Decoding English
Why letters and sounds do not always match. Learn vowels, consonants, silent letters, hidden sounds, and tricky spelling patterns.
Vowels
Vowels help words open their sound. English has A, E, I, O, U, and sometimes Y.
Consonants
Consonants build the shape of words. Some are clear, some change sound, and some can be silent.
Silent Letters
Some letters are written but not spoken.
One Letter, Many Sounds
The same letter can sound different in different words.
Letter Teams
Two letters can work together to make one sound.
English Sounds Chart
Learn short vowels, long vowels, consonants, r-controlled vowels, and other English sounds with simple graphemes and word examples.
| Phoneme | Graphemes | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| /ă/ | a | cat, apple, hat |
| /ĕ/ | e | bed, pen, red |
| /ĭ/ | i, y | sit, pig, gym |
| /ŏ/ | o, a, au | hot, wash, because |
| /ŭ/ | u, o | cup, sun, won |
| Phoneme | Graphemes | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| /ā/ | a, ai, ay, a_e | cake, rain, day |
| /ē/ | e, ee, ea, y | me, tree, leaf, baby |
| /ī/ | i, ie, y, i_e | bike, pie, sky |
| /ō/ | o, oa, ow, o_e | home, boat, snow |
| /ū/ | u, ue, ew, u_e | cube, blue, new |
| Phoneme | Graphemes | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| /b/ | b, bb | ball, rabbit |
| /d/ | d, dd, ed | dog, add, smiled |
| /f/ | f, ff, ph | fish, puff, phone |
| /g/ | g, gg, gh | go, egg, ghost |
| /h/ | h | hat, happy |
| /j/ | j, g, ge, dge | jam, giant, bridge |
| /k/ | c, k, ck, ch | cat, kite, duck, school |
| /l/ | l, ll | leg, bell |
| /m/ | m, mm, mb | moon, summer, lamb |
| /n/ | n, nn, kn, gn | net, dinner, knee |
| /p/ | p, pp | pen, happy |
| /r/ | r, wr | run, write |
| /s/ | s, ss, c | sun, dress, city |
| /t/ | t, tt, ed | top, butter, walked |
| /v/ | v, ve | van, give |
| /w/ | w, wh | wet, whale |
| /y/ | y | yes, yellow |
| /z/ | z, zz, s | zoo, buzz, please |
| Phoneme | Graphemes | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| /ar/ | ar | car, star |
| /er/ | er, ir, ur | her, bird, turn |
| /or/ | or, ore | fork, more |
| /air/ | air, are | chair, care |
| /ear/ | ear, eer | near, deer |
| Phoneme | Graphemes | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| /oo/ | oo, u | book, put |
| /ōō/ | oo, ue, ew | moon, blue, chew |
| /ow/ | ow, ou | cow, cloud |
| /oy/ | oy, oi | boy, coin |
| /aw/ | aw, au, al | saw, auto, walk |
| Phoneme | Graphemes | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| /ng/ | ng | sing, song |
| /ch/ | ch, tch | chair, match |
| /sh/ | sh | ship, fish |
| /th/ | th | thin, bath |
| /th/ | th | this, mother |
What is a phoneme?
A phoneme is a single sound in a word. For example, the word cat has three sounds: /k/ /ă/ /t/.
What is a grapheme?
A grapheme is the letter or letter group that spells a sound. For example, /k/ can be written as c, k, or ck.
Vowel Sound Spellings
Learn English vowel sounds with spelling patterns, pronunciation guides, and simple word examples for kids and beginner readers.
‘ae’
| Grapheme | Pronunciation | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| a | /eɪ/ | table, baby, paper |
| ai | /eɪ/ | rain, train, snail |
| a-e | /eɪ/ | game, cake, name |
| ay | /eɪ/ | say, play, day |
| eigh | /eɪ/ | eight, weigh, neighbour |
‘ee’
| ee | /iː/ | meet, tree, green |
| ea | /iː/ | seat, leaf, beach |
| e | /iː/ | me, we, she |
| y | /iː/ | funny, happy, baby |
| ie | /iː/ | chief, field, thief |
‘ie’
| igh | /aɪ/ | night, light, right |
| i-e | /aɪ/ | like, bike, smile |
| y | /aɪ/ | dry, fly, sky |
| ie | /aɪ/ | pie, tie, lie |
| i | /aɪ/ | wild, child, find |
‘oe’
| oa | /əʊ/ | boat, coat, road |
| ow | /əʊ/ | grow, snow, yellow |
| o-e | /əʊ/ | note, home, stone |
| oe | /əʊ/ | toe, goes, foe |
| o | /əʊ/ | most, open, robot |
‘ue’
| u-e | /juː/ | mule, cube, cute |
| u | /juː/ | pupil, music, unicorn |
| ew | /juː/ | few, new, stew |
| ue | /juː/ | cue, rescue, value |
‘oo’
| oo | /uː/ | boot, moon, spoon |
| ue | /uː/ | blue, true, glue |
| ew | /uː/ | grew, chew, flew |
| o | /uː/ | do, to, who |
| ou | /uː/ | soup, group, you |
Short ‘a’
| a | /æ/ | cat, hat, bag |
| a | /æ/ | map, apple, rabbit |
Short ‘e’
| e | /e/ | bed, red, pen |
| ea | /e/ | bread, head, ready |
| ai | /e/ | said, again |
Short ‘i’
| i | /ɪ/ | in, sit, fish |
| y | /ɪ/ | myth, gym, symbol |
Short ‘o’
| o | /ɒ/ | not, dog, hot |
| a | /ɒ/ | was, want, watch |
| ou | /ɒ/ | cough |
Short ‘u’
| u | /ʌ/ | tub, sun, cup |
| o | /ʌ/ | Monday, son, love |
| ou | /ʌ/ | touch, young, double |
‘or’
| or | /ɔː/ | for, born, short |
| ore | /ɔː/ | more, store, before |
| aw | /ɔː/ | lawn, saw, draw |
| au | /ɔː/ | fraud, August, sauce |
‘er’
| er | /ɜː/ | her, fern, person |
| ir | /ɜː/ | girl, bird, shirt |
| ur | /ɜː/ | turn, burn, nurse |
| ear | /ɜː/ | learn, earth, early |
‘ar’
| ar | /ɑː/ | jar, car, star |
| a | /ɑː/ | glass, father, fast |
| al | /ɑː/ | calm, palm, half |
‘air’
| air | /eə/ | chair, hair, fair |
| are | /eə/ | dare, care, share |
| ear | /eə/ | bear, pear, wear |
| ere | /eə/ | where, there |
‘ear’
| ear | /ɪə/ | near, hear, year |
| eer | /ɪə/ | deer, cheer, steer |
| ere | /ɪə/ | here, sincere |
‘oi’
| oi | /ɔɪ/ | join, coin, soil |
| oy | /ɔɪ/ | boy, toy, enjoy |
‘ow’
| ow | /aʊ/ | cow, now, flower |
| ou | /aʊ/ | out, cloud, house |