Thought is /θɔːt/, one syllable, per Cambridge dictionaries. The vowel matches ought and bought; the letters 'gh' are silent.
- Tongue tip between the teeth for a voiceless TH. 2. Open to the ought vowel. 3. Stop the air for a firm final T.
- Contrast: taught starts with a plain T, tongue behind the teeth. Keep yours between the teeth for thought.
Mouth cues
Put your tongue tip slightly between your teeth. Blow air out steadily. The TH is voiceless, so your throat stays still and only air moves.
Pull the tongue back and open your jaw to the exact vowel of ought and bought. Round your lips a little and hold the jaw steady. This vowel never changes; only the opening sound differs in near-neighbours.
Touch the tongue tip to the ridge behind your top teeth and stop the air. That is the final T. Do not let it soften or vanish, and never add a g or f for the letters 'gh'.
Contrast beside the start: though begins with the same TH but ends on a vowel. Tough begins with a plain T, tongue behind the teeth, never between them. Keep that first tongue-between-teeth moment to separate thought from taught.
Say it in a phrase
Say the whole word inside a short phrase: That was my thought. Keep one syllable, /θɔːt/, with the stress on the word itself, then let the phrase flow without pauses.
Try a three-word run: thought, brought, fought. All three rhyme. Locking onto the shared vowel of ought keeps your thought from drifting toward though or taught.
I thought about it, the past tense of think, and It was a good thought, the noun, are pronounced identically. One mouth shape covers both uses.
Add a contrast pair side by side: thought versus taught. For thought, the tongue sits between the teeth at the start; for taught, the tongue starts behind the teeth on a plain T.
Close with a natural sentence: The thought crossed my mind this morning. Say it twice, first slowly with the three mouth steps, then at normal speed while keeping the final T firm.