ruhf
/ɹʌf/
rough is pronounced ruhf (/ɹʌf/). Rough means not smooth or even in texture or surface; it can describe something harsh, severe, or approximate. In sound, it can refer to a harsh or gravelly quality. The term appears across contexts from tactile surfaces to rough weather, rough measurements, or rough estimates. It conveys a sense of coarseness, irregularity, or lack of refinement.
Rough means not smooth or even in texture or surface; it can describe something harsh, severe, or approximate. In sound, it can refer to a harsh or gravelly quality. The term appears across contexts from tactile surfaces to rough weather, rough measurements, or rough estimates. It conveys a sense of coarseness, irregularity, or lack of refinement.
"The beach had a rough, pebbly shore that angled against the tide."
"Her hands were rough from years of hard labor."
"We got a rough estimate of the costs before finalizing the budget."
You say it as /rʌf/. Start with an initial r sound, then the short 'u' as in 'cup' but reduced to /ʌ/, and finish with the voiceless /f/ fricative. The syllable is one beat with primary stress on the only syllable. For non-native ears, note that the vowel is neither 'ʊ' nor 'ɔ'—it's the centralized /ʌ/. IPA: /rʌf/. Audio references: you can compare via Forvo or Cambridge dictionary audio.
Common mistakes include pronouncing the vowel as /ɔ/ (as in 'or') or confusing the final /f/ with /v/. Another mistake is a blurred /r/ where the onset isn’t clearly cased, or adding an unnecessary vowel after /f/. Correction tips: keep the /r/ crisp, use the short /ʌ/ from 'struck', and end with a clean, unvoiced /f/. Practice: word-level practice with minimal pairs: rough / rɒf and rʌf, 'ruff' is not needed; keep tongue high and lips unrounded for /ʌ/.
In US, /rʌf/ with rhotic initial; the /ʌ/ is a lax vowel similar to 'struck'. In many UK accents, you may hear a shorter /ʌ/ and a crisper /f/ with less vocalic rounding; London may reduce to /rɒf/ in some dialects, particularly non-rhotic variants where the /r/ is less pronounced until followed by a vowel. Australian typically uses /rɒːf/ or /ˈrʌf/ with a pronounced /r/ in some speakers, but often rhotic. All share the unvoiced /f/ end. IPA: US /rʌf/, UK /rɒf/ or /rʌf/, AU /rɒf/ or /rʌf/.
The main challenge is the short, lax vowel /ʌ/ that can be mispronounced as /ɒ/ or /ɔ/ by learners, plus ensuring the final /f/ is voiceless and not devoiced into a /v/. Also, the onset /r/ combined with /ʌ/ requires a quick, smooth transition without a preceding vowel. Finally, many learners over-articulate or insert a prolongation. Focus on keeping the tongue relaxed for /ʌ/, the lips unrounded, and a crisp /f/ air flow.
The word features a single-syllable structure with a lax mid-back vowel and a voiceless labiodental fricative; it’s sensitive to vowel reduction when in connected speech. In rapid speech, you may hear a shortened vowel or elision in fast contexts, but careful enunciation keeps /ʌ/ distinct from /ə/ and maintains a crisp /f/. This is especially noticeable in phrases like 'rough estimate' where the boundary to the following syllable affects rhythm.
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Rough comes from Old English ruf, referring to a harsh, coarse surface, with Proto-Germanic roots *hrukaz, possibly connected to Old Norse hrokkr. Over time, the sense expanded from tactile texture to describe conditions, people, or estimates that are imprecise, coarse, or severe. In Middle English, forms like rouk or rokh appeared, retaining the core sense of irregularity and harshness. By the 16th century, rough had extended to figurative uses such as rough behavior, rough weather, or rough calculations, illustrating semantic broadening from physical texture to evaluative judgments. The word’s evolution tracks a shift from concrete to abstract descriptor, retaining the core concept of lack of smoothness or refinement. First known use in documents appears in Old English poetry and legal texts, while the modern sense as a general adjective and noun culminates in Early Modern English. Today, rough frequently collocates with nouns describing surfaces, conditions, and estimates, highlighting its role as a versatile descriptor of irregularity and intensity.
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💡 These words have similar meanings to "rough" and can often be used interchangeably.
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Words that rhyme with "rough"
-ugh sounds
Practice with these rhyming pairs to improve your pronunciation consistency:
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