This sound chart should make it clear … English is not a phonetic language. There often are many ways any one letter or combinations of letters can be pronounced.
A
a … ‘aa’ as in ‘bat’ … [æ] … exact
a … ‘ah’ as in ‘father’ … [α] … father
a …’aw’ as in ‘law’ … [ɔ] … fall
a … ‘uh’ as in ‘supply’ … [ə] … about
a … ‘ay’ as in ‘say’ … [eɪ] … base, able
a … ‘eh’ as in ‘bed’ … [ε] … share
a … ‘ih’ as in ‘sit’ … [ɪ] … private
aa … ‘ah’ as in ‘father’ … [α] … bazaar, aardvark
ai … ‘eh’ as in ‘bed’ … [ε] … said
ai … ‘ai’ as in ‘buy’ … [aɪ] … aisle
ai … ‘ay’ as in ‘say’ … [eɪ] … maid
ai … ‘aa’ as in ‘bat’ … [æ] … plaid
au …’aw’ as in ‘law’ … [ɔ] … cause
au … ‘ay’ as in ‘say’ … [eɪ] … gauge
au … ‘aa’ as in ‘bat’ … [æ] … aunt
au … ‘oh’ as in ‘no’ … [oʊ] … chauffeur
ay … ‘eh’ as in ‘bed’ … [ε] … says
ay … ‘ay’ as in ‘say’ … [eɪ] … pay
ay … ‘ee’ as in ‘she’ … [i] … quay
aye … ‘ai’ as in ‘buy’ … [aɪ] … aye
augh … ‘aw’ as in ‘law’ … [ɔ] … daughter
aw … ‘aw’ as in ‘law’ … [ɔ] … shawl
ea … ‘ee’ as in ‘she’ … [i] … heat
ea … ‘uh’ as in ‘supply’ … [ə] … ocean
ea … ‘eh’ as in ‘bed’ … [ε] … head
ea … ‘ah’ as in ‘father’ … [α] … heart
ea … ‘ay’ as in ‘say’ … [eɪ] … great
eau … ‘ew’ as in ‘few’ … [ju] … beauty
eau … ‘oh’ as in ‘no’ … [oʊ] … beau
ea[r] … ‘ur’ as in ‘bird’ … [ɜ] … learn
oa … ‘oh’ as in ‘no’ … [oʊ] … oat
B
silent …thumb
b … ‘b’ as in ‘bit’ … [b] …bone
C
c … ‘k’ as in ‘cap’ … [k] … casserole
c … ‘ch’ as in ‘char’ … [ʧ] … cello
ce … ‘s’ as in ‘sip’ … [s] … ice
ce … ‘sh’ as in ‘ship’ … [ʃ] … ocean
cc … ‘k’ as in ‘cap’ … [k] … with ‘s’ as in ‘sip’ … [s] … accent
ch … ‘k’ as in ‘cap’ … [k] … choir, schedule
ch … ‘ch’ as in ‘char’ … [ʧ] … chance
ch … ‘sh’ as in ‘ship’ … [ʃ] … machine
chs … ‘sh’ as in ‘ship’ … [ʃ] … fuchsia
ci … ‘ch’ as in ‘char’ … [ʧ] … ancient
ci … ‘sh’ as in ‘ship’ … [ʃ] … special
ck … ‘k’ as in ‘cap’ … [k] … back
cz … ‘t’ as in ‘time’ … [d] with ‘s’ as in ‘sip’ … [s] … czar (one of two possible pronunciations)
sch … ‘sh’ as in ‘ship’ … [ʃ] … schmuck
sc … ‘s’ as in ‘sip’ … [s] … science
sci … ‘sh’ as in ‘ship’ … [ʃ] … conscience
tch … ‘ch’ as in ‘char’ … [ʧ] … watch
D
d … ‘d’ as in ‘dime’ … [d] … dark
d … ‘j’ as in ‘jar’ … [ʤ] … individual
dge … ‘j’ as in ‘jar’ … [ʤ] … judge
