Accent test

English sounds chart: IPA with audio

English has about 44 sounds (the exact count depends on the accent) written with 26 letters, which is why spelling is unreliable. The chart lists every sound with its IPA symbol, the mouth position, and example words you can listen to.

Short vowels

WordSounds likeSymbol and mouth position
sit/sɪt//ɪ/: tongue high and front, relaxed, lips neutral.
bed/bɛd//ɛ/: tongue mid, jaw half open.
cat/kæt//æ/: jaw wide open, tongue low and front.
cup/kʌp//ʌ/: jaw half open, tongue central and relaxed.
put/pʊt//ʊ/: lips loosely rounded, tongue high and back.
about/əˈbaʊt//ə/ (schwa): the first vowel; fully relaxed.
hot/hɑt//ɑ/ in American English (British /ɒ/, with rounded lips).

Long vowels

WordSounds likeSymbol and mouth position
see/si//i/: tongue high and front, lips spread.
too/tu//u/: lips tightly rounded, tongue high and back.
father/ˈfɑðɚ//ɑ/: jaw open, tongue low and back.
law/lɔ//ɔ/: lips rounded, jaw half open.
bird/bɝd//ɝ/: tongue pulled back for R throughout (British /ɜː/, no R).

Diphthongs

WordSounds likeSymbol and mouth position
day/deɪ//eɪ/: glides from the vowel of “bed” up to “sit”.
my/maɪ//aɪ/: starts open, glides up to “sit”.
boy/bɔɪ//ɔɪ/: starts rounded, glides up to “sit”.
now/naʊ//aʊ/: starts open, glides to rounded “put”.
go/ɡoʊ//oʊ/: starts rounded mid, glides to “put”.

Consonants: pairs with and without voice

In each pair the mouth position is identical. The first sound is voiceless, the second adds vibration of the vocal cords.

WordSounds likeSymbol and mouth position
pen/pɛn//p/: lips closed, then released.
bad/bæd//b/: as /p/, with voice.
ten/tɛn//t/: tongue tip on the ridge behind the upper teeth.
day/deɪ//d/: as /t/, with voice.
cat/kæt//k/: back of the tongue against the soft palate.
go/ɡoʊ//ɡ/: as /k/, with voice.
fan/fæn//f/: upper teeth on the lower lip.
van/væn//v/: as /f/, with voice.
think/θɪŋk//θ/: tongue tip between the teeth.
this/ðɪs//ð/: as /θ/, with voice.
see/si//s/: tongue near the ridge, a narrow stream of air.
zoo/zu//z/: as /s/, with voice.
ship/ʃɪp//ʃ/: tongue further back, lips slightly rounded.
vision/ˈvɪʒən//ʒ/: the middle sound; as /ʃ/, with voice.
chair/tʃɛr//tʃ/: /t/ released into /ʃ/.
job/dʒɑb//dʒ/: /d/ released into /ʒ/.

Other consonants

WordSounds likeSymbol and mouth position
man/mæn//m/: lips closed, air through the nose.
no/noʊ//n/: tongue tip on the ridge, air through the nose.
sing/sɪŋ//ŋ/: back of the tongue up, air through the nose.
hat/hæt//h/: open mouth, breath only.
light/laɪt//l/: tongue tip on the ridge, air around the sides.
red/rɛd//r/: tongue pulled back, touching nothing.
we/wi//w/: lips rounded, then quickly opened.
yes/jɛs//j/: tongue high and front, as for a very short “ee”.

Questions people ask

How many sounds does English have?

About 44 in standard British English and about 40 in General American, which merges some vowels.

Do I need to learn IPA?

Learning to read it takes a few hours and lets you check the pronunciation of any word in a dictionary.

Why do the symbols differ between dictionaries?

British dictionaries mark long vowels with ː and use /ɒ/ and /əʊ/. American ones use /ɑ/ and /oʊ/ and mark R-colored vowels.

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