spelling unit and syllable pattern against the lesson sequence. You can run your own text through the same engine with the free decodable text checker.