tontonton

English Sounds

This is a quick cheat sheet for the sounds found in English.

The i sound

There are at least 2 i sounds in English. In terms of all possible i sounds, there is the basic most common i sound, the secondary i sound, and the tertiary i sound, as well as long and nasal forms of each.

iiLike "ee" sound.i
IILike "ih" in "pit".ɪ

The e sound

There are at least 2 e sounds in English. In terms of all possible e sounds, there is the basic most common e sound, the secondary e sound, and the tertiary e sound, as well as long and nasal forms of each.

eeLike "day" sound.e
EELike "eh" in "pet".ɛ

The a sound

There are at least 2 a sounds in English. In terms of all possible a sounds, there is the basic most common a sound, the secondary a sound, and the tertiary a sound, as well as long and nasal forms of each.

aaLike "ah" in father sound.a ɑ ä
AALike "cat" or "mat" a sound.æ

The o sound

There are at least 3 o sounds in English. In terms of all possible o sounds, there is the basic most common o sound, the secondary o sound, and the tertiary o sound, as well as long and nasal forms of each.

ooLike "oh" sound.o
OOLike "uuh" in "book" sound.ʊ ɯ
1o$British oah sound.ɔ

The u sound

There are at least 2 u sounds in English. In terms of all possible u sounds, there is the basic most common u sound, the secondary u sound, and the tertiary u sound, as well as long and nasal forms of each.

uuLike "oo" in "you" sound.u
UULike "uh" in "up" sound.ə ɞ ɐ ɘ ʌ

The m sound

There is at least 1 m sound in English. Notice the English m and mmm have a similar shape.

mmRegular mm

The n sound

There is at least 1 n sound in English. Notice the English n and nnn have a similar shape.

nnRegular nn

The q sound

There is at least 1 q sound in English.

qqRegular ngŋ ɴ

The g sound

There is at least 1 g sound in English.

ggRegular gɡ ɢ

The d sound

There is at least 1 d sound in English. Notice the English d and ddd have a similar shape.

ddRegular dd

The b sound

There is at least 1 b sound in English. Notice the English b and bbb have a similar shape.

bbRegular bb

The p sound

There is at least 1 p sound in English.

ppRegular pp

The t sound

There is at least 1 t sound in English.

ttRegular tt

The k sound

There is at least 1 k sound in English.

kkRegular kk

The h sound

There is at least 1 h sound in English.

hhRegular hh

The y sound

There is at least 1 y sound in English. Notice the English y and yyy have a similar shape, although the Tone yyy is like a Tone OOO with a tail.

yyRegular yj

The w sound

There is at least 1 w sound in English. Notice the English w and www have a similar shape.

wwRegular ww

The sh sound

There is at least 1 sh sound in English.

xxRegular shʃ

The v sound

There is at least 1 v sound in English.

vvRegular vv

The f sound

There is at least 1 f sound in English.

ffRegular ff

The l sound

There is at least 1 l sound in English.

llRegular ll

The s sound

There is at least 1 s sound in English.

ssRegular ss

The z sound

There is at least 1 z sound in English.

zzRegular zz

The j sound

There is at least 1 j sound in English.

jjRegular j (as in "measure")ʒ

The th sound

There are at least 2 th sounds in English.

ccVoiceless th (like English "think")θ
CCVoiced th (like English "the")ð

The dj sound

There is at least 1 dj sound in English.

djdjRegular dj (as in "judge")

The ch sound

There is at least 1 ch sound in English.

txtxRegular ch sound (like English "chip")