Phonetic symbols and voicing of the English language sounds

Sounds in the English language

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

cheer

θ

thing

v

view

w

wet

z

zero

ʒ

pleasure

VOWELS

PHONETIC SYMBOL

EXAMPLE

æ

bad

ɑ

farm (AmE)

ɑ:

calm

ɒ

pot

bite

now

aɪɘ

tire

aʊɘ

tower

ɔ

form

ɔ:

caught

ɔɪ

boy

ɔɪɘ

employer

e

bed

there

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)

Examples of dictionary entries

Below are examples of phonetic notation in a typical language dictionary. Click an image to listen to the entry pronunciation.