The 44 sounds of English
Every sound in a word you can hear. Open one for the mouth, its spellings and a listening game.
- 12 vowels
- 8 diphthongs
- 24 consonants
Vowels 12
Diphthongs 8
Consonants 24
- ppenp as in pen
- bbedb as in bed
- tteat as in tea
- ddayd as in day
- kkeyk as in key
- ɡgog as in go
- tʃchairch as in chair
- dʒjobj as in job
- ffanf as in fan
- vveryv as in very
- θthinkth as in think
- ðthisth as in this
- ssees as in see
- zzooz as in zoo
- ʃshesh as in she
- ʒusuallys as in usually
- hhath as in hat
- mmanm as in man
- nnon as in no
- ŋsingng as in sing
- llightl as in light
- rredr as in red
- jyesy as in yes
- wwew as in we
Questions
How many sounds does English have?
Standard British English has 44 phonemes: 12 pure vowels, 8 diphthongs (gliding vowels) and 24 consonants. That's roughly double the vowel inventory of most languages, which is why vowels cause learners the most trouble.
Why do I need phonemes when I can read the spelling?
English spelling is a poor guide to sound: 'though', 'tough' and 'through' share four letters and no vowel sound. The phoneme symbols show what you actually say, which is why every good dictionary uses them.
Which English sounds should I learn first?
The ones that change word meaning most often: the vowel contrasts /ɪ vs iː/ (ship/sheep), /e vs æ/ (bed/bad) and /æ vs ʌ/ (cat/cut), the consonant pairs /p vs b/, /l vs r/, /s vs ʃ/ and /v vs w/, and clear word endings. The famous 'th' sounds are actually low priority, noticeable, but they rarely block understanding.