PHONETIC CHART

MONOTHONGS

dipthongs

vowels

Phonetic alphabet

CONSONANTS

/z/ sound

The phoneme /z/ sounds as the sound a mosquito produces. This phoneme is voiced, meaning your throat should vibrate when pronouncing it.

EXAMPLE: /z/ as in: ZEBRA Phonetic transcription: ˈzibrə

/aʊ/ sound

the phoneme /aʊ/ sounds like the sound the wolves produce. It's pronounced "AU".

EXAMPLE: /aʊ/ as in: MOUTH Phonetic transcription: maʊθ

/i:/ sound

The phoneme /i:/ sounds the same as the vowel "i" in Spanish language.

EXAMPLE: /i:/ as in the word: MEAT Phonetic transcription: mit

/eɪ/ sound

This phoneme actually sounds as it is written, just pronounce an "e" and an "i" together.

EXAMPLE: /eɪ/ as in: CAKE Phonetic transcription: keɪk

/aɪ/ sound

The phoneme /aɪ/ also sounds as if something hurts but the expression in spanish. Its pronounced "AY".

EXAMPLE: /aɪ/ as in: CRY Phonetic transcription: kraɪ

/f/ sound

The /f/ sound is voiceless, therefore, the throat shouldn´t vibrate when pronouncing it

EXAMPLE: /f/ as in: FLIGHT phonetic transcription: flaɪt

/ð/ sound

The phoneme /ð/ is usually found in the demonstrative pronouns such as: this, that, these, those.

EXAMPLE: /ð/ as in: THAT Phonetic transcription: ðæt

/p/ sound

The phoneme /p/ is very silent and your throat shouldn´t vibrate when pronouncing it, just put your lips together and let the air flow through.

EXAMPLE: /p/ as in: PARROT Phonetic transcription: ˈpɛrət

/I/ sound

The phoneme /I/ sounds almost like the Spanish vowel "e", but not quite. To pronounce it try to smile.

EXAMPLE: /I/ as in the word: SIT Phonetic transcription: sɪt

/ɪə/ sound

The /ɪə/ phoneme sounds almost exactly as it looks, pronouncing and "i" and a very relaxed "e".

EXAMPLE: /ɪə/ as in: FIRE Phonetic transcription: ˈfaɪər

/t/ sound

The phoneme /t/ is silent, therefore, the sound in the word should start in the second letter of it.

EXAMPLE: /t/ as in: TELEPHONE Phonetic transcription: ˈtɛləˌfoʊn

/eə/ sound

The phoneme /eə/ sound as if we were saying the spanish vowels "e" and "a" together.

EXAMPLE: /eə/ as in: HAIR Phonetic transcription: heə(r)

/n/ sound

The phoneme /n/ is pronounced exactly as it looks like. The tip of your tongue should touch the roof of the mouth, behind the top tooth and your throat should vibrate when pronouncing it.

EXAMPLE: /n/ as in: NOSE Phonetic transcription: noʊz

/tʃ/ sound

The phoneme /tʃ/ sounds as if we were saying "ch", and in fact, most of the words with this phoneme will start with "Ch".

EXAMPLE: /tʃ/ as in: CHIMNEY Phonetic transcription: ˈʧɪmni

/ʔ/ sound

The phone /ʔ/ doesn´t have an especific sound but, when we add it into a word, it sounds as if we "ate" a vowel and then continued with the rest of the letters. This happens because we close our vocal cords interrumping the airflow.

EXAMPLE: /ʔ/ as in: KITTEN Phonetic transcription: ˈkɪtən/ 'kɪtʔn

/k/ sound

The phoneme /k/ is voiceless, therefore, when a word includes this phoneme, the sound should start in the second letter.

EXAMPLE: /k/ as in: CANDY Phonetic transcription: ˈkændi

/ʊ/ sound

The phoneme /ʊ/ is a very short sound and to pronounce it just simulate you are giving a kiss.

EXAMPLES: /ʊ/ as in: GOOD Phonetic transcription: ɡʊd

/ʒ/ sound

The phoneme /ʒ/ sounds similar to the /ʃ/ phoneme but this one is voiced, which means the throat should vibrate when pronouncing it.

EXAMPLE: /ʒ/ as in: TELEVISION Phonetic transcription: ˈtɛləˌvɪʒən

/ɔː/ sound

The phoneme /ɔː/ sounds like the Spanish vowel "o".

EXAMPLE: /ɔː/ as in: BOUGHT Phonetic transcription: bɔt

/r/ sound

The phoneme /r/ is voiced, which means you should feel your throat vibrate when pronouncing it and it sounds like the "grrr" a dog does, but in a softer way.

EXAMPLE: /r/ as in: ROSE Phonetic transcription: roʊz

/ɜː/ sound

The /ɜː/ phoneme sounds like the schwa sound, but this one is longer.

EXAMPLE: /ɜː/ as in: FIRST Phonetic transcription: fɜrst

/m/ sound

The phoneme /m/ sounds like the sound we produce when we eat something we like. It sounds like "MMMM".

