One syllable: Those.
thohz
/ðoʊz/
Those is pronounced thohz (/ðoʊz/). It has one syllable (Those), with the stress on "Those". Those is a demonstrative pronoun and determiner referring to specific people or things away from the speaker. It can function as a pronoun (Those are my shoes) or a determiner before a plural noun (Those books are new). It often contrasts with 'these' to indicate distance or plurality. The core sound is a voiced dental fricative followed by a long mid back vowel and final z.
nounThose is a demonstrative pronoun and determiner referring to specific people or things away from the speaker. It can function as a pronoun (Those are my shoes) or a determiner before a plural noun (Those books are new). It often contrasts with 'these' to indicate distance or plurality. The core sound is a voiced dental fricative followed by a long mid back vowel and final z.
How to Pronounce Those
"Those are the red apples we bought yesterday."
"I prefer those shoes over the ones in the window."
"Take those papers to the front desk, please."
Pronounce it as /ðoʊz/ in US and UK. Start with the voiced dental fricative /ð/ by placing the tongue tip gently between the upper and lower teeth and voicing. Move into the diphthong /oʊ/ (as in 'go'), then finish with the voiced /z/. In Australian speech you’ll hear /ðoːz/ with a longer, tenser vowel. Keep the glide smooth and don’t insert a consonant before the /z/. Practice with 'those' vs 'these' to feel the distance contrast.
Common errors include pronouncing /ð/ as /d/ or /t/, starting with a hard 'd' or 't' onset, and mispronouncing the /oʊ/ as a short /o/ or a flat vowel. Some also omit voicing on the final /z/, making it sound like /s/. To correct: keep the tongue between teeth with a gentle voicing for /ð/, use a true /oʊ/ glide, and end with a clear, voiced /z/; avoid devoicing when the surrounding sounds are voiced in connected speech.
In US English, /ðoʊz/ with a rhotic r-coloring may appear in connected speech as /ðoʊz/. In many UK accents, you’ll still have /ðəʊz/ with a non-rhotic trailing vowel, and the /oʊ/ is closer to /əʊ/. Australian English often yields /ðoːz/ with a longer, steadier vowel and less glide. The main differences are vowel quality and diphthong length; the onset /ð/ remains, but the articulatory length of the vowel shifts subtly across these varieties.
The challenge is the initial voiced dental fricative /ð/ because English learners often substitute /d/ or /z/ or omit voicing in fast speech. The /oʊ/ diphthong requires a precise tongue height shift from mid-back to high back while maintaining a gentle lip rounding. Finally, the final /z/ requires voicing and a clear sibilant. In rapid speech, the /ð/ can soften into a near /z/ or slip into a dental-alveolar assimilation with the previous segment.
Focus on the transition: clearly articulate /ð/ between the teeth, then hold the /oʊ/ as a tight, almost closed glide, and finish with a crisp /z/. Visualize the airflow: a steady hum for /ð/ then a controlled pop into /oʊ/, finishing with a buzzing /z/. Practicing with minimal pairs like 'those' vs 'these' or 'those' vs 'though' can help fix the boundary between the vowel and the final consonant.
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The word those derives from Old English those (plural demonstrative pronoun) from the phrase 'thaesra' in early Old English, linked to the demonstrative 'that' and the genitive suffix '-es' that marked plural forms. It shares ancestry with German diese and Dutch die, all of which ultimately trace back to Proto-Germanic *thaizô, a demonstrative root meaning 'that' or 'those.' In Middle English, those began to appear in written texts as a plural demonstrative before nouns, distinguishing distance and/or specification from 'these' (nearby). The form evolved through assimilation and spelling standardization in Early Modern English, aligning with the general demonstrative system that distinguishes proximity (this/these) from distance (that/those). The first significant attestations appear in late Old English medical and legal glossaries, with broader usage by the 13th-14th centuries as vernacular speakers needed a plural demonstrative to reference multiple items or people away from the speaker. The core semantic development centers on deictic reference and plurality, with pronunciation stabilizing toward /ðoʊz/ in modern varieties as the voiced dental fricative /ð/ followed by the diphthong /oʊ/ and the voiced alveolar sibilant /z/.
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💡 These words have similar meanings to "Those" and can often be used interchangeably.
🔄 These words have opposite meanings to "Those" and show contrast in usage.
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Words that rhyme with "Those"
-ose sounds
Practice with these rhyming pairs to improve your pronunciation consistency:
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