dj … ‘j’ as in ‘jar’ … [ʤ] … adjective
ed … ‘t’ as in ‘time’ … [d] … tripped
E
e … silent … there
ce … ‘s’ as in ‘sip’ … [s] … ice
ce … ‘sh’ as in ‘ship’ … [ʃ] … ocean
dge … ‘j’ as in ‘jar’ … [ʤ] … judge
e … ‘eh’ as in ‘bed’ … [ε] … shed
e … ‘ee’ as in ‘she’ … [i] … be
e … ‘uh’ as in ‘supply’ … [ə] … anthem
e … ‘ih’ as in ‘sit’ … [ɪ] … pretty
e … ‘ah’ as in ‘father’ … [α] … sergeant
e … ‘ay’ as in ‘say’ … [eɪ] … suede, cafe
ea …’ah’ as in ‘father’ … [α] … heart
ea … ‘ee’ as in ‘she’ … [i] … heat
ea … ‘eh’ as in ‘bed’ … [ε] … head
ea … ‘uh’ as in ‘supply’ … [ə] … ocean
ea … ‘ay’ as in ‘say’ … [eɪ] … great
ea[r] … ‘ur’ as in ‘bird’ … [ɜ] … learn
eau … ‘ew’ as in ‘few’ … [ju] … beauty
eau … ‘oh’ as in ‘no’ … [oʊ] … beau
ed … ‘t’ as in ‘time’ … [t] … tripped
ee … ‘ih’ as in ‘sit’ … [ɪ] … been
ee … ‘ee’ as in ‘she’ … [i] … weep
ee … ‘ay’ as in ‘say’ … [eɪ] … puree
ei … ‘ee’ as in ‘she’ … [i] … receive
ei … ‘ay’ as in ‘say’ … [eɪ] … veil
ieu … ‘oo’ as in ‘boo’ … [u] … lieu
eig … ‘uh’ as in ‘supply’ … [ə] … foreign (can also be reduced ‘ih’ as in ‘sit’ … [ɪ])
eig … ‘ay’ as in ‘say’ … [eɪ] … reign
eigh … ‘ay’ as in ‘say’ … [eɪ] … weigh
eigh … ‘ai’ as in ‘buy’ … [aɪ] … height
eo … ‘eh’ as in ‘bed’ … [ε] … leopard
eo … ‘ee’ as in ‘she’ … [i] … people
eu … ‘ew’ as in ‘few’ … [ju] … feud
eu … ‘uh’ as in ‘supply’ … [ə] … chauffeur
eu … ‘oo’ as in ‘boo’ … [u] … sleuth
eu(r) … ‘ur’ as in ‘bird’ … [ɜ] … chauffeur
ew … ‘ew’ as in ‘few’ … [ju] … few
ew … ‘oo’ as in ‘boo’ … [u] … blew
ey … ‘ee’ as in ‘she’ … [i] … key
ey … ‘ay’ as in ‘say’ … [eɪ] … they
ie … ‘eh’ as in ‘bed’ … [ε] … friend
ie … ‘ee’ as in ‘she’ … [i] … brief
ie … ‘ai’ as in ‘buy’ … [aɪ] … lie
oe … ‘oh’ as in ‘no’ … [oʊ] … foe
oe … ‘uh’ as in ‘butter’ … [ʌ] … does
oe … ‘oo’ as in ‘boo’ … [u] … shoe
ue … ‘oo’ as in ‘boo’ … [u] … blue
ye … ‘ai’ as in ‘buy’ … [aɪ] … bye
F
f … ‘f’ as in ‘fan’ … [f] … fear
f … ‘v’ as in ‘van’ … [v] … of
f … ‘f’ as in ‘fan’ … [f] … off
G
silent … sign
augh … ‘aw’ as in ‘law’ … [ɔ] … daughter
dge … ‘j’ as in ‘jar’ … [ʤ] … judge
eig … ‘uh’ as in ‘supply’ … [ə] … foreign (can also be reduced ‘ih’ as in ‘sit’ … [ɪ])
eig … ‘ay’ as in ‘say’ … [eɪ] … reign
eigh … ‘ay’ as in ‘say’ … [eɪ] … weigh
eigh … ‘ai’ as in ‘buy’ … [aɪ] … height
