< English in Use
Sound to spelling correspondences
The following table shows for each sound, the various spelling patterns used to denote it. The symbol "•" stands for an intervening consonant. The letter sequences are in order of frequency with the most common first. Some of these patterns are very rare or unique, such as 'au' for the ah sound in laugh.
| Consonants | ||
|---|---|---|
| IPA | spelling | example |
| /p/ | p, pp, ph, pe, gh | pill, happy, Phuket, tape, hiccough |
| /b/ | b, bb, bh, be, p (in some dialects) | bit, rabbit, Bhutan, tribe, thespian |
| /t/ | t, tt, ed, pt, th, ct, te | ten, bitter, topped, ptomaine, thyme, ctenoid, hate |
| /d/ | d, dd, ed, dh, de, th (in some dialects) | dive, ladder, failed, dharma, made, them |
| /g/ | g, gg, gue, gh, gu | go, stagger, catalogue, ghost, guilt |
| /k/ | c, k, ck, ch, cc, qu, q, cq, cu, que, kk, kh, ke | cat, key, tack, chord, account, liquor, Iraq, acquaint, biscuit, mosque, trekker, khan, make |
| /m/ | m, mm, mb, mn, mh, me | mine, hammer, climb, hymn, mho, lame |
| /n/ | n, nn, kn, gn, pn, nh, cn, ne, mn, ng (in some dialects) | nice, funny, knee, gnome, pneumonia, piranha, cnidarian, vane, mnemonic, fighting |
| /ŋ/ | ng, n, ngue, ngh | sing, link, tongue, Singh |
| /ɹ/ | r, rr, wr, rh, rrh, re | ray, parrot, wrong, rhyme, diarrhea, more |
| /f/ | f, ph, ff, gh, pph, u, th (in some dialects) | fine, physical, off, laugh, sapphire, BR lieutenant, thin |
| /v/ | v, vv, f, ve | vine, savvy, of, have |
| /θ/ | th, chth, phth, tth | thin, chthonic, phthisis, Matthew |
| /ð/ | th, the | them, breathe |
| /s/ | s, c, ss, sc, st, ps, sch, cc, se, ce, z (in some dialects) | song, city, mess, scene, listen, psychology, schism, flaccid, horse, juice, citizen |
| /z/ | s, z, x, zz, ss, ze, c (in some dialects) | has, zoo, xylophone, fuzz, scissors, breeze, electricity |
| /ʃ/ | sh, ti, ci, ssi, si, ss, ch, s, sci, ce, sch, sc | shin, nation, special, mission, expansion, tissue, machine, sugar, conscience, ocean, schist, crescendo |
| /ʒ/ | si, s, g, z, j, zh, ti, sh (in some dialects) | division, leisure, genre, seizure, jeté, Zhytomyr, equation, Pershmg |
| /tʃ/ | ch, t, tch, ti, c, cz, tsch | chin, nature, batch, mention, cello, Czech, Deutschmark |
| /dʒ/ | g, j, dg, d, di, gi, ge, dj, gg | magic, jump, ledger, graduate, soldier, Belgian, dungeon, Djibouti, suggest |
| /h/ | h, wh, j, ch | he, whom, fajita, chutzpah |
| /j/ | y, i, j, ll | yes, onion, hallelujah, tortilla |
| /l/ | l, ll, lh, le | line, hall, Lhasa, rule |
| /w/ | w, u, o, ou, wh (in most dialects) | we, queen, choir, Ouija board, what |
| /ʍ/ | wh (in some dialects) | wheel |
| Vowels | ||
| IPA | spelling | example |
| /i/ | e, y, ee, ea, e•e, i•e, ie, ei, ei•e, ey, ae, ay, oe, eo, is, eip, ie▪e, i, ea▪e, it, eigh, ois | be, city, bee, beach, cede, machine, field, deceit, deceive, key, Caesar, quay, amoeba, people, debris, receipt, believe, ski, leave, esprit, Raleigh, chamois |
| /ɪ/ | i, i•e, a•e, y, ie, ui, ei, ee, e, ia, u, o, u▪e, eig, ie•e | bit, give, damage, myth, mischief, build, counterfeit, been, pretty, carriage, busy, women, minute, sovereign, sieve |
| /u/ | oo, u, o, u•e, ou, ew, ue, o•e, ui, eu, oe, ough, wo, ioux, ieu, ault, oup | tool, luminous, who, flute, soup, jewel, true, lose, fruit, maneuver, canoe, through, two, Sioux, US lieutenant, Sault Sainte Marie, coup |
| /ʊ/ | u, oo, ou, o, w | full, look, should, wolf, cwm |
| /ei/ | a, a•e, ai, ay, eigh, ea, ei, ey, au, et, er, ee, aigh, ie, eig, eg | paper, rate, rain, pay, eight, steak, veil, obey, gauge, ballet, dossier, matinee, straight, US lingerie, reign, thegn |
| /ə/ | a, e, o, u, ai, ou, eig, y, ah, ough, gh | another, anthem, awesome, atrium, mountain, callous, foreign, beryl, Messiah, BR borough, Edinburgh |
| /o(u)/ | o, o•e, oa, ow, ou, oe, oo, eau, oh, ew, au, aoh, ough | so, bone, boat, know, soul, foe, brooch, beau, oh, sew, mauve, pharoah, furlough |
| /ɛ/ | e, ea, a, ai, ie, eo, u, ae, ay, ei, ue, eb, eg | met, weather, many, said, friend, jeopardy, bury, aesthetic, says, heifer, guess, debt, phlegm |
| /æ/ | a, au, ai, a▪e, al, ag, ach | hand, laugh, plaid, have, salmon, diaphragm, drachm |
| /ʌ/ | u, o, ou, o•e, oo, oe | sun, son, touch, come, flood, does |
| /ɔ/ | a, au, aw, ough, augh, oa, al, uo | fall, author, jaw, bought, caught, broad, walk, BR fluorine |
| /ɑ/ | o, a, eau, ach | lock, watch, bureaucracy, yacht |
| /ai/ | i•e, i, y, igh, ie, ei, eigh, uy, ai, ey, ye, eye, y▪e, ae, ais, is, ig, ic, ay | fine, Christ, try, high, tie, eidos, height, buy, ailurophobia, geyser, dye, eye, type, maestro, aisle, isle, sign, indict, tayra |
| /ɑr/ | ar, er, ear, a•e, aa | car, sergeant, heart, are, bazaar |
| /εr/ | er, ar, ere, are, aire, eir, air, aa | stationery, stationary, where, ware, millionaire, heir, hair, Aaron |
| /ɔɪ/ | oi, oy, aw, uoy oy•e | foil, toy, lawyer, buoy, gargoyle |
| /aʊ/ | ou, ow, ough, au | out, now, bough, tau |
| /ɚ/ | er, or, ur, ir, yr, our, ear, err, eur, yrrh, ar, oeu, olo | fern, worst, turn, thirst, myrtle, courage, earth, err, amateur, myrrh, grammar, hors d'oeuvre, colonel |
| /yu/ | u, u•e, eu, ue, iew, eau, ieu, ueue, ui, ewe, ew | music*, use, feud, cue, view, beautiful*, adieu*, queue, nuisance*, ewe, few, * in some dialects |
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