Sound Gym
crow · crew
Diphthong /oʊ/ vs long /uː/ — same /kr…/ onset, different vowel: gliding vs sustained.
noun — a large, all-black bird in the Corvidae family; OR (informal) a woman regarded as unpleasant — 'as the crow flies' (in a straight line) · 'crowbar' — NOT to be confused with crew
mouth shape
diphthong /oʊ/ — starts mid-back, glides to rounded /ʊ/ — like 'go', 'show', 'know' — lips round at the end
crow
/kroʊ/
vowel length
noun — the people who work together on a ship, aircraft, film set, or other project — 'a flight crew' · 'film crew' · 'skeleton crew' · 'ground crew'
mouth shape
long /uː/ — lips fully round and pushed forward, tongue back — like 'blue', 'true', 'clue' — NOT a diphthong, a single sustained back vowel — longer than crow's /oʊ/
crew
/kruː/
vowel length
Back vowel spotlight — diphthong /oʊ/ vs long /uː/
crow
/kroʊ/
diphthong — starts mid, glides up
like: go · show · know · flow
crew
/kruː/
long /uː/ — sustained, fully rounded
like: blue · true · clue · brew
-ow vs -ew spellings — two sounds
-ow as /oʊ/
crow · show · snow · bow · flow · low · grow
-ow as /aʊ/ (different!)
cow · how · now · bow (to bow) · wow · plow
-ew as /uː/
crew · brew · drew · threw · flew · new · blew
-ew as /juː/ (after some consonants)
few · dew · mew · pew · hew — British /fjuː, djuː/
Key difference
Same /kr/ onset.crow: diphthong /oʊ/— gliding — starts in the middle of the mouth and rounds toward the back — like “go” or “show”.crew: long /uː/— sustained — lips fully round from the start and stay there — like “blue” or “true”. It feels longer and rounder than crow.
Example sentences
crow:“A crow perched on the telegraph wire and watched us.”
crow:“The village is ten miles away as the crow flies.”
crew:“The crew worked through the night to finish filming.”
crew:“The ship’s crew gathered on the deck.”
Hear it in a sentence
“A single crow perched on the fence post and watched them work.”
“The flight crew welcomed passengers aboard with a brief announcement.”
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.
crow
Hear native speakers say “crow” in real sentences — news, lectures, and podcasts.
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crew
Hear native speakers say “crew” 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
crow family ▸
crew family ▸
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