igh …’ai’ as in ‘buy’ … [aɪ] … sigh
g … ‘g’ as in ‘gap’ … [g] … go
g … ‘j’ as in ‘jar’ … [ʤ] … gem
ge … ‘zh’ as in ‘measure’ … [ʒ] … beige
gg … ‘j’ as in ‘jar’ … [ʤ] … exaggerate
ng … ‘ng’ as in ‘sing’ … [ŋ] … ring
ng … ‘ng’ as in ‘sing’ … [ŋ] with ‘k’ as in ‘cap’ … [k] … angst
ng … ‘ng’ as in ‘sing’ … [ŋ] with ‘g’ as in ‘gap’ … [g] … anger
ough … ‘oh’ as in ‘no’ … [oʊ] … though
ough … ‘aw’ as in ‘law’ … [ɔ] … thought
ough … ‘oo’ as in ‘boo’ … [u] … through
ough … ‘ow’ as in ‘now’ … [aʊ] … bough
ough … ‘ah’ as in ‘father’ … [α] OR ‘aw’ as in ‘law’ … [ɔ] with ‘f’ as in ‘fan’ … [f] … cough
ough … ‘uh’ as in ‘butter’ … [ʌ] with ‘f’ as in ‘fan’ … [f] … enough
H
silent … honor, thyme, rhythm
augh … ‘aw’ as in ‘law’ … [ɔ] … daughter
ch … ‘k’ as in ‘cap’ … [k] … choir
ch … ‘ch’ as in ‘char’ … [ʧ] … chance
ch … ‘sh’ as in ‘ship’ … [ʃ] … chartreuse
chs … ‘sh’ as in ‘ship’ … [ʃ] … fuchsia
h … ‘h’ as in ‘hi’ … [h] … happy
igh … ‘ai’ as in ‘buy’ … [aɪ] … sigh
eigh … ‘ay’ as in ‘say’ … [eɪ] … weigh
eigh … ‘ai’ as in ‘buy’ … [aɪ] … height
ough … ‘oh’ as in ‘no’ … [oʊ] … though
ough … ‘aw’ as in ‘law’ … [ɔ] … thought
ough … ‘oo’ as in ‘boo’ … [u] … through
ough … ‘ow’ as in ‘now’ … [aʊ] … bough
ough … ‘ah’ as in ‘father’ … [α] OR ‘aw’ as in ‘law’ … [ɔ] with ‘f’ as in ‘fan’ … [f] … cough
ough … ‘uh’ as in ‘butter’ … [ʌ] with ‘f’ as in ‘fan’ … [f] … enough
ph … ‘f’ as in ‘fan’ … [f] … phone
pph … ‘f’ as in ‘fan’ … [f] … sapphire
sch … ‘sh’ as in ‘ship’ … [ʃ] … schmuck
sh … ‘sh’ as in ‘ship’ … [ʃ] … shame
tch … ‘ch’ as in ‘char’ … [ʧ] … watch
th … ‘th’ as in ‘thin’ … [θ] … thanks
th … ‘th’ as in ‘this’ … [ð] … those
I
ai … ‘eh’ as in ‘bed’ … [ε] … said
ai … ‘ai’ as in ‘buy’ … [aɪ] … aisle
ai … ‘ay’ as in ‘say’ … [eɪ] … maid
ai … ‘aa’ as in ‘bat’ … [æ] … plaid
ci … ‘ch’ as in ‘char’ … [ʧ] … ancient
ci … ‘sh’ as in ‘ship’ … [ʃ] … special
ei … ‘ee’ as in ‘she’ … [i] … receive
ei … ‘ay’ as in ‘say’ … [eɪ] … veil
eig … ‘uh’ as in ‘supply’ … [ə] … foreign (can also be reduced ‘ih’ as in ‘sit’ … [ɪ])
eig … ‘ay’ as in ‘say’ … [eɪ] … reign
eigh … ‘ay’ as in ‘say’ … [eɪ] … weigh
eigh … ‘ai’ as in ‘buy’ … [aɪ] … height
i … ‘ih’ as in ‘sit’ … [ɪ] … him
i … ‘ai’ as in ‘buy’ … [aɪ] … time
i … ‘ee’ as in ‘she’ … [i] … police
