Alphabet and Letter Sounds
26 letters, 44 sounds.
Examples
- A, B, C...
Key rules
- English has 26 letters but about 44 sounds, so letters and sounds do not match one to one
- Vowel letters a, e, i, o, u each have more than one sound
- Some letters, such as c and g, change sound depending on the next letter
Common mistakes
- The letter c in cat is /k/, but in city it is /s/ → Learn the sound with each word, not only the letter
- Pronounce a as in apple and also as in cake
Use cases
- Learning to read English words
- Teaching young learners phonics
- Checking a new word's pronunciation
💡 Tip: Learn the common sounds of each letter first, then add the less common ones later.