close front unrounded vowel
as in fleecePronunciation laboratory · no AI
Every sound.
Made visible.
Hear the sounds of English, see where they are formed and compare the distinctions your ear is learning to notice.
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Select a symbol to hear its example word.
English IPA chart
Vowels shape an open stream of air. Consonants interrupt or narrow it. Choose any card to inspect the sound.
V
Vowels
14 soundsnear-close front vowel
as in kitface diphthong
as in faceopen-mid front vowel
as in dressnear-open front vowel
as in trapopen back vowel
as in palmopen back rounded vowel
as in lotopen-mid back rounded vowel
as in thoughtgoat diphthong
as in goatnear-close back rounded vowel
as in footclose back rounded vowel
as in gooseopen-mid central vowel
as in strutschwa
as in aboutnurse vowel
as in nurseC
Consonants
24 soundsvoiceless bilabial plosive
as in penvoiced bilabial plosive
as in backvoiceless alveolar plosive
as in teavoiced alveolar plosive
as in dayvoiceless velar plosive
as in keyvoiced velar plosive
as in govoiceless labiodental fricative
as in finevoiced labiodental fricative
as in vinevoiceless dental fricative
as in thinkvoiced dental fricative
as in thisvoiceless alveolar fricative
as in seevoiced alveolar fricative
as in zoovoiceless postalveolar fricative
as in shipvoiced postalveolar fricative
as in visionvoiceless glottal fricative
as in housebilabial nasal
as in manalveolar nasal
as in novelar nasal
as in singalveolar lateral approximant
as in lightEnglish r approximant
as in redpalatal approximant
as in yeslabial-velar approximant
as in wevoiceless postalveolar affricate
as in chairvoiced postalveolar affricate
as in job/i/ close front unrounded vowel
Keep the tongue high and forward; leave the lips relaxed.
- Sound type
- Vowel
- Position
- Front
- Action
- Close
- Voice
- Voiced
Put two sounds
side by side.
Useful contrasts reveal the small physical distinction that changes a word.
Which sound
did you hear?
Play an example, then identify its IPA symbol. This exercise uses the sounds currently visible in the chart.
0 correct · 0 attempted
Listen first, then choose a symbol.
Read the mouth,
not the alphabet.
- 01
Listen before copying
Play the whole example word. Notice where the target sound sits and what comes immediately before and after it.
- 02
Find the contact point
Use the mouth diagram to place the tongue and lips. A few millimetres can separate two phonemes.
- 03
Practise contrasts
Compare sounds that learners commonly merge. Hearing the distinction makes producing it much easier.