The Pronunciation of 26 Letters
Vowels
There are five vowel letters in English: A, E, I, O, and U. Each letter can have several different sounds. The most common sounds for each letter are:
- A: \"a\" as in \"apple\" or \"ay\" as in \"cake\"
- E: \"e\" as in \"egg\" or \"ee\" as in \"feet\"
- I: \"i\" as in \"igloo\" or \"eye\" as in \"bike\"
- O: \"o\" as in \"octopus\" or \"oh\" as in \"boat\"
- U: \"u\" as in \"umbrella\" or \"oo\" as in \"book\"
Consonants
There are 21 consonant letters in English: B, C, D, F, G, H, J, K, L, M, N, P, Q, R, S, T, V, W, X, Y, and Z. Each letter also has several different sounds, depending on its position in a word and the letters that surround it.
- B: \"b\" as in \"boy\"
- C: \"k\" as in \"cat\" or \"s\" as in \"cent\"
- D: \"d\" as in \"dog\"
- F: \"f\" as in \"fish\"
- G: \"g\" as in \"goat\" or \"j\" as in \"giant\"
- H: \"h\" as in \"house\"
- J: \"j\" as in \"jelly\"
- K: \"k\" as in \"kite\"
- L: \"l\" as in \"lion\"
- M: \"m\" as in \"monkey\"
- N: \"n\" as in \"nest\"
- P: \"p\" as in \"pig\"
- Q: \"kw\" as in \"queen\"
- R: \"r\" as in \"rabbit\"
- S: \"s\" as in \"snake\"
- T: \"t\" as in \"tiger\"
- V: \"v\" as in \"violin\"
- W: \"w\" as in \"water\"
- X: \"ks\" as in \"box\"
- Y: \"y\" as in \"yellow\"
- Z: \"z\" as in \"zebra\"
Practice
Practice saying the sounds of the 26 letters. Try saying them in different words, and practice writing them as well. With practice, you will become more comfortable with the sounds of the English language.