Would you believe me if I told you there is only one way of pronouncing each vowel? Didn’t think so! Vowels are difficult, even us natives have trouble pronouncing them. There are many different vowel sounds for each vowel, confusing, hey?

 

Luckily for you, I’ve pulled together some hot tips on vowel pronunciation for you to browse through. Before we begin… do you actually know what a vowel is? If not, I’ll tell you.

what is a vowel

A vowel is a sound made that doesn’t have a lot of constriction in the vocal tract. The vocal tract spans from the nose to the vocal cords and includes the lips, mouth, tongue, and throat. Simply put, vowels are the following letters from the alphabet: A, E, I, O and U. You can in fact say all the vowels without moving your mouth or tongue, try it out and see.

 

The remaining letters of the alphabet are called consonants.

what is a vowel
consonants and vowels

long and short vowel sounds

Vowel sounds are divided into 2 categories – long and short vowel sounds. Here’s some examples.

Long vowel sounds

  • A – fame, game
  • E – been, team
  • I – giant, time
  • O –  bingo, boy
  • U – flu, tune

Short vowel sounds

  • A – at, cat, say
  • E – bed, red, ready
  • I – fit, sit, mitten
  • O – dog, fog, soggy
  • U – but, must, trust
long and short vowel sounds

most common ways of pronouncing vowels

Let’s take a look at some of the most common ways we pronounce each vowel.

A – short vowel sounds

Pronunciation 1

examples – apple, animal, android, and, aunt, band, bat, camera, castle, fat, glass, handbag, January, landlady
pronunciation tips – Sounds like you are screaming ahhhhhhhh. It`s pronounced from deep in the back of your throat.

Short vowel sound A pronunciation chart with example words and pronunciation tips

Pronunciation 2

examples – any, anybody, anymore, anyone, anything, bet, pen, many, said
pronunciation tips – Sounds like the letter N. It’s a short vowel sound and is pronounced through the middle part of your mouth.

Short vowel sound A pronunciation guide with example words and pronunciation tips

Pronunciation 3

examples – a, amuse, annoy, available, company, gorilla, pizza, sofa, Victoria, zebra
pronunciation tips – Sounds like you are thinking and saying ummm.

Short vowel sound A pronunciation guide with example words and pronunciation tips.

A – long vowel sounds

Pronunciation 4

examples – a, Amy, angel, April, ate, case, fake, fame, May, play, say, tame, taste
pronunciation tips – Sounds like the letter A. It`s pronounced from deep in the back of your throat.

Long vowel sound A pronunciation guide with example words and pronunciation tips.

Pronunciation 5

examples – audio, August, ball, call, fall, talk, taller, water
pronunciation tips – Comes from deep in the back of your throat, it`s a voiced sound and it rhymes with `awe`.

Long vowel sound A pronunciation guide with example words and pronunciation tips.

Pronunciation 6

examples – arm, art, artist, cart, carpet, fart, March, park, Stuart
pronunciation tips – Followed by an `r`, it`s like you are saying `ahhhh` to a cute baby.

Long vowel sound A pronunciation guide with example words and pronunciation tips.

E – short vowel sounds

Pronunciation 1

examples – bet, December, egg, every, elephant, exercise, end, extreme, energy, February, fed, hello, September
pronunciation tips – Sounds like `eh`. It’s a short vowel sound and is pronounced through the middle part of your mouth.

short vowel sound e chart with pronunciation tips and example words

E – long vowel sounds

Pronunciation 2

examples – agree, been, compete, east, either, even, eleven, green, keep, me, week
pronunciation tips – Sounds like the letter E, it’s a long vowel sound that is pronounced through the front of your mouth.

long vowel sound e chart with pronunciation tips and example words

Pronunciation 3

examples – adverb, better, dinner, earth, her, herb, letter, power, summer, spider
pronunciation tips – When followed by an `r` it sounds like `errr`. It`s pronounced from deep in the back of your throat. It’s a long vowel sound.

long vowel sound e with r pronunciation chart with examples

I – short vowel sounds

Pronunciation 1

examples – bit, chicken, city, drink, give, gravity, hill, igloo, impossible, in, irresponsible, lip, sick
pronunciation tips – Sounds like `ih` (like `it`), it’s a short vowel sound. This includes words ending in ‘ing’.

short vowel sound i chart with pronunciation tips and example words

I – long vowel sounds

Pronunciation 2

examples – aisle, crime, diet, dinosaur, drive, giant, fight, I, ice, item, island, library, line, pie, sight, wine
pronunciation tips – Sounds like the letter i, it`s a long vowel sound. This includes words with i + gh and i + consonant + e.

long vowel sound i chart with pronunciation tips and example words

O – short vowel sounds

Pronunciation 1

examples – blood, onion, opinion, opponent, other, police, son
pronunciation tips – Sounds like uh oh! It’s a short vowel sound.

