The Sound Chart

The Phonics Sound Chart explains how phonics works and introduces various alphabet sounds so that you can easily understand how to pronounce English words.

The alphabet phonics sounds chart contains 26 English letters that represent 46 sounds.

Phonics is a tool to teach the link between sound and letters used for written language. With the help of an English beginner alphabet phonics sounds chart, you can teach reading and writing.. Phonic charts are helpful in teaching new learners about sounds. The phonic sound chart is also helpful for beginners to learn phonetics easily.

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] … question

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