i … ‘uh’ as in ‘supply’ … [ə] … possible
i … ‘aa’ as in ‘bat’ … [æ] … timbre
i … ‘y’ as in ‘yes’ … [j] … senior
ie … ‘eh’ as in ‘bed’ … [ε] … friend
ie … ‘ee’ as in ‘she’ … [i] … grieve
ie … ‘ai’ as in ‘buy’ … [aɪ] … lie
ieu … ‘oo’ as in ‘boo’ … [u] … lieu
igh … ‘ai’ as in ‘buy’ … [aɪ] … sigh
i[r] … ‘ur’ as in ‘bird’ … [ɜ] … bird
oi … ‘oy’ as in ‘toy’ … [ɔɪ] … moist
oi … ‘w’ as in ‘will’ … [w] with ‘ai’ as in ‘buy’ … [aɪ] … choir
ui … ‘ih’ as in ‘sit’ … [ɪ] … build
ui … ‘oo’ as in ‘boo’ … [u] … juice
sci … ‘sh’ as in ‘ship’ … [ʃ] … conscience
si … ‘zh’ as in ‘measure’ … [ʒ] … vision
ti … ‘sh’ as in ‘ship’ … [ʃ] … motion
ti … ‘ch’ as in ‘char’ … [ʧ] … mention
J
dj … ‘j’ as in ‘jar’ … [ʤ] … adjective
j … ‘j’ as in ‘jar’ … [ʤ] … joy
j … ‘y’ as in ‘yes’ … [j] … fjord
j … ‘h’ as in ‘hi’ … [h] … junta
K
silent … know
ck … ‘k’ as in ‘cap’ … [k] … back
k … ‘k’ as in ‘cap’ … [k] … king
L
silent … palm
l … ‘l’ as in ‘lap’ … [l] … love
ll … ‘l’ as in ‘lap’ … [l] … million
M
m … ‘m’ as in ‘map’ … [m] … mine
mm … ‘m’ as in ‘map’ … [m] … summer
N
silent … autumn
n … ‘n’ as in ‘nap’ … [n] … name
n … ‘ng’ as in ‘sing’ … [ŋ] … think
nn … ‘n’ as in ‘nap’ … [n] … funny
ng … ‘ng’ as in ‘sing’ … [ŋ] … ring
ng … ‘ng’ as in ‘sing’ … [ŋ] with ‘k’ as in ‘cap’ … [k] … angst
ng … ‘ng’ as in ‘sing’ … [ŋ] with ‘g’ as in ‘gap’ … [g] … anger
O
eo … ‘eh’ as in ‘bed’ … [ε] … leopard
eo … ‘ee’ as in ‘she’ … [i] … people
o … ‘w’ as in ‘will’ … [w] with ‘uh’ as in ‘butter’ … [ʌ] … one
o … ‘ih’ as in ‘sit’ … [ɪ] … women
o … ‘ah’ as in ‘father’ … [α] … body
o … ‘oo’ as in ‘boo’ … [u] … do
o … ‘uh’ as in ‘book’ … [ʊ] … wolf
o … ‘oh’ as in ‘no’ … [oʊ] … go
o … ‘uh’ as in ‘butter’ … [ʌ] … love
o … ‘uh’ as in ‘supply’ … [ə] … bottom
oa … ‘oh’ as in ‘no’ … [oʊ] … oat
oe … ‘oh’ as in ‘no’ … [oʊ] … foe
oe … ‘uh’ as in ‘butter’ … [ʌ] … does
oe … ‘oo’ as in ‘boo’ … [u] … shoe
oi … ‘oy’ as in ‘toy’ … [ɔɪ] … moist
oi … ‘w’ as in ‘will’ … [w] with ‘ai’ as in ‘buy’ … [aɪ] … choir
oo … ‘oo’ as in ‘boo’ … [u] … too
oo … ‘uh’ as in ‘book’ … [ʊ] … wood
oo … ‘uh’ as in ‘butter’ … [ʌ] … blood
oo … ‘oh’ as in ‘no’ … [oʊ] … brooch
ou … ‘oo’ as in ‘boo’ … [u] … you
ou … ‘uh’ as in ‘supply’ … [ə] … jealous
ou … ‘uh’ as in ‘book’ … [ʊ] … could
ou … ‘uh’ as in ‘butter’ … [ʌ] … trouble