EXAMPLE: /m/ as in: MONKEY Phonetic transcription: ˈmʌŋki

/h/ sound

The phoneme /h/ sounds as if we were pronouncing a very soft and silent "g". The air should come from behind and pass through the mouth slowly.

EXAMPLE: /h/ as in: HOUSE Phonetic transcription: haʊs

/ɔɪ/ sound

The phoneme /ɔɪ/ sounds as if something hurts. This phoneme sounds like "OY".

EXAMPLE: /ɔɪ/ as in: TOY Phonetic transcription: tɔɪ

/ɒ/ sound

The phoneme /ɒ/ sounds like an "O" but its sound is very short and sounds very round.

EXAMPLE: /ɒ/ as in: HOT Phonetic transcription: /hɒt/

/l/ sound

The phoneme /l/ is voiced, therefore, your throat should vibrate when pronouncing it and the air should go through the sides of your mouth.

EXAMPLE: /l/ as in: LIGHT Phonetic transcription: laɪt

/v/ sound

The phoneme /v/ is a voiced sound, which means, you should feel your throat vibrating when pronouncing it.

EXAMPLE: /v/ as in: VOICE Phonetic transcription: vɔɪs

/ʌ/ sound

The /ʌ/ phoneme sound similar to the previous one but this one sounds lower.

EXAMPLE: /ʌ/ as in: MONEY Phonetic transcription: ˈmʌni

/ʊə/ sound

The phoneme /ʊə/ almost sounds as if we were saying "iugh".

EXAMPLE: /ʊə/ as in: EUROPE Phonetic transcription: ˈjʊrəp

/ʃ/ sound

The phoneme /ʃ/ sounds as if we were telling someone to get quiet. It sounds like saying "SHHHH".

EXAMPLE: /ʃ/ as in: SHARK Phonetic transcription: ʃɑrk

/æ/ sound

The phoneme /æ/ sounds similar to the spanish vowel "a".

EXAMPLE: /æ/ as in: HAT Phonetic transcription: hæt

/s/ sound

The phoneme /s/ is basically the sound "s" as we know it, except this is a larger sound and is voiceless.

EXAMPLE: /s/ as in: SNAKE Phonetic transcription: sneɪk

/ə/ sound, also known as "Schwa sound"

The "Schwa" sound is the most relaxed phoneme in the alphabet. To pronounce it, relax your mouth completely.

EXAMPLE: /ə/ as in: AROUND Phonetic transcription: əˈraʊnd

/b/ sound

The phoneme /b/ should sound when pronouncing it, therefore, your throat should vibrate.

EXAMPLE: /b/ as in: BOOK Phonetic transcription: bʊk

/a:/ sound

The phoneme /a:/ sounds exactly like the vowel "a" in the Spanish language. This phoneme should sound "large".

EXAMPLE: /a:/ as in: HEART Phonetic transcription: hɑrt

/dʒ/ sound

The phoneme /dʒ/ sounds as if we were saying "yuh", but in this case, the "y" should sound, therefore, your throat should vibrate.

EXAMPLE: /dʒ/ as in: JUMP Phonetic transcription: ʤʌmp

/ŋ/ sound

The phoneme /ŋ/ sounds like the "ng" in a word or verb sounds. You should feel the air coming out of your nose when pronouncing it.

EXAMPLE: /ŋ/ as in: SING Phonetic transcription: sɪŋ

/w/ sound

The phoneme /w/ sounds as if we were saying "WO" with a Spanish "O". When pronouncing it, your lips should create a tight round shape.

EXAMPLE: /w/ as in: WINDOW Phonetic transcription: ˈwɪndoʊ

/e-ɛ/ sound

The phoneme /e/ sound exactly the same as the Spanish vowel "e".

EXAMPLE: /e/ as in: BED Phonetic transcription: bɛd

/j/ sound

The phoneme /j/ sounds as if we were saying "yeah". This phoneme is voiced, therefore, your throat should vibrate when pronouncing it.

EXAMPLE: /j/ as in: YELLOW Phonetic transcription: ˈjɛloʊ

/d/ sound

The phoneme /d/ should sound when pronouncing it, therefore, your throat should vibrate.

EXAMPLE: /d/ as in: DINOSAUR Phonetic transcription: ˈdaɪnəˌsɔr

/g/ sound

The phoneme /g/ is voiced, therefore, the throat should vibrate when pronouncing it.

EXAMPLE: /g/ as in: GORGEOUS Phonetic transcription: ˈɡɔrʤəs

/θ/ sound

The phoneme /θ/ sounds like the phoneme /f/, the difference is that this phoneme is pronounced with the tongue between the tooth.

EXAMPLE: /θ/ as in: THOUGHT Phonetic transcription: θɔt

/u:/ sound

The phoneme /u:/ is similar to the previous phoneme but this one sounds larger.

EXAMPLE: /u:/ as in: FOOD Phonetic transcription: fud

/oʊ/ sound

The phoneme /oʊ/ sounds like the English "O" vowel

EXAMPLE: /əʊ/ as in: OPEN Phonetic transcription: ˈoʊpən