Four words, two vowels. bought and caught share a long, held /ɔː/ — the GH letters are silent in both. boat and coat share a gliding /oʊ/ diphthong — the vowel moves from rounded to forward.
past tense of buy — 'I bought a ticket' — the GH is silent
mouth shape
lips round and jaw drops — long /ɔː/ sustained then stops at /t/ — like 'caught', 'thought', 'fought'
bought
/bɔːt/
vowel length
past tense of catch — 'he caught the ball' · 'she caught a cold' — the GH is silent, same as bought
mouth shape
same /ɔː/ as bought — lips round, jaw drops, hold it steady — then a /t/ stop
caught
/kɔːt/
vowel length
a vessel for water travel — /oʊ/ is a gliding sound, not a held vowel
mouth shape
lips round then glide forward — /oʊ/ diphthong like 'go', 'show', 'coat'
boat
/boʊt/
vowel length
an outer garment worn for warmth — 'put your coat on' — rhymes exactly with boat
mouth shape
same /oʊ/ as boat — lips round then glide forward — like 'go', 'show'
coat
/koʊt/
vowel length
Vowel comparison
bought · caught
/ɔː/
LONG, HELD vowel
thought, fought, taught
lips round — jaw drops — hold it
boat · coat
/oʊ/
GLIDING diphthong
note, road, show, go
lips round — then glide forward
Key difference
bought /bɔːt/ and caught /kɔːt/: the GH is silent in both — the vowel is the long, round, sustained /ɔː/ (like thought, fought). boat /boʊt/ and coat /koʊt/: the vowel is the diphthong /oʊ/ — it starts round and glides forward (like note, go).
Example sentences
bought:“She bought a new dress.”
caught:“He caught the ball with one hand.”
boat:“We sailed the boat across the lake.”
coat:“Put your coat on, it's cold outside.”
Hear it in a sentence
“She bought a second-hand bicycle from a neighbour last week.”
“He caught the last train home just before midnight.”
“The fishing boat returned to harbour just before the storm hit.”
“She wrapped her coat tightly against the cold wind.”
Hear it in the wild
Real speech from native speakers — the most reliable way to check a pronunciation, since automated audio can vary by device and browser.
bought
Hear native speakers say “bought” in real sentences — news, lectures, and podcasts.
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caught
Hear native speakers say “caught” in real sentences — news, lectures, and podcasts.
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boat
Hear native speakers say “boat” in real sentences — news, lectures, and podcasts.
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coat
Hear native speakers say “coat” in real sentences — news, lectures, and podcasts.
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How teachers explain this
Approved tips from the community, sorted by helpfulness
Word families
buy family (bought is past tense) ▸
catch family (caught is past tense) ▸
boat family ▸
coat family ▸
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