English Vowel Sounds

sit · fish · big · busy · women

• The kid will sit with me.
• Big fish swim in the river.
• He hit the ball.

Shorter and more relaxed than /iː/ – like the i in German bitte. Note the spellings in busy and women.

bed · set · red · friend · said

• I will set the table.
• The hen laid two eggs.
• Can you see my red bag?

Close to German Bett. Keep it short.

cat · bag · man · apple · black

• The cat is on the mat.
• The black cat sat on my hat.
• I just saw a bat. (just = /ʌ/)

Drop the jaw more than for /e/. German speakers often say bed for bad – practise the pair.

cup · sun · mum · love · money

• Please cut the bread.
• The sun comes up early in summer.
• I hugged my mum.

Open and short, lips relaxed. Often spelt o: love, money, come, son.

hot · dog · stop · what · want

• The coffee is too hot.
• Stop the clock!
• What a lovely dog!

A British vowel – American English usually has /ɑː/ here. Similar to the o in German doch.

book · put · full · could · woman

• The book is full of stories.
• Please put that bag on the shelf.
• Could you look at my foot?

Short and relaxed. Don’t lengthen it: full /fʊl/ – fool /fuːl/, pull – pool.

about · sofa · teacher · banana

• I’d like a cup of tea.
• The teacher is about to start.

The schwa – the most common English vowel. It only appears in unstressed syllables. The schwa →

see · tree · key · people · piece

• I can see the tree.
• Can you see the bee?
• Do you have the key?

Long, with spread lips – smile slightly. Contrast with /ɪ/: sheep – ship, leave – live.

car · father · half · start · bath

• Is that your father’s car?
• Is she in the car?
• I’d like half, please.

In British English the r is silent: /kɑː/. British bath, after, can’t, dance also use /ɑː/ (American: /æ/).

door · floor · four · saw · water

• Please shut the door.
• The floor is clean.
• Throw away the apple core.

Round the lips. Many spellings: or, oor, our, aw, al, ough – sport, door, four, saw, talk, thought.

blue · food · two · shoe · juice

• The sky is blue today.
• Do you have any new shoes?
• I’d like some fruit juice.

Long, with rounded lips. Don’t confuse it with /ʊ/: good and book are short.

bird · word · first · learn · work

• The bird came first.
• Don’t hurt her feelings.
• I work on Thursday.

No r in British English: /bɜːd/. Like German ö, but without rounding the lips. The nurse vowel →

day · name · rain · great · eight

• The train is late today.
• They stayed for eight days.

Glide clearly – a pure /eː/ as in German See sounds foreign.

my · time · night · buy · eye

• I like to ride my bike at night.
• What time is it?

Close to German ei in mein.

boy · toy · coin · noise · enjoy

• The boy enjoyed his new toy.
• Please don’t make a noise.

Close to German eu in neu.

go · home · road · know · show

• We will go to the park today.
• Can you see the red bow?
• I will know the answer soon.

British /əʊ/ starts in the centre of the mouth (American: /oʊ/). German speakers often use a pure /oː/: practise note vs not. Not vs note →

now · house · town · cloud · down

• How about now?
• There’s a brown house in the town.

Close to German au in Haus.

here · hear · clear · beer · idea

• I can hear the music from here.
• Can you clear the table for me?
• Is there a café near here?

No r at the end in British English: /hɪə/.

care · share · chair · there · wear

• Please take care of the puppy.
• I will share my sweets with you.
• Where is the chair?

Many younger British speakers now say a long /ɛː/ instead: /kɛː/. Both are fine.

pure · sure · tour · cure

• The pure love of a child is precious.
• You can surely find the lost key.
• We went on a tour of the city.

The rarest English vowel. Many speakers now say /ɔː/ instead: sure /ʃɔː/, tour /tɔː/.