🔊 English Pronunciation
In this lesson you will learn some of the most important sounds and pronunciation patterns in English. Listen to each example, then try saying it aloud yourself. Each English word or phrase includes translations in Spanish, French, German, Italian, and Portuguese.
🟢 English Vowel Sounds
🔤 Short A
A short vowel sound heard in words like cat, hat, and map.
Example: Cat
🇪🇸 Spanish: Gato
🇫🇷 French: Chat
🇩🇪 German: Katze
🇮🇹 Italian: Gatto
🇵🇹 Portuguese: Gato
A short vowel sound heard in words like cat, hat, and map.
Example: Cat
🇪🇸 Spanish: Gato
🇫🇷 French: Chat
🇩🇪 German: Katze
🇮🇹 Italian: Gatto
🇵🇹 Portuguese: Gato
🔤 Long A
A long vowel sound often written with “a_e”, “ai”, or “ay”.
Example: Cake
🇪🇸 Spanish: Pastel
🇫🇷 French: Gâteau
🇩🇪 German: Kuchen
🇮🇹 Italian: Torta
🇵🇹 Portuguese: Bolo
A long vowel sound often written with “a_e”, “ai”, or “ay”.
Example: Cake
🇪🇸 Spanish: Pastel
🇫🇷 French: Gâteau
🇩🇪 German: Kuchen
🇮🇹 Italian: Torta
🇵🇹 Portuguese: Bolo
🔤 Short E
A short, clear vowel sound.
Example: Bed
🇪🇸 Spanish: Cama
🇫🇷 French: Lit
🇩🇪 German: Bett
🇮🇹 Italian: Letto
🇵🇹 Portuguese: Cama
A short, clear vowel sound.
Example: Bed
🇪🇸 Spanish: Cama
🇫🇷 French: Lit
🇩🇪 German: Bett
🇮🇹 Italian: Letto
🇵🇹 Portuguese: Cama
🔤 Long E
A long vowel sound heard in words like see, tree, and green.
Example: See
🇪🇸 Spanish: Ver
🇫🇷 French: Voir
🇩🇪 German: Sehen
🇮🇹 Italian: Vedere
🇵🇹 Portuguese: Ver
A long vowel sound heard in words like see, tree, and green.
Example: See
🇪🇸 Spanish: Ver
🇫🇷 French: Voir
🇩🇪 German: Sehen
🇮🇹 Italian: Vedere
🇵🇹 Portuguese: Ver
🔤 Short I
A short vowel sound that is very common and often difficult for learners.
Example: Sit
🇪🇸 Spanish: Sentarse
🇫🇷 French: S’asseoir
🇩🇪 German: Sitzen
🇮🇹 Italian: Sedersi
🇵🇹 Portuguese: Sentar
A short vowel sound that is very common and often difficult for learners.
Example: Sit
🇪🇸 Spanish: Sentarse
🇫🇷 French: S’asseoir
🇩🇪 German: Sitzen
🇮🇹 Italian: Sedersi
🇵🇹 Portuguese: Sentar
🔤 Long I
A long vowel sound heard in words like time, five, and bike.
Example: Time
🇪🇸 Spanish: Tiempo
🇫🇷 French: Temps
🇩🇪 German: Zeit
🇮🇹 Italian: Tempo
🇵🇹 Portuguese: Tempo
A long vowel sound heard in words like time, five, and bike.
Example: Time
🇪🇸 Spanish: Tiempo
🇫🇷 French: Temps
🇩🇪 German: Zeit
🇮🇹 Italian: Tempo
🇵🇹 Portuguese: Tempo
🟡 Important Consonant Sounds
👅 TH (voiceless)
Put your tongue between your teeth and blow air (no voice).
Example: Think
🇪🇸 Spanish: Pensar
🇫🇷 French: Penser
🇩🇪 German: Denken
🇮🇹 Italian: Pensare
🇵🇹 Portuguese: Pensar
Put your tongue between your teeth and blow air (no voice).
Example: Think
🇪🇸 Spanish: Pensar
🇫🇷 French: Penser
🇩🇪 German: Denken
🇮🇹 Italian: Pensare
🇵🇹 Portuguese: Pensar
👅 TH (voiced)
Same tongue position, but with voice.
Example: This
🇪🇸 Spanish: Este / Esta
🇫🇷 French: Ceci / Celui-ci
🇩🇪 German: Dies
🇮🇹 Italian: Questo
🇵🇹 Portuguese: Este / Esta
Same tongue position, but with voice.
Example: This
🇪🇸 Spanish: Este / Esta
🇫🇷 French: Ceci / Celui-ci
🇩🇪 German: Dies
🇮🇹 Italian: Questo
🇵🇹 Portuguese: Este / Esta
🗣️ R
In many American accents, the tongue curls slightly back without touching the roof of the mouth.
