What is ghoughpteighbteau?

Answer 1

Oh, dude, that's just a totally normal way to spell "potato." Like, who needs vowels anyway, right? Just throw some random letters together and bam, you've got yourself a word. English is a wild ride, my friend.

Answer 2

Sure you spelled that right? It looks a bit like "hot potato." 'Potato' is correct! -Shoe

The spelling is OK. 'Ghoughpteighbteau' is just a fun way to spell 'potato', like 'ghoti' means 'fish'. The letters and sounds in 'Ghoughpteighbteau' come from the funny way that those letter combinations are pronounced in other words.

Logophiles, and teachers in English remedial English-as-a-Second-Language [ESL] courses, love these examples because they demonstrate the sometimes silly and irregular spelling in English.

P comes from the way 'GH' is sounded in hiccough

O is the sound in though

T is the sound in ptomaine

A is the sound in neigh or eight

T is the sound in debt

O is the sound in bureau

Does that make sense?

By the way, 'ghoti' and 'tchoghs' is 'fish and chips'.