ou … ‘oh’ as in ‘no’ … [oʊ] … soul
ou … ‘ow’ as in ‘now’ … [aʊ] … round
ou[r] … ‘ur’ as in ‘bird’ … [ɜ] … journey
o[r] … ‘ur’ as in ‘bird’ … [ɜ] … word
ough … ‘oh’ as in ‘no’ … [oʊ] … though
ough … ‘aw’ as in ‘law’ … [ɔ] … thought
ough … ‘oo’ as in ‘boo’ … [u] … through
ough … ‘ow’ as in ‘now’ … [aʊ] … bough
ough … ‘ah’ as in ‘father’ … [α] OR ‘aw’ as in ‘law’ … [ɔ] with ‘f’ as in ‘fan’ … [f] … cough
ough … ‘uh’ as in ‘butter’ … [ʌ] with ‘f’ as in ‘fan’ … [f] … enough
ow … ‘ow’ as in ‘now’ … [aʊ] … cow
ow … ‘oh’ as in ‘no’ … [oʊ] … row
oy … ‘oy’ as in ‘toy’ … [ɔɪ] … joy
wo … ‘oo’ as in ‘boo’ … [u] … two
P
silent … psychology, pneumonia
p … ‘p’ as in ‘pit’ … [p] … pear
ph … ‘f’ as in ‘fan’ … [f] … phone
pph … ‘f’ as in ‘fan’ … [f] … sapphire
Q
q … ‘k’ as in ‘cap’ … [k] … quiet
R
r … ‘r’ as in ‘run’ … [ɹ] … rat
S
silent … island
chs … ‘sh’ as in ‘ship’ … [ʃ] … fuchsia
s … ‘s’ as in ‘sip’ … [s] … some
s … ‘z’ as in ‘zip’ … [z] … his
s … ‘sh’ as in ‘ship’ … [ʃ]… sugar
s … ‘zh’ as in ‘measure’ … [ʒ] … measure
sc … ‘s’ as in ‘sip’ … [s] … science
sch … ‘sh’ as in ‘ship’ … [ʃ] … schmuck
sci … ‘sh’ as in ‘ship’ … [ʃ] … conscience
si … ‘zh’ as in ‘measure’ … [ʒ] … vision
sh … ‘sh’ as in ‘ship’ … [ʃ] … shame
ss … ‘sh’ as in ‘ship’ … [ʃ]… issue
ss … ‘s’ as in ‘sip’ … [s] …miss
ss … ‘z’ as in ‘zip’ … [z] … possession
T
silent … fasten
t … ‘t’ as in ‘time’ … [t] … tap
t … ‘ch’ as in ‘char’ … [ʧ] … future, righteous
tch … ‘ch’ as in ‘char’ … [ʧ] … watch
th … ‘th’ as in ‘thin’ … [θ] … thanks
th … ‘th’ as in ‘this’ … [ð] … those
ti … ‘sh’ as in ‘ship’ … [ʃ] … motion
ti … ‘ch’ as in ‘char’ … [ʧ] … mention
U
silent … plague (it signals a hard G without being pronounced)
au … ‘aw’ as in ‘law’ … [ɔ] … cause
au … ‘ay’ as in ‘say’ … [eɪ] … gauge
au … ‘aa’ as in ‘bat’ … [æ] … aunt
au … ‘oh’ as in ‘no’ … [oʊ] … chauffeur
augh … ‘aw’ as in ‘law’ … [ɔ] … daughter
eau … ‘ew’ as in ‘few’ … [ju] … beauty
eau … ‘oh’ as in ‘no’ … [oʊ] … beau
eu … ‘ew’ as in ‘few’ … [ju] … feud
eu … ‘uh’ as in ‘supply’ … [ə] … chauffeur
eu … ‘oo’ as in ‘boo’ … [u] … sleuth
eu(r) … ‘ur’ as in ‘bird’ … [ɜ] … chauffeur
ieu … ‘oo’ as in ‘boo’ … [u] … lieu
ou … ‘uh’ as in ‘butter’ … [ʌ] … trouble
ou … ‘uh’ as in ‘book’ … [ʊ] … could
