A2Sounds of English

Pronunciation

Hear the 44 sounds of English. Then train your ears with words that sound almost the same.

Ship or sheep?

These words sound almost the same. Listen carefully.

Listening game

Listen. Which picture do you hear?

Start

Sound chart

The symbols are from the IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet). Dictionaries use them. Tap a word to hear it.

Short vowels

Long vowels

Diphthongs (two vowels together)

Consonants

Word stress

In a long word, one part is strong (louder and longer).

• ba·na·na
• el·e·phant
• com·pu·ter
• to·ma·to
• tel·e·vi·sion
• hos·pi·tal
• um·brel·la
• pho·tog·ra·pher
• ho·tel
• teach·er
• po·ta·to
• vol·ca·no

Tips

• Listen first. Then say it. Then listen again and compare.
• Use the slow speed in Settings for new words.
• Record yourself with the microphone button and check what the computer heard.
• English has weak sounds. In "a cup of tea", "of" sounds like /əv/.
• The last sound matters: cat and cats, play and played are different words.
• Copy the music of the sentence, not only the words.