English Letter Sounds for Kids (PDF): Written Out and with Audio
Here is the sound of every one of the 26 English letters with audio, a word that starts with it, and a free printable chart. Letter sounds are the first step in learning to read.
- Suitable age
- 4 to 7 years
- Suggested time
- 10 minutes a day (one or two new sounds each time)
- say the main sound of each of the 26 English letters.
- name a word that starts with each sound, like sun for s.
- tell close sounds apart, like p and b, and f and v.
What Is a Letter’s Sound?
A letter’s sound is what we hear when we read a word. The letter m is called “em”, but its sound in mom is “m”. Children need the sounds to read, which is why we teach them early. For more: What Is Phonics?
Letter Sounds Chart
Tap the speaker to hear the letter’s sound on its own, and the word to hear the sound at its start. Each letter links to its full page.
| Letter | Its sound | Said as | A word that starts with it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aa | a (as in apple) | ||
| Bb | b | ||
| Cc | k | ||
| Dd | d | ||
| Ee | e (as in egg) | ||
| Ff | f | ||
| Gg | g (as in goat) | ||
| Hh | h | ||
| Ii | i (as in ink) | ||
| Jj | j | ||
| Kk | k | ||
| Ll | l | ||
| Mm | m | ||
| Nn | n | ||
| Oo | o (as in octopus) | ||
| Pp | p | ||
| kw | |||
| Rr | r | ||
| Ss | s | ||
| Tt | t | ||
| Uu | u (as in up) | ||
| Vv | v | ||
| Ww | w | ||
| Xx | ks | ||
| Yy | y | ||
| Zz | z |
Note: written descriptions of sounds are only approximate. Always listen to the recorded sound.
Download the File
Sounds That Need Attention
| Sound | The difficulty | How to practice |
|---|---|---|
| a e i o u | Their sounds are very short in first words. | Say them short, without stretching, as in apple, egg and ink. |
| p / b | The p sound doesn’t exist in Arabic. | Hold a strip of paper in front of your child’s mouth: it moves with p because of the puff of air, and stays still with b. |
| f / v | The v sound doesn’t exist in Arabic. | The mouth shape is the same, but the throat buzzes with v. Your child can put a hand on their throat to feel it. |
| g | Some children say it like the Arabic jeem. | It’s a hard “g”, as in goat, like the Egyptian pronunciation of jeem. |
| x | Two sounds together. | It’s said “ks” and usually comes at the end of a word: fox, box and six. |
Steps for Teaching a New Sound
- Listen: your child hears the sound from the chart two or three times.
- Copy: they say the sound while looking at the written letter.
- The word: they hear a word that starts with the sound and repeat it, focusing on its start.
- Search: they look around the room for something that starts with the same sound.
- Review: the next day, review the sound before starting a new one.
An Activity: The Sound Box
Choose one sound, like “b”, and put small things in a box: some that start with it (ball, bag, book) and some that don’t. Your child takes each thing out, says its name, and puts the ones that start with the sound on one side and the rest on the other.
Once your child knows a few sounds, they can start blending them to read: How Your Child Reads Their First English Word. And every sound has a short song to help remember it: Alphabet songs.
Listen to today’s letter sound from the chart 3 times; your child copies it while looking at the letter, then says its word.
A sound box in class: things that start with the letter’s sound and things that don’t, and the children sort them.
Summary
- A letter’s sound is what we hear in a word, and it’s not the letter’s name.
- Say each sound short and clipped, with no vowel after it.
- The sounds p, v and g need extra practice, because they don’t exist in Arabic.
- Once your child knows a few sounds, they can start reading short words like sat and pin.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many sounds are there in English?
Each of the 26 letters has a main sound, which is where children start. Then come sounds made by two letters together, like sh, ch and th, for a total of about 44 sounds.
Why does c sound like k?
Because the two letters make the same sound in words like cat and key. Before e and i, as in city, c sounds like s, but children learn that later.
Is the sound of a “ay”?
No. “ay” is the letter’s name. Its sound in short words is a short “a”, as in apple and cat.