A colourful educational slide explaining short vowel sounds for the letter "O". It includes a table with example words such as "blood", "onion", and "opinion", alongside pronunciation tips. The slide also highlights that the "o" in "onion" is pronounced like "yun". There are engaging graphics, including a police officer, an onion, and a splatter of blood.

Pronunciation 2

examples – cod, cop, dog, hot, lobster, object, October, odd, of, off often, on, opposite, orange, ox, produce
pronunciation tips – Sounds like the `o` in `on`. It’s a short vowel sound.

An educational slide explaining short vowel sounds for the letter "O". It features a table with example words like "cod", "dog", "hot", and "orange", along with pronunciation tips. The slide mentions that the "o" in these words sounds like the "o" in "on". Illustrated with a cartoon dog, a lobster, and an orange for engagement.

Pronunciation 3

examples – once, one, oneself
pronunciation tips – Sounds like a W. It’s a short vowel sound.

An educational slide about short vowel sounds for the letter "O". It includes a table with example words like "once", "one", and "oneself", along with pronunciation tips stating that the "o" in these words sounds like a "w".

O – long vowel sounds

Pronunciation 4

examples – cold, fold, goal, hole, old, toe, told, scaffold, soldier
pronunciation tips – Sounds like `oh no`. It’s a long vowel sound which comes from the back of your throat.

vowel sounds - O (long vowel sound)

Pronunciation 5

examples – boil, boy, enjoy, join, joy, noise, oil, oyster, soil, toilet, toy, voice
pronunciation tips – Sounds like `oi`. It’s a long vowel sound.

vowel sounds - O (long vowel sound)

Pronunciation 6

examples – bingo, crow, ego, go, hello, hippo, oath, ocean, ok, November, only, so
pronunciation tips – Sounds like the letter O. It’s a long vowel sound.

vowel sounds - O (long vowel sound)

Pronunciation 7

examples – boo, canoe, do, kangaroo, loo, moo, poo, to, two, who, you, zoo
pronunciation tips – Sounds like `you`. It’s a long vowel sound.

vowel sounds - O (long vowel sound)

Pronunciation 8

examples – allow, brown, cow, eyebrow, house, how, now, vow
pronunciation tips – Sounds like you’re saying  `aww’ in pain. It’s a long vowel sound.

vowel sounds - O (long vowel sound)

U – short vowel sounds

Pronunciation 1

examples – cup, drum, fun, just, much, numb, run, summer, umbrella, ugly, umpire, undo, up, us
pronunciation tips – Sounds like the `u` in `up`. It’s a short vowel sound.

Short vowel sound 'U' chart with example words and pronunciation tips for English learners.

Pronunciation 2

examples – bull, butcher, bush, cushion, full, pull, push put, sugar
pronunciation tips – Sounds like the short ‘oo’ in ‘book’. It’s a short vowel sound.

Short vowel sound 'U' chart with example words and pronunciation tips, explaining the 'oo' sound as in 'book' for English learners.

U – long vowel sounds

Pronunciation 3

examples – communicate, humid, July, June, Tuesday, Tunisia, union, unicorn, uniform, university, usually
pronunciation tips – Sounds like the letter U. It’s a long vowel sound.

Long vowel sound 'U' chart with example words and pronunciation tips for English learners.

Pronunciation 4

examples – Sounds like the letter U. It’s a long vowel sound.
pronunciation tips – Sounds like `oo`. It`s a long vowel sound.

vowel sounds - U (long vowel sound)

Pronunciation 5

examples – burger, hurdle, surf, turn, urn, urgent, urban
pronunciation tips – Sounds like `er`. It`s a long vowel sound and occurs when an `r` follows a `u`.

vowel sounds - U (long vowel sound)

rules for pronouncing syllables

There are some rules you can learn which tell you how a word/syllable should be pronounced.  Decide which parts of the word are stressed.
Find the correct slide below for your word and apply the rules to each syllable.

