The English Alphabet and Its Sounds
English writes with 26 letters: five main vowels (a, e, i, o, u) and 21 consonants, with y doing both jobs. Those 26 letters spell about 44 spoken sounds, so letters and sounds never line up one to one.
Level: A1. The English alphabet has 26 letters, but it spells roughly 44 spoken sounds. Learning the letter names and how they differ from the sounds is the first solid step toward reading and spelling English.
By the end of this page you can…
…say all 26 letter names, tell vowels from consonants, and explain why letters and sounds do not match one to one.
The 26 letters and their names
Each letter has a spoken name (what you say when you spell out loud) and one or more sounds (what it does inside a word). Here are the names, with a plain respelling and a starter word.
| Letter | Name (said) | Starter word |
|---|---|---|
| A a | ay | apple |
| B b | bee | book |
| C c | see | cat |
| D d | dee | dog |
| E e | ee | egg |
| F f | ef | fish |
| G g | jee | girl |
| H h | aitch | house |
| I i | eye | ink |
| J j | jay | jam |
| K k | kay | key |
| L l | el | lamp |
| M m | em | moon |
| N n | en | nose |
| O o | oh | orange |
| P p | pee | pen |
| Q q | cue | queen |
| R r | ar | red |
| S s | ess | sun |
| T t | tee | table |
| U u | you | umbrella |
| V v | vee | van |
| W w | double-u | water |
| X x | ex | box |
| Y y | wy | yellow |
| Z z | zed (UK) / zee (US) | zoo |
Vowels and consonants
Five letters are the main vowels: a, e, i, o, u. The other 21 are consonants. The letter y is special: it acts as a vowel in happy and my but as a consonant in yes and you. Vowels are the open sounds at the centre of a syllable; consonants are the sounds that start and close syllables around them.
Every English syllable needs a vowel sound, even when no vowel letter is obvious — the word rhythm has two syllables carried by y and a weak vowel.
26 letters, about 44 sounds
Letters are symbols on the page; sounds are what you hear. They do not line up one to one, for three reasons:
- One letter, many sounds. The letter a is different in cat, car, cake and about.
- Many letters, one sound. sh in shop, ch in chair and th in think are each a single sound written with two letters. Pairs like these are called digraphs.
- Silent letters. Some letters are written but not said: the k in know, the b in comb, the w in write.
That mismatch is why you must learn the sounds by ear, and why spelling and pronunciation are studied as separate skills.
How to say it
A few letter names and sounds give learners the most trouble:
- g versus j: the letter g is said jee, and j is said jay. Many languages swap them, so practise the pair.
- e versus i: the letter e is ee and the letter i is eye. In many languages i sounds like ee, which causes spelling mistakes.
- w: said double-u, and inside words it is a lip-rounded sound in water, never a v.
- vowel letters versus vowel sounds: the name of a (ay) is only one of its sounds; do not assume the name is how it sounds in a word.
Say the letters and sounds with the audio
Press play, then repeat. These mix tricky letter names with the digraph sounds.
- Gthe seventh lettersaid jee, not gay or ghee
- Jthe tenth lettersaid jay; compare it with G
- Ethe fifth lettersaid ee
- Ithe ninth lettersaid eye, not ee
- Wthe twenty-third lettersaid double-u
- Ythe twenty-fifth lettersaid wy; a vowel or a consonant
- shopa place to buy thingssh is one sound /ʃ/ written with two letters
- chaira seatch is one sound /tʃ/
- thinkto use your mindth here is voiceless /θ/
- knowto have informationthe k is silent: say it like no
- writeto put words on paperthe w is silent: say it like rite
- queena female rulerqu is said like kw
Quick recap before you practise.
Practice
Alphabet and sounds practice
Try each one, then press Check. No sign-up, nothing is sent anywhere — it all runs in your browser.
Hint: two tens and six
Show answer
26 — There are 26 letters, which spell about 44 sounds.
4 Match each letter to the way its name is said.
- H
- W
- Y
- I
Show answer
- H → aitch
- W → double-u
- Y → wy
- I → eye
These letter names often surprise learners; practise them aloud.
Quiz
English alphabet and sounds quiz
7 questions · pick an answer and you'll see straight away if it's right.
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26 — 26 letters, which together spell about 44 spoken sounds.
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a, e, i, o, u — a, e, i, o, u are the vowels; y can act as a sixth.
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yes — In yes, y starts the syllable as a consonant; in happy and my it is a vowel.
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digraphs: two letters, one sound — A digraph is two letters spelling a single sound.
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letters are reused and combined for extra sounds — One letter can have several sounds and letters combine into digraphs.
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zed — British English says zed; American English says zee.
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silent — know is a silent-letter word: the k is written but not pronounced.
Next
- Get the big picture in the English Pronunciation Overview
- Browse every topic in the English pronunciation section
- New here? Start with Start Learning English Here
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- 01 English Pronunciation Overview
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