Pronunciation Guide - EnglishSolo

🗣️ Introduction to Pronunciation

English words are often pronounced differently than they are spelled. For example, look at the letters ch in the following words:

♟️ chess /tʃ/
⚓ anchor /k/
👨‍🍳 chef /ʃ/

The pronunciation of each ch is different. The phonetic symbol beside each word shows the difference.

The International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) provides a symbol for each consonant and vowel sound of English. The IPA is useful because of differences in spelling and pronunciation. Most dictionaries have a pronunciation guide. EnglishSolo.com uses the IPA because it is an international standard.

🔤 Consonant Symbols

Click on any symbol to hear it highlighted! These consonant sounds form the foundation of English pronunciation.

💰

/p/

pay

📚

/b/

book

🔟

/t/

ten

☀️

/d/

day

🎂

/k/

cake

🎮

/g/

game

🤗

/f/

feel

✅

/v/

very

🤔

/θ/

think

👥

/ð/

them

🗣️

/s/

say

🦓

/z/

zoo

👠

/ʃ/

shoe

👁️

/ʒ/

vision

🏠

/h/

home

💺

/tʃ/

chair

🦴

/dʒ/

jaw

👤

/m/

me

❌

/n/

no

🎵

/ŋ/

sing

📝

/l/

let

🔴

/r/

red

👥

/w/

we

✅

/j/

yes

🔤 Vowel Symbols

English vowel sounds can be tricky! These IPA symbols help you distinguish between similar-sounding vowels.

👤

/i/

me

🎯

/ɪ/

hit

🍽️

/eɪ/

ate

📝

/ɛ/

get

🦇

/æ/

bat

❌

/ʌ/

but

⬆️

/ə/

upon

📦

/ɑ/

box

2️⃣

/u/

too

👍

/ʊ/

good

❌

/oʊ/

no

👔

/ɔ/

boss

👁️

/aɪ/

my

🚪

/aʊ/

out

👦

/ɔɪ/

boy

📌 Important Note

You do not need to memorize all of these symbols immediately. The key is to become familiar with them gradually as you work through the pronunciation lessons. Most dictionaries use similar symbols, so learning the IPA will help you with any English dictionary you use.