Example: Red
🇪🇸 Spanish: Rojo
🇫🇷 French: Rouge
🇩🇪 German: Rot
🇮🇹 Italian: Rosso
🇵🇹 Portuguese: Vermelho
In many American accents, the tongue curls slightly back without touching the roof of the mouth.
Example: Red
🇪🇸 Spanish: Rojo
🇫🇷 French: Rouge
🇩🇪 German: Rot
🇮🇹 Italian: Rosso
🇵🇹 Portuguese: Vermelho
💧 L
The tip of the tongue touches the ridge behind the upper teeth.
Example: Light
🇪🇸 Spanish: Luz
🇫🇷 French: Lumière
🇩🇪 German: Licht
🇮🇹 Italian: Luce
🇵🇹 Portuguese: Luz
The tip of the tongue touches the ridge behind the upper teeth.
Example: Light
🇪🇸 Spanish: Luz
🇫🇷 French: Lumière
🇩🇪 German: Licht
🇮🇹 Italian: Luce
🇵🇹 Portuguese: Luz
💨 H
Pronounce a light breath of air before the vowel.
Example: Hello
🇪🇸 Spanish: Hola
🇫🇷 French: Bonjour
🇩🇪 German: Hallo
🇮🇹 Italian: Ciao
🇵🇹 Portuguese: Olá
Pronounce a light breath of air before the vowel.
Example: Hello
🇪🇸 Spanish: Hola
🇫🇷 French: Bonjour
🇩🇪 German: Hallo
🇮🇹 Italian: Ciao
🇵🇹 Portuguese: Olá
🐝 V
Upper teeth lightly touch the lower lip + voice.
Example: Very
🇪🇸 Spanish: Muy
🇫🇷 French: Très
🇩🇪 German: Sehr
🇮🇹 Italian: Molto
🇵🇹 Portuguese: Muito
Upper teeth lightly touch the lower lip + voice.
Example: Very
🇪🇸 Spanish: Muy
🇫🇷 French: Très
🇩🇪 German: Sehr
🇮🇹 Italian: Molto
🇵🇹 Portuguese: Muito
👂 Listen to the Difference: Minimal Pairs
🚢 Ship
🐑 Sheep
🐑 Sheep
🪑 Sit
💺 Seat
💺 Seat
👅 Think
💧 Sink
💧 Sink
🪭 Fan
🚐 Van
🚐 Van
🍓 Berry
✅ Very
✅ Very
🏠 Live
🚪 Leave
🚪 Leave
🔴 Word Stress & Intonation
🎵 Two-syllable nouns
Many two-syllable nouns are stressed on the first syllable.
Example: TAble
Example: TEAcher
Many two-syllable nouns are stressed on the first syllable.
Example: TAble
Example: TEAcher
🎵 Two-syllable verbs
Many two-syllable verbs are stressed on the second syllable.
Example: reLAX
Example: deCIDE
Many two-syllable verbs are stressed on the second syllable.
Example: reLAX
Example: deCIDE
⚡ Important content words
In sentences, we stress the important words (nouns, verbs, adjectives) and reduce the small words.
Example: I WANT a CUP of COFfee.
In sentences, we stress the important words (nouns, verbs, adjectives) and reduce the small words.
Example: I WANT a CUP of COFfee.
🌍 Regional Pronunciation
English pronunciation varies across countries and regions. For example, the letter R is pronounced more clearly in American English than in many British accents. The vowel in words like dance or bath also sounds different in the US and the UK.
These differences are a normal part of English, and you do not need to copy every accent to communicate successfully. Clear pronunciation is more important than a perfect regional accent.
These differences are a normal part of English, and you do not need to copy every accent to communicate successfully. Clear pronunciation is more important than a perfect regional accent.
💬 Pronunciation Challenge
🟢 Easy
🍎 Apple
💧 Water
🌞 Happy
🟡 Medium
👅 Thursday
🌍 World
📚 Important
🔴 Challenge
👅 Three thin things
🏡 Rural
☕ Would you like a cup of coffee?
💡 Helpful Tip
Focus on speaking clearly and consistently rather than trying to sound exactly like a native speaker right away. English spelling is not always consistent, so listening carefully and repeating is especially important. Record yourself, compare with the audio, and practice the difficult sounds a little every day.
Don’t worry if your accent is different. Clear pronunciation is more important than sounding exactly like a native speaker.
Don’t worry if your accent is different. Clear pronunciation is more important than sounding exactly like a native speaker.
🏆 Final Practice
Try saying each word or pair aloud before pressing play.
- Think / This
- Ship / Sheep
- Sit / Seat
- Fan / Van
- Berry / Very
- Live / Leave
- World
- Rural
- Three thin things