American English phoneme guide
Every sound in American English, with articulation tips and example words. Pick a sound to see words that contain it.
| IPA | Type | How to make it | Examples |
|---|---|---|---|
| [ɑ] | vowel | Open back unrounded; drop the jaw and relax the tongue low. | father, lot, spa |
| [æ] | vowel | Near-open front; spread the lips and lower the tongue toward the teeth. | cat, bat, apple |
| [ʌ / ə] | vowel | Mid-central; the relaxed 'uh' of an unstressed syllable (schwa). | cup, about, sofa |
| [ɔ] | vowel | Open-mid back rounded; round the lips slightly with a low tongue. | thought, law, dog |
| [aʊ] | vowel | Diphthong gliding from open 'ah' to rounded 'oo'. | how, loud, now |
| [aɪ] | vowel | Diphthong gliding from open 'ah' to high front 'ee'. | my, ride, high |
| [ɛ] | vowel | Open-mid front; relaxed 'eh' with the tongue mid-high. | bed, head, men |
| [ɝ / ɚ] | vowel | R-colored central vowel; curl or bunch the tongue for the 'r'. | bird, her, butter |
| [eɪ] | vowel | Diphthong gliding from mid front 'eh' up to 'ee'. | say, made, rain |
| [ɪ] | vowel | Near-close front; short, lax 'ih'. | sit, bit, gym |
| [i] | vowel | Close front; long, tense 'ee' with spread lips. | see, eat, machine |
| [oʊ] | vowel | Diphthong gliding from mid back 'oh' to rounded 'oo'. | go, boat, snow |
| [ɔɪ] | vowel | Diphthong gliding from rounded 'aw' to high front 'ee'. | boy, coin, toy |
| [ʊ] | vowel | Near-close back rounded; short, lax 'oo'. | book, put, good |
| [u] | vowel | Close back rounded; long, tense 'oo' with rounded lips. | blue, food, new |
| [b] | consonant | Voiced bilabial stop; close and release both lips. | bat, rob |
| [tʃ] | consonant | Voiceless affricate; stop then release as 'ch'. | chair, watch |
| [d] | consonant | Voiced alveolar stop; tap the tongue behind the teeth. | dog, bad |
| [ð] | consonant | Voiced dental fricative; soft 'th' with voicing. | this, mother |
| [f] | consonant | Voiceless labiodental fricative; teeth on lower lip. | fish, phone |
| [ɡ] | consonant | Voiced velar stop; back of tongue to the soft palate. | go, bag |
| [h] | consonant | Voiceless glottal fricative; a soft breath. | hat, ahead |
| [dʒ] | consonant | Voiced affricate; the 'j' sound. | jump, edge |
| [k] | consonant | Voiceless velar stop; back of tongue to soft palate. | cat, kite |
| [l] | consonant | Alveolar lateral; tongue tip up, air over the sides. | love, ball |
| [m] | consonant | Bilabial nasal; close the lips and hum. | man, him |
| [n] | consonant | Alveolar nasal; tongue tip up and hum. | no, ten |
| [ŋ] | consonant | Velar nasal; back of tongue up and hum. | sing, long |
| [p] | consonant | Voiceless bilabial stop; close and pop the lips. | pen, top |
| [ɹ] | consonant | Alveolar approximant; curl or bunch the tongue. | red, car |
| [s] | consonant | Voiceless alveolar fricative; hiss with the tongue near the ridge. | see, city |
| [ʃ] | consonant | Voiceless postalveolar fricative; the 'sh' sound. | she, nation |
| [t] | consonant | Voiceless alveolar stop; tap the tongue behind the teeth. | top, cat |
| [θ] | consonant | Voiceless dental fricative; soft 'th' without voicing. | think, bath |
| [v] | consonant | Voiced labiodental fricative; teeth on lower lip with voicing. | voice, have |
| [w] | consonant | Labio-velar approximant; round and release the lips. | we, away |
| [j] | consonant | Palatal approximant; the 'y' glide. | yes, yellow |
| [z] | consonant | Voiced alveolar fricative; buzzing 's'. | zoo, buzz |
| [ʒ] | consonant | Voiced postalveolar fricative; the 's' in 'measure'. | measure, vision |