Finesentence

The English Alphabet and Phonetic Sounds

The English alphabet consists of 26 letters: 5 vowels and 21 consonants. The letter Y can function as either a vowel or a consonant, depending on its context.

The name of the letter Z is different in British and American English: in Britain, it is pronounced as [ zษ›d ] "zed," and in the USA, it is pronounced as [ zi: ] "zee."

The English Alphabet

  • Aa
    [ eษช ]
  • Bb
    [ bi: ]
  • Cc
    [ si: ]
  • Dd
    [ di: ]
  • Ee
    [ i: ]
  • Ff
    [ ษ›f ]
  • Gg
    [ dส’i: ]
  • Hh
    [ eษชสง ]
  • Ii
    [ aษช ]
  • Jj
    [ dส’eษช ]
  • Kk
    [ keษช ]
  • Ll
    [ ษ›l ]
  • Mm
    [ ษ›m ]
  • Nn
    [ ษ›n ]
  • Oo
    [ ษ™สŠ ]
  • Pp
    [ pi: ]
  • Qq
    [ kju: ]
  • Rr
    [ ษ‘: ]
  • Ss
    [ ษ›s ]
  • Tt
    [ ti: ]
  • Uu
    [ ju: ]
  • Vv
    [ vi: ]
  • Ww
    [ หˆdสŒblju: ]
  • Xx
    [ ษ›ks ]
  • Yy
    [ waษช ]
  • Zz
    [ zษ›d ] / [ zi: ]

The Phonetic Structure of the English Language

English has 44 sounds represented by 26 letters. Due to this, letters can vary in pronunciation based on their position and combinations within words. Phonetic transcription uses special symbols to represent each sound precisely, aiding in accurate pronunciation and language learning.

Vowel Sounds

iห agree  free  mea
ษช bi bill  fish 
สŠ boo foo full 
uห blue  boo choose 
e be belt  best 
ษ™ adult  afte dinne
ษœห birthday  bur earth 
ษ”ห force  author  door 
รฆ and  back  cancel 
สŒ blood  bug  fun 
ษ‘ห after  arm  large 
ษ’ block  body  follow 
ษชษ™ beer  diet  junior 
eษช age  baby  create 
ษ”ษช avoid  boy  void 
ษ™สŠ avoid  bonus  close 
eษ™ fair  dairy  hairs 
aษช alive  buy  cycle 
aสŠ allow  brown  mouth 

Consonant Sounds

p apart  pair  cheap 
b beef  above  club 
t take  after  advert 
d day  adult  card 
dส’ join  enjoy  image 
k call  access  click 
ษก game  agree  bag 
f fact  after  dwarf 
v voice  activity  brave 
ฮธ thin  authorize  bath 
รฐ there  father  breathe 
s save  accept  bus 
z zoo  music  always 
สƒ sharp  ambition  dish 
ส’ gilet  cringe  cortege 
m farm  admire  aim 
n known  absence  action 
ล‹ king  drink  along 
h hair  hello  along 
l land  able  call 
w want  always  equal 
j unit  few  pure