Try and learn this list if you can.

rules for pronouncing vowels
  • Each syllable must have a vowel or vowel sound (this can include y and w).
rules for pronouncing vowels - each syllable must have a vowel or vowel sound
  • If there is no stress on a syllable, the vowel is short and not emphasized (schwa sound).
rules for pronouncing vowels - schwa sound
  • If there is stress on a syllable, the vowel is long and defined.
rules for pronouncing vowels - If there is stress on a syllable the vowel is long and defined

Let’s take a closer look at some of the rules to help you with your pronunciation.

rules for pronouncing vowels list
rules for pronouncing vowels list

rule – If there`s only one syllable and one vowel in a word and it`s anywhere BUT the end, it’s usually short.
examples – act, bed, bin, fat, fish, lit, sit, spit, sun, Tim

rules for pronouncing vowels

rule – If there`s one vowel at the end, the sound is long.
examples – be, go, he, no, she, to

rules for pronouncing vowels

rule – If there`s an `e` at the end, it`s silent and the other vowel is long (CVCE).
examples – cape, gate, hate, hole, make, rope, time, use

rules for pronouncing vowels

rule – If there are two vowels in one syllable, the first is pronounced long and the second is silent (usually).
examples – boat, cheat, gleam, leaf, mean, rain, seal, train

rules for pronouncing vowels

rule – If a vowel precedes a double consonant (same letter), the sound is short. These words need to be split between the consonants.
examples – addition, apple, dinner, happy, manner, pull, summer, well

rules for pronouncing vowels

rule – If a word has a double vowel (same letter), the sound is short (this doesn’t include the `oo` sound).
examples – book, foot, greet, meet, peek, sleep

rules for pronouncing vowels

rule – If a vowel precedes a single consonant in the same or next syllable, it`s short.
examples – credit, finish, hotel, music, robot, water

rules for pronouncing vowels

rule – If a consonant follows a vowel in the middle of a word, it joins the next syllable. The vowel at the end of the syllable is pronounced long.
examples – di-vide, fa-mous, pa-per, lo-cate, o-pen, pro-vide, re-view

rules for pronouncing vowels

rule – If two consonants follow a vowel in the middle, one is pronounced at the end of the first syllable, the other at the beginning of the next.
examples – bas-ket, con-fuse, mis-take, sil-ver, sub-ject

rules for pronouncing vowels

pronouncing ‘e’ and ‘i’

The vowels ‘e’ and ‘i’ can be pronounced in many ways. It can be hard to decide how they should be pronounced. Scroll through the slides below and practice saying the words.

pronouncing ‘e’ and ‘i’ - words beginning with d
pronouncing ‘e’ and ‘i’ - words beginning with di
pronouncing ‘e’ and ‘i’ - words beginning with e
pronouncing ‘e’ and ‘i’ - words beginning with e1
pronouncing ‘e’ and ‘i’ - words beginning with f
pronouncing ‘e’ and ‘i’ - words beginning with i
pronouncing ‘e’ and ‘i’ - words beginning with p
pronouncing ‘e’ and ‘i’ - words beginning with r
pronouncing ‘e’ and ‘i’ - speaking practice

Pronouncing ‘u’

Check out these nice little tips. for pronouncing ‘u’.

If the pronunciation is `you`, we use the article `a`. e.g. A useless person. Common words include unit, united, useful, usually and utilise.

sounds of vowel u - you

If the pronunciation is `yer`, we use the article `a`. e.g. There’s a urinal in the men’s toilet. Common words include uranium, urinal, urine and Uranus.

sounds of vowel u - yer

If the pronunciation is `er`, we use the article `an`. e.g. There’s an urn on the table. Common words include urban, urchin, urge, urgent and urn.

sounds of vowel u - er

If the pronunciation is `uh`, we use the article `an`. e.g. There’s an umbrella on the table. Common words include ugly, umbrella, under, unless unhappy and upon.

sounds of vowel u - uh

‘a’ ‘o’ and ‘u’ pronunciation practice

Sometimes, there is only a subtle difference between the vowel sounds. It is important to be able to distinguish between them as similar words exist in English. Read out the tables below, you can use my mouth pictures as a guide.

vowel pronunciation a vs o vs u comparison with mouth positions
vowel pronunciation - a vs o vs u
vowel pronunciation - a vs o vs u
vowel pronunciation - a vs o vs u
vowel pronunciation - a vs o vs u
vowel pronunciation - a vs o vs u

pronunciation courses

Teaching pronunciation can be hard when you can’t hear or see mouth movements. I suggest trying one of these courses to really get those vowels in order.

Did you enjoy this page about vowel pronunciation? If you like learning about English pronunciation, head to my tips and tricks section for more.