How to pronounce "go away" in English — Connected Speech Guide (IPA /ˌɡoʊwəˈweɪ/)

How native English speakers pronounce "go away" (IPA /ˌɡoʊwəˈweɪ/) — connected speech rule, example sentences, and audio for GA and RP. Free. a /w/ glide bridges go→away

go away pronunciation (IPA /ˌɡoʊwəˈweɪ/) — Linking

What happens in this phrase

a /w/ glide bridges go→away

Example sentences

Please go away and leave me alone.
The clouds will go away soon.
Tell them to go away.
I watched the train go away.

Common mistakes by native language

Japanese speakers

Mistake: Pronouncing it as "GOU AWEI" with a clear pause and a katakana [a] onset.

Why: Katakana English preserves each word as separate; vowel-to-vowel linking with an intrusive [w] is unfamiliar.

Fix: The vowel [oʊ] of "go" is rounded, so it naturally glides into the next vowel with an intrusive [w]: [ˈɡoʊwəˈweɪ]. Say it as one word, no gap.

Korean speakers

Mistake: Producing a glottal reset before "away" with full [a] onset.

Why: Korean prosody adds glottal stops before word-initial vowels.

Fix: The rounded [oʊ] of "go" glides smoothly into "away" via intrusive [w]: [ˈɡoʊwəˈweɪ]. English rounded vowels always trigger a [w] glide before a following vowel.

Spanish speakers

Mistake: Producing pure [o] for "go" instead of the diphthong [oʊ], missing the natural glide.

Why: Spanish [o] is a pure monophthong; English "go" is diphthongal [oʊ].

Fix: "Go" is [ɡoʊ] with a diphthong that glides upward. The offglide [ʊ] then naturally links to the next vowel via [w]: [ˈɡoʊwəˈweɪ].

Similar phrase patterns

come on — m + vowel linking: [ˈkʌmˈɒn]. Consonant version of the same linking phenomenon.
throw it — diphthong + vowel with [w] glide: [ˈθroʊwɪt]. Same intrusive-w pattern with a different verb.
so easy — diphthong + vowel with [w] glide: [soʊˈwiːzi]. Common phrase illustrating the same glide insertion.

Practice sentences

Please go away — I need some quiet time. (polite dismissal)
The pain didn't go away for hours. (physical persistence)
Go away with your family this summer. (vacation suggestion)
The rain won't go away no matter what. (weather frustration)
I wish this feeling would go away. (emotional processing)

Notes

"Go away" illustrates one of English's subtle linking phenomena: the intrusive [w] between a rounded vowel and a following vowel. "Go" ends in the diphthong [oʊ], whose offglide [ʊ] naturally produces a [w] gesture as the tongue and lips move toward the next vowel. So "go away" becomes [ˈɡoʊwəˈweɪ] with a smooth [w] linking the two words. The same rule applies to any word ending in a rounded vowel or diphthong: "do it" → [ˈduːwɪt], "blue eye" → [ˈbluːwaɪ], "how are you" → [ˈhaʊwərjə]. The parallel rule for words ending in [i:] or diphthongs ending in [ɪ] inserts an intrusive [j]: "be it" → [ˈbiːjɪt], "say it" → [ˈseɪjɪt]. Together these two intrusive glides (w and j) make English speech flow smoothly without glottal breaks between words.