What follows is a presentation of the English language sounds and their phonetic symbols as found in dictionaries - click the links to listen to the pronunciation of a word with the sound.
CONSONANTS
PHONETIC SYMBOL
EXAMPLE
b
back
d
day
δ
then
ʤ
jump
f
few
g
gay
h
hot
j
yet
k
key
l
led
m
sum
n
sun
ɳ
sung
p
pen
r
red
s
soon
ʃ
fishing
t
tea
tʃ
cheer
θ
thing
v
view
w
wet
z
zero
ʒ
pleasure
VOWELS
æ
bad
ɑ
farm (AmE)
ɑ:
calm
ɒ
pot
aɪ
bite
aʊ
now
aɪɘ
tire
aʊɘ
tower
ɔ
form
ɔ:
caught
ɔɪ
boy
ɔɪɘ
employer
e
bed
eɘ
there
eɪ
make
eɪɘ
player
ɘ
about
ɘʊ
note
ɘʊɘ
lower
ɜ
bird (AmE)
ɜ:
bird
i
pretty
i:
sheep
ɪ
ship
ɪɘ
here
o
port (AmE)
u:
boot
ʊ
put
ʊɘ
poor
ʌ
cut
AmE - American pronunciation (USA, Canada)
Below are examples of phonetic notation in a typical language dictionary. Click an image to listen to the entry pronunciation.