English phonemes and IPA sounds

Smile slightly, keep your lips unrounded, raise the front of your tongue very high near the roof of your mouth, and voice a long clear "ee" sound.

Focus on the IPA symbol and example cue while detailed guidance is prepared.

Lift your tongue high and forward, but keep it a little relaxed. Open your mouth slightly and keep your lips neutral. Make it short, not as tense as ee in beet.

Open your mouth a bit, keep your lips relaxed, and place your tongue forward in the middle of your mouth. Make a short voiced vowel, like the sound in bed.

Open your mouth wide, keep your lips relaxed, and push your tongue forward and low. Then voice the sound: “æ” like in cat.

Open your mouth wide, keep your tongue low and slightly back, and keep your lips relaxed, not rounded. Then voice a long open vowel, like the vowel in hot in American English.

Drop your jaw a bit, pull your tongue back, and round your lips softly into an “aw” shape. Keep the sound open, deep, and steady.

Make a short, relaxed “oo” sound, like in book. Keep the tongue high and a bit back, round the lips slightly, and don’t make it as tense or as long as the vowel in boot.

Round your lips into a small circle, keep your mouth mostly closed, lift the back of your tongue high, and hold a voiced “oo” sound: /uː/.

Relax your mouth, keep your lips neutral, and make a short “uh” sound with your tongue resting in the middle of your mouth.

Relax your mouth completely, keep your lips neutral, and let your tongue rest in the middle of your mouth. Then make a soft, unstressed sound: “uh.”

Keep your mouth slightly open, lips relaxed, and make a central vowel while shaping your tongue for an “r” sound without touching the roof of the mouth. Hold a voiced “errr” sound.

Pull your tongue slightly back and up, don’t touch the roof, and make a relaxed vowel while keeping your voice on, like holding a soft “r” inside the vowel.

Start with a mid front vowel, like a narrow “eh”, then glide up slightly toward “ih.” Keep your lips unrounded, your tongue in the front of the mouth, and let the jaw close a little as the sound moves.

Start with your mouth open and your tongue low, like “ah,” then smoothly raise the front of your tongue and close your jaw a little toward “ih.” Keep the lips relaxed and unrounded the whole time.

Start with a short “aw” shape: mouth a bit open, lips slightly rounded, tongue back. Then glide smoothly to “ih”: tongue moves up and forward, mouth closes a little, lips relax.

Start with an open “ah” shape: jaw open, lips neutral, tongue low. Then glide smoothly upward and slightly backward toward “ʊ”: the jaw closes a little, the tongue rises, and the lips round lightly.

Round your lips, keep the tongue high-back, start with an “o” shape, then glide slightly upward toward a short “ʊ” ending. Keep it smooth and voiced the whole time.

Close your lips, build pressure, then release a quick burst of air without using your voice.

Put both lips together, keep your throat vibrating, then open the lips with a small, soft release, not a big puff of air.

Touch the ridge behind your top teeth with your tongue, stop the air, then release it quickly with no voice.

Raise the tip of your tongue to the ridge just behind your upper teeth, stop the air for a moment, keep your throat vibrating, then release quickly.

Tap your tongue quickly behind your top teeth, like a very fast, soft “d.”

Raise the back of your tongue to touch the roof of your mouth, stop the air, then release it quickly with a small puff and no voice.

Lift the back of your tongue to the soft palate, block the air, then release it while vibrating your voice.

Place your upper teeth lightly on your lower lip, then push air through. Keep it voiceless with just air and no vibration.

Touch your bottom lip to your top teeth and push air through while turning your voice on. It should sound like a soft buzzing: “vvvv”.

Put the tip of your tongue lightly between your teeth, or just against the upper front teeth, and blow air through the small gap. Keep your lips relaxed and your throat quiet, with no vibration.

Put your tongue lightly between your teeth, push air through, and turn your voice on.

Keep your tongue close to the ridge behind your teeth, don’t touch it, and push air through a narrow gap. Keep it voiceless and let it hiss.

Bring your tongue close to the ridge behind your teeth without touching it, push air through, and turn your voice on so it vibrates.

Raise your tongue slightly back behind the ridge, round your lips a bit, and push air out softly with no voice.

Raise your tongue slightly behind the alveolar ridge, keep a narrow gap, push air through, and turn on your voice.

Open your throat and push air out without using your voice, like a soft breath, while already shaping your mouth for the next vowel.

Put the front of your tongue just behind the ridge behind your top teeth, stop the air for a moment, then release it into a short sh sound. Keep it voiceless and make it one smooth sound: /tʃ/.

Put the front of your tongue just behind the ridge behind your top teeth, stop the air for a moment, then release it into a soft zh sound while keeping your voice on. It’s the j sound in job.

Close both lips, turn on your voice, and let the air come out through your nose. It should feel like a smooth hum: “mmmm.”

Touch your tongue just behind your top teeth and let the air go through your nose while vibrating your voice.

Raise the back of your tongue like you are starting a /g/, keep it there, and let the sound go through your nose while your voice vibrates.

Put the tip of your tongue just behind your upper front teeth, keep the middle of your mouth open, and let the air flow around the sides of your tongue while your voice is on.

Raise your tongue toward the roof of your mouth without touching it, keep it controlled, slightly round your lips, and let your voice flow smoothly.

Raise the middle of your tongue close to the roof of your mouth without touching it, and let your voice flow smoothly, like quickly starting an ee sound and sliding into a vowel.

Round your lips like you are about to say oo, raise the back of your tongue slightly, and let your voice flow smoothly into the next vowel.