Phonemic Chart 🔊
VOWELS
i:
sheep
I
ship
ʊ
good
u:
shoot
ɪə
here
eɪ
wait
e
bed
ə
teacher
ɜ:
bird
ɔ:
door
ʊə
cure
ɔɪ
boy
əʊ
show
æ
cat
ʌ
up
ɑ:
far
ɒ
on
eə
hair
aɪ
my
aʊ
cow
CONSONANTS
p
pea
f
fly
t
tea
θ
think
ʧ
cheese
s
see
ʃ
shall
k
car
b
boat
v
video
d
dog
ð
this
ʤ
June
z
zoo
ʒ
television
g
go
h
hat
m
man
n
now
ŋ
singer
r
red
l
love
w
wet
j
yes
Alphabet Pronunciation 🔊
The alphabet is the set of 26 letters (from A to Z) that we use to represent English in writing:
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
It is very important to understand that the letters of the alphabet do NOT always represent the same sounds of English.
A
a
[eɪ]
B
b
[bi:]
C
c
[si:]
D
d
[di:]
E
e
[i:]
F
f
[ef]
G
g
[ʤi:]
H
h
[eɪʧ]
I
i
[aɪ]
J
j
[ʤeɪ]
K
k
[keɪ]
L
l
[el]
M
m
[em]
N
n
[en]
O
o
[əʊ]
P
p
[pi:]
Q
q
[kju:]
R
r
[ɑ:]
S
s
[es]
T
t
[ti:]
U
u
[ju:]
V
v
[vi:]
W
w
['dʌblju:]
X
x
[eks]
Y
y
[waɪ]
Z
z
[zed/zi:]
Learn 44 Phonetic symbols (IPA) | British Accent
Learn 44 Phonetic symbols (IPA) | American Accent
The 44 Phonemes in English
Despite there being just 26 letters in the English language there are approximately[əˈprɑːksɪmətli] 44 unique sounds, also known as phonemes. The 44 sounds help distinguish one word or meaning from another. Various letters and letter combinations known as graphemes are used to represent the sounds.
The 44 English sounds fall into two categories: consonants and vowels. Below is a list of the 44 phonemes along with their International Phonetic Alphabet symbols and some examples of their use. Note that there is no such thing as a definitive list of phonemes because of accents, dialects and the evolution of language itself. Therefore you may discover lists with more or less than these 44 sounds.
Consonants
| Phoneme | IPA Symbol | Graphemes | Examples | Voiced? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | b | b, bb | bug /bʌɡ/ bubble /ˈbʌbl/ | Yes |
| 2 | d | d, dd, ed | dad, add, milled | Yes |
| 3 | f | f, ff, ph, gh, lf, ft | fat, cliff, phone, enough, half, often | No |
| 4 | g | g, gg, gh,gu,gue | gun, egg, ghost, guest, prologue | Yes |
| 5 | h | h, wh | hop, who | No |
| 6 | dʒ | j, ge, g, dge, di, gg | jam, wage, giraffe, edge, soldier, exaggerate | Yes |
| 7 | k | k, c, ch, cc, lk, qu ,q(u), ck, x | kit, cat, chris, accent, folk, bouquet, queen, rack, box | No |
| 8 | l | l, ll | live, well | Yes |
| 9 | m | m, mm, mb, mn, lm | man, summer, comb, column, palm | Yes |
| 10 | n | n, nn,kn, gn, pn, mn | net, funny, know, gnat, pneumonic, mneumonic | Yes |
| 11 | p | p, pp | pin, dippy | No |
| 12 | r | r, rr, wr, rh | run, carrot, wrench, rhyme | Yes |
| 13 | s | s, ss, c, sc, ps, st, ce, se | sit, less, circle, scene, psycho, listen, pace, course | No |
| 14 | t | t, tt, th, ed | tip, matter, thomas, ripped | No |
| 15 | v | v, f, ph, ve | vine, of, stephen, five | Yes |
| 16 | w | w, wh, u, o | wit, why, quick, choir | Yes |
| 17 | z | z, zz, s, ss, x, ze, se | zed, buzz, his, scissors, xylophone, craze | Yes |
| 18 | ʒ | s, si, z | treasure, division, azure | Yes |
| 19 | tʃ | ch, tch, tu, ti, te | chip, watch, future, action, righteous | No |
| 20 | ʃ | sh, ce, s, ci, si, ch, sci, ti | sham, ocean, sure, special, pension, machine, conscience, station | No |
| 21 | θ | th | thongs | No |
| 22 | ð | th | leather | Yes |
| 23 | ŋ | ng, n, ngue | ring, pink, tongue | Yes |
| 24 | j | y, i, j | you, onion, hallelujah | Yes |
Vowels
| Phoneme | IPA Symbol | Graphemes | Examples |
|---|---|---|---|
| 25 | æ | a, ai, au | cat, plaid, laugh |
