pronouncekit

Alphabet

Say every English letter clearly.

A letter name is a short spoken word. It is not always the sound that the letter represents inside a word: C is /siː/, for example, but cat begins with /k/.

How to read these pronunciations

One reference reading per word and accent. Words such as read and wind can have other readings; this lookup does not choose by sentence meaning. Synthesized speech may use a different reading.

American results use dictionary respelling, as in ber. British results use broad IPA, as in /beə/. The sound chart and IPA lessons teach IPA separately. ˈ marks main stress and ˌ secondary stress; single-syllable words omit them.

American respelling key

a
cat
ā
day
ä
father
e
bed
ē
see
i
sit
ī
my
ō
go
ô
law
o͞o
food
o͝o
foot
oi
boy
ou
now
ə
cup, about
ər
bird, teacher
er
bear
ir
hear
CH
chip
j
jump
SH
ship
ZH
vision
TH
thin
T͟H
this
NG
sing
y
yes

Independently converted open dictionary data, using Oxford-style notation conventions. Not Oxford or Google dictionary content, and not affiliated with either publisher. Conversion does not verify every word or reproduce a particular dictionary edition.

Sources, conversion rules and licenses · US MIT · UK GPL-3.0

Build the shapes inside the names

Many names end with a steady /iː/, as in B, C, D, G, P, T, V, and Z in US English. A, H, and J use the moving vowel /eɪ/; I and Y use /aɪ/. F, L, M, N, S, and X begin with a short /ɛ/ before the final consonant. Keep the vowel and final consonant in one compact name.

A guide that speaks your language

If another language is your starting point, treat the English names as new words rather than translating familiar letter names. Keep the written letter, its English name, and its possible sounds inside words as three related but different ideas.

Build the sound, step by step

  1. Practice A–G slowly. Hold /iː/ consistently in B, C, D, and G, but move through the full /eɪ/ diphthong in A.
  2. Continue in short groups: H–N, O–U, then V–Z. Keep each letter to its natural number of syllables; W is the long exception.
  3. Spell a familiar name, pause, and repeat it at a natural pace. Check that every letter remains distinct without adding extra vowels.

What to watch for

  • Do not use a letter’s most common word sound as its name: R is not simply /r/, and W is not /w/.
  • Keep E /iː/ and I /aɪ/ apart, and keep G /dʒiː/ distinct from J /dʒeɪ/.
  • Choose zee or zed according to the variety you are practicing; neither makes another English variety defective.

Hear the difference in your own voice

Alternate E /iː/ with I /aɪ/, then G /dʒiː/ with J /dʒeɪ/. Keep the shared consonant in G/J and change only the vowel. Finish with A /eɪ/ versus R /ɑr/ (US) or /ɑː/ (UK).

Use letter names to spell real words

Spell cat as C–A–T and think as T–H–I–N–K. Then say each word normally and notice that the letter names are not the word’s sounds. Finally, spell your name and an email username without rushing.

References & editorial notes

Letter names use American respelling and British IPA; neither captures every speaker’s phonetic detail. These sources provide the IPA standard and UK/US pronunciation examples.