ou … ‘oo’ as in ‘boo’ … [u] … you
ou … ‘uh’ as in ‘supply’ … [ə] … jealous
ou … … ‘oh’ as in ‘no’ … [oʊ] … soul
ou … ‘ow’ as in ‘now’ … [aʊ] … round
ough … ‘oh’ as in ‘no’ … [oʊ] … though
ough … ‘aw’ as in ‘law’ … [ɔ] … thought
ough … ‘oo’ as in ‘boo’ … [u] … through
ough … ‘ow’ as in ‘now’ … [aʊ] … bough
ough … ‘ah’ as in ‘father’ … [α] OR ‘aw’ as in ‘law’ … [ɔ] with ‘f’ as in ‘fan’ … [f] … cough
ough … ‘uh’ as in ‘butter’ … [ʌ] with ‘f’ as in ‘fan’ … [f] … enough
ou[r] … ‘ur’ as in ‘bird’ … [ɜ] … journey
u … ‘uh’ as in ‘supply’ … [ə] … autumn
u … ‘uh’ as in ‘butter’ … [ʌ] … up
u … ‘ew’ as in ‘few’ … [ju] … union
u … ‘eh’ as in ‘bed’ … [ε] … bury
u … ‘uh’ as in ‘book’ … [ʊ] … sugar
u … ‘oo’ as in ‘boo’ … [u] … flute
u … ‘w’ as in ‘will’ … [w] … quiet, suite
u … ‘ih’ as in ‘sit’ … [ɪ] … minute
ue … ‘oo’ as in ‘boo’ … [u] … blue
ui … ‘ih’ as in ‘sit’ … [ɪ] … build
ui … ‘oo’ as in ‘boo’ … [u] … juice
u[r] … ‘ur’ as in ‘bird’ … [ɜ] … burn
uy … ‘ai’ as in ‘buy’ … [aɪ] … buy
V
v … ‘v’ as in ‘van’ … [v] … voice
W
silent … answer, write
aw … ‘aw’ as in ‘law’ … [ɔ] … shawl
ew … ‘ew’ as in ‘few’ … [ju] … few
ew … ‘oo’ as in ‘boo’ … [u] … blew
ow … ‘ow’ as in ‘now’ … [aʊ] … cow
ow … ‘oh’ as in ‘no’ … [oʊ] … row
w … ‘w’ as in ‘will’ … [w] … wise
wo … ‘oo’ as in ‘boo’ … [u] … two
X
x … ‘k’ as in ‘cap’ … [k] with ‘s’ as in ‘sip’ … [s] … ax, expert
x … ‘z’ as in ‘zip’ … [z] … xylophone
x … ‘g’ as in ‘gap’ … [g] with ‘z’ as in ‘zip’ … [z] … exhibit
Y
ay … ‘eh’ as in ‘bed’ … [ε] … says
ay … ‘ay’ as in ‘say’ … [eɪ] … pay
ey … ‘ee’ as in ‘she’ … [i] … key
ey … ‘ay’ as in ‘say’ … [eɪ] … they
oy … ‘oy’ as in ‘toy’ … [ɔɪ] … joy
uy … ‘ai’ as in ‘buy’ … [aɪ] … buy
y … ‘ih’ as in ‘sit’ … [ɪ] … symbol
y … ‘uh’ as in ‘supply’ … [ə] … syringe
y … ‘y’ as in ‘yes’ … [j] … you
y … ‘ai’ as in ‘buy’ … [aɪ] … rhyme, my
y … ‘ee’ as in ‘she’ … [i] … melody
ye … ‘ai’ as in ‘buy’ … [aɪ] … bye
y[r] … ‘ur’ as in ‘bird’ … [ɜ] … myrtle
Z
cz … ‘t’ as in ‘time’ … [t] with ‘s’ as in ‘sip’ … [s] … czar (one of two possible pronunciations)
z … ‘z’ as in ‘zip’ … [z] … lazy
z … ‘zh’ as in ‘measure’ … [ʒ] … azure
z … ‘t’ as in ‘time’ … [t] with ‘s’ as in ‘sip’ … [s] .. Nazi
z … ‘s’ as in ‘sip’ … [s] … ritz
zz … ‘z’ as in ‘zip’ … [z] … buzz