Women: Why Is the O Said "i"?

Women is said WIM-in, with an "i" sound, because the plural kept an old vowel, while the singular woman changed its sound.

First, how do you pronounce them?

woman: WUUM-un (the first part rhymes with book)
women: WIM-in (the first part rhymes with him)

Only the first part is really different, and the stress is on it in both words. The ending is quiet: -un in woman and -in in women.

The weird part

Look at the spelling. Both words begin with WO, so you would expect the same sound twice.

spelling: wo-man, wo-men
sound: wuum-un, wim-in

The O in women is not said as an O at all. It is not "WOH-men" either, as in woe. You say the "i" of win.

Where did the "i" come from?

Old English had the word wifman, with the plural wifmen. It joined wif (woman, and the start of our word wife) with man (person). So it first meant "woman-person."

Later in Old English the forms became wimman and wimmen, with a short "i" sound. Then English changed in two ways:

• The sound of the singular changed. The W pulled the "i" into a rounder sound, so woman is now WUUM-un. The same thing happened to wood, which was once widu.
• The spelling of both words changed. It moved from wi- to wu- by about 1200, and to wo- by the late 1200s.

The plural kept the old sound, but it also took the new spelling. That is why women looks like it should rhyme with woman, and does not.

🗣️ Natural Examples

That woman is feeding the pigeons.
Those women are painting a mural.
A woman and two women walked into the library.
Mia asked three women for directions.
The women's football team won the cup.

⚠️ Common Mistakes

Do not say WOH-men.
❌ WOH-men
✅ WIM-in

The plural is women, not womans.
❌ Three womans came in.
✅ Three women came in.

Spell it with an O.
❌ wimen, wimmen
✅ women

Singular or plural possessive?
❌ The womens team won.
✅ The women's team won. (more than one woman)
✅ The woman's bag is red. (one woman)

💬 In a Conversation

Sam: Why isn't it "woh-men"?
Mia: Because the O in women is just there for the spelling.
Sam: And the sound?
Mia: The sound stayed behind in Old English. It never learned to move.

⏳ The OddLingo Timeline

Old English: wifman, plural wifmen
↓ later Old English: wimman, wimmen (short i)
↓ Middle English: the singular's vowel becomes rounded: woman
↓ by about 1200: spelling shifts from wi- to wu-
↓ late 1200s: spelling shifts to wo-
↓ today: woman is WUUM-un and women is WIM-in

🥡 The OddLingo Takeaway

Say woman as WUUM-un and women as WIM-in. The plural kept the old "i" sound, and the O is only there in the spelling.

Other plurals that changed shape are in mice and houses and sheep, deer and fish.