International Phonetic Alphabet: Consonants
Sound 1: /n/
To produce this sounds touch your upper palate with the tip of your tongue to close off the air flow. After you start blowing the air out, lower your tongue a bit to produce this sound.
woman
country
knife
funny
son
Sound 2: /ŋ/
To produce this sound, put the back of your tongue to the top of your mouth to stop the air from coming out, and let the air come out through your nose.
strong
function
sing
monkey
uncle
Sound 3: /l/
To produce this sound, the tip of your tongue should touch the tooth ridge, and air should pass on the sides of the tongue.
light
level
cold
slow
milk
Sound 4: /r/
To produce this sound, the tip of your tongue should be curved towards the back. Then, move your tongue to a relaxed position and move your jaw down a little.
right
wrong
sorry
relax
rest
Sound 5: /h/
To produce this sound, make a small gap at the back of your mouth by lifting the back of your tongue towards the top of your mouth.
hello
head
alcohol
hear
hand
Sound 6: /f/
To produce this sound, place your top teeth on your bottom lip, and push air through the gap.
friend
enough
different
find
phrase
Sound 7: /g/
To produce this sound, the back of your tongue should touch the top of your mouth to stop air. Then, move the back of your tongue away from the top of your mouth to release air. You produce this sound using your throat.
green
egg
begin
ghost
dialogue
Sound 8: /k/
To produce this sound, the back of your tongue should touch the top of your mouth to stop air. Then, move the back of your tongue away from the top of your mouth to release air. You don't produce this sound using your throat.
kick
lucky
click
coat
like
Sound 9: /v/
To produce this sound, place your top teeth on your bottom lip, and push air through the gap. You use your throat when producing this sound.
valley
vegetable
active
level
believe
Sound 10: /w/
To produce this sound, round your lips and push them a bit forward. Then, relax your lips as you are producing this sound.
wet
swing
white
sweet
queen
Sound 11: /p/
To produce this sound, first you need to close your lips, then open them to release air. This sound is produced with a puff of air from your mouth, like an explosion.
pack
play
copy
happen
pip
Sound 12: /b/
To produce this sound, first you need to close your lips, then open them to release air. This sound is produced without a puff of air, and it is produced with a voice from the throat.
bag
hobby
symbol
ball
job
Sound 13: /d/
To produce this sound, the tip of your tongue should touch your tooth ridge to stop air. Then, move your tongue away from the tooth ridge to release air. This sound is produced with a voice from the throat.
day
daddy
load
odd
idea
Sound 14: /t/
To produce this sound, the tip of your tongue should touch your tooth ridge to stop air. Then, move your tongue away from the tooth ridge to release air. There is no voice from the throat when making this sound, only a small explosion of air when the tongue moves from the ridge.
true
button
doctor
bet
stop
Sound 15: /z/
To produce this sound, place the tip of your tongue near your tooth ridge, and push the air through the gap. It should sound like the noise of a bee. Use your voice to produce this sound.
zero
music
lazy
business
rise
Sound 16: /s/
To produce this sound, place your tongue near your tooth ridge, and push air through the gap. It should produce a hissing sound, like the noise a snake makes. You should not use your voice to produce this sound.
song
kiss
listen
price
circle
Sound 17: /m/
To produce this sound, close your lips to stop air from coming out, and let air come out of your nose.
make
money
machine
system
smile
Sound 18: /j/
To produce this sound, make a small gap at the top of your mouth. Then, move your tongue down to open the gap, and move your jaw down a little.
yellow
use
beauty
cue
few
Sound 19: /θ/
To produce this sound, place your tongue between your top and bottom teeth and push the air out. This sound is voiceless and you don't produce it using your throat.
thin
healthy
breath
author
through
Sound 20: /ð/
To produce this sound, place your tongue between your top and bottom teeth and push the air out. This sound is voiced and you produce it with your throat.
this
weather
brother
breathe
though
Sound 21: /tʃ/
To produce this sound, your tongue should touch the tooth ridge to stop air. Then, move your tongue behind the tooth ridge to release air. This sound is produced with no voice from the throat.
teacher
church
match
chair
much
Sound 22: /dʒ/
To produce this sound, your tongue should touch the tooth ridge to stop air. Then, move your tongue behind the tooth ridge to release air. This sound is produced with a voice from the throat.
joke
jeans
bridge
orange
judge
Sound 23: /ʃ/
To make this sound, curve the tip of your tongue up and back behind the tooth ridge, and push the air through the gap. You don't use your vocal chords to make this sound.
ship
fish
shy
cash
nation
Sound 24: /ʒ/
To produce this sound, round your lips and lift your tongue so that the tip is near the tooth ridge. Then, push the air through the gap. You should use your vocal chords to make this sound.
pleasure
vision
genre
invasion
usually
Let's practice and notice the differences!
Jim is not feeling very well, and it looks like he ate a poisonous berry.
I bet that the vet is going to tell you that there's nothing wrong with your cat.
Lightning bolts can have up to 1 billion volts.
Turn right when the light turns green.
"Today a reader; tomorrow a leader." - Margaret Fuller
My dog's bandages got wet, so I took him back to the vet.
I am wary when driving in this area as the road conditions vary quite a lot.
Pigs can grow to be very big.
She drew a very simple heart symbol.
He was selling peach flavored ice-cream on the beach.
The young men went fishing for clams so that they could feed all the members of the clan.
A beam of light fell onto the magic bean and it instantly grew so high that it touched the sky.
I was at a foam party and I dropped my phone somewhere while I was dancing.