| 26 | eɪ | a, ai, eigh, aigh, ay, er, et, ei, au, a_e, ea, ey | bay, maid, weigh, straight, pay, foyer, filet, eight, gauge, mate, break, they |
| 27 | e | e, ea, u, ie, ai, a, eo, ei, ae | end, bread, bury, friend, said, many, leopard, heifer, aesthetic |
| 28 | i: | e, ee, ea, y, ey, oe, ie, i, ei, eo, ay | be, bee, meat, lady, key, phoenix, grief, ski, deceive, people, quay |
| 29 | ɪ | i, e, o, u, ui, y, ie | it, england, women, busy, guild, gym, sieve |
| 30 | aɪ | i, y, igh, ie, uy, ye, ai, is, eigh, i_e | spider, sky, night, pie, guy, stye, aisle, island, height, kite |
| 31 | ɒ | a, ho, au, aw, ough | swan, honest, maul, slaw, fought |
| 32 | oʊ | o, oa, o_e, oe, ow, ough, eau, oo, ew | open, moat, bone, toe, sow, dough, beau, brooch, sew |
| 33 | ʊ | o, oo, u,ou | wolf, look, bush, would |
| 34 | ʌ | u, o, oo, ou | lug, monkey, blood, double |
| 35 | u: | o, oo, ew, ue, u_e, oe, ough, ui, oew, ou | who, loon, dew, blue, flute, shoe, through, fruit, manoeuvre, group |
| 36 | ɔɪ | oi, oy, uoy | join, boy, buoy |
| 37 | aʊ | ow, ou, ough | now, shout, bough |
| 38 | ə | a, er, i, ar, our, ur | about, ladder, pencil, dollar, honour, augur |
| 39 | eəʳ | air, are, ear, ere, eir, ayer | chair, dare, pear, where, their, prayer |
| 40 | ɑ: | a,ar | arm,hart |
| 41 | ɜ:ʳ | ir, er, ur, ear, or, our, yr | bird, term, burn, pearl, word, journey, myrtle |
| 42 | ɔ: | aw, a, or, oor, ore, oar, our, augh, ar, ough, au | paw, ball, fork, poor, fore, board, four, taught, war, bought, sauce |
| 43 | ɪəʳ | ear, eer, ere, ier | ear, steer, here, tier |
| 44 | ʊəʳ | ure, our | cure, tourist |
Wechsler phonetic symbols and IPA phonetic symbols, DJ phonetic symbols, K.K. phonetic symbols comparison table
| MW | IPA | DJ | K.K. | Examples |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| /ə/ | /ə/ | /ə/ | /ə/ | abut |
| /ˈə, ˌə/ | /ʌ/ | /ʌ/ | /ʌ/ | abut |
| /ər/ | /ɝ, ɚ/ | /ɜːr, əːr/ | /ɝ, ɚ/ | further |
| /a/ | /æ/ | /æ/ | /æ/ | map |
| /ā/ | /e, eɪ, ei/ | /eɪ, ei/ | /e/ | day |
| /ä/ | /ɑ/ | /ɑː, ɒ, ɔ/ | /ɑ/ | bother |
| /är/ | /ɑɚ, aɚ, ɒɚ/ | /ɑːr/ | /ɑr/ | car |
| /au̇/ | /aʊ, au/ | /aʊ, au/ | /aᴜ/ | now |
| /b/ | /b/ | /b/ | /b/ | baby |
| /ch/ | /tʃ/ | /tʃ/ | /tʃ/ | chin |
| /d/ | /d/ | /d/ | /d/ | did |
| /e/ | /ɛ/ | /e/ | /ɛ/ | bed |
| /er/ | /eɚ, ɛɚ/ | /eə, ɛə/ | /ɛr/ | fair |
| /ˈē, ˌē/ | /i/ | /iː/ | /i/ | beat |
| /ē/ | /i, ɪ/ | /iː, ɪ, i/ | /i, ɪ/ | easy |
| /f/ | /f/ | /f/ | /f/ | fly |
| /g/ | /g/ | /g/ | /ɡ/ | go |
| /h/ | /h/ | /h/ | /h/ | hat |
| /hw/ | /ʍ/ | /w/ | /w, hw/ | whale |
| /i/ | /ɪ/ | /ɪ, i/ | /ɪ/ | tip |
| /ir/ | /iɚ, ɪɚ/ | /iːə, ɪə, iə/ | /ir, ɪr/ | near |
| /ī/ | /aɪ, ai, ɑɪ, ɑi/ | /aɪ, ai/ | /aɪ/ | site |
| /j/ | /dʒ/ | /dʒ/ | /dʒ/ | job |
| /k/ | /k/ | /k/ | /k/ | kin |
| /ḵ/ | /x/ | /k/ | /k/ | loch |
| /l/ | /l, ɫ/ | /l/ | /l/ | lily, pool |
| /m/ | /m/ | /m/ | /m/ | murmur |
| /n/ | /n/ | /n/ | /n/ | no |
| /ŋ/ | /ŋ/ | /ŋ/ | /ŋ/ | sing |
| /ō/ | /o, oʊ, ou/ | /əʊ, əu/ | /o/ | bone |
| /ȯ/ | /ɔ/ | /ɔː/ | /ɔ/ | all |
| /ȯi/ | /ɔɪ, ɔi, oɪ, oi/ | /ɔɪ, ɔi/ | /ɔɪ/ | coin |
| /ȯr/ | /oɚ, ɔɚ/ | /ɔːr/ | /ɔr/ | port |
| /p/ | /p/ | /p/ | /p/ | pepper |
| /r/ | /ɹ, ɾ, r, ʀ/ | /r/ | /r/ | red |
| /s/ | /s/ | /s/ | /s/ | source |
| /sh/ | /ʃ/ | /ʃ/ | /ʃ/ | shy |
| /t/ | /t/, /ɾ/ | /t/ | /t/ | tie, latter |
| /th/ | /θ/ | /θ/ | /θ/ | thin |
| /t͟h/ | /ð/ | /ð/ | /ð/ | then |
| /ü/ | /u/ | /uː/ | /u/ | rule |
| /u̇/ | /ʊ/ | /ʊ, u/ | /ʊ/ | pull |
| /u̇r/ | /uɚ, ʊɚ/ | /ʊr/ | /ʊr/ | poor |
| /v/ | /v/ | /v/ | /v/ | vivid |
| /w/ | /w/ | /w/ | /w/ | we |
| /y/ | /j/ | /j/ | /j/ | yard |
| /z/ | /z/ | /z/ | /z/ | zone |
| /zh/ | /ʒ/ | /ʒ/ | /ʒ/ | vision |