English Pronunciation · Sounds

English Sounds: Practice from Start to Finish

The key English consonants – TH, V, W, P/T/K, D, Z, N/NG, SH, CH, J, R, L and H – with how to make them, minimal pairs, words in every position and practice sentences. British English throughout.

Die wichtigsten englischen Laute: Bildung, Minimalpaare, Wörter und Übungssätze – in britischem Englisch.

  • 15 sound groups
  • Minimal pairs
  • Start · middle · end
  • Tips for German speakers
  • 10-question quiz

1 Warm-up: Breath, Voice and Clarity

Breathe

Breathe low into your stomach area, not your shoulders. Steady breath gives steady sound.

Warm up

Hum gently, then do lip trills (“brrr”) for 30 seconds to relax lips and voice.

Articulate

Read a tongue twister slowly, then faster: She sells seashells by the seashore.

For more: Voice Warm-up · Articulation Exercises.

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2 Vowels and the IPA

The International Phonetic Alphabet gives every sound one symbol, so you can see exactly how a word is pronounced. Here are the vowel sounds of British English (RP) with a key word for each. Vowels differ in tongue height, front/back position, lip rounding and length (ː = long).

/iː/see
/ɪ/sit
/e/bed
/æ/cat
/ʌ/cup
/ɑː/car
/ɒ/hot
/ɔː/saw
/ʊ/put
/uː/too
/ɜː/bird
/ə/about
/eɪ/day
/aɪ/my
/ɔɪ/boy
/aʊ/now
/əʊ/go
/ɪə/near
/eə/hair
/ʊə/sure
beat /biːt/ – bit /bɪt/long vs short
cat /kæt/ – cot /kɒt/ – cut /kʌt/three different vowels
not /nɒt/ – note /nəʊt/short vowel vs diphthong

Explore all vowels on the British English Vowel Chart and Vowel Phonetic Symbols.

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3 Voiced TH /ð/

Put the tip of your tongue lightly between your teeth (or just behind them) and let air flow out with voice – you should feel a buzz.

Minimal pairs

then – den
they – day
though – dough
breathe – breed

Words

Start

the · this · they · there

Middle

mother · weather · together

End

breathe · smooth · with

Sentences

The weather is better than yesterday.
My brother and father are together.
They breathe in the smooth air.
The small, frequent words – the, this, that, these, those, they, them, there, then – all use voiced /ð/. German speakers often replace it with /d/ or /z/: dis, zis.
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4 Voiceless TH /θ/

Same tongue position as /ð/, but no voice – just a soft stream of air.

Minimal pairs

think – sink
thin – tin
three – tree
path – pass
mouth – mouse

Words

Start

think · three · thank

Middle

nothing · author · method

End

bath · truth · health · month

Sentences

Think before you act.
Thank you for three things.
Tell me the truth about your health.
Real exceptions: in Thomas, Thames, thyme and Thailand, th is pronounced /t/.
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5 V /v/

Top teeth touch the lower lip; push air through with voice.

Minimal pairs

vine – wine
vest – west
van – fan
vote – boat

Words

Start

very · village · value

Middle

river · seven · every

End

love · have · five · leave

Sentences

Very few visitors arrived.
I have visited seven villages.
We leave at five.
Keep final /v/ voiced: leave is not leaf, have is not half.
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6 W /w/

Round your lips (like for oo), then open them quickly. No teeth touch the lip.

Minimal pairs

wine – vine
west – vest
wet – vet
wing – ring
wait – rate

Words

Start

water · we · wonderful · one

Middle

always · sweet · between · quick

Sentences

We went west on Wednesday.
Why wait?
She has a wonderful idea.
German w is /v/, so wine can sound like vine. In words like low, now, flow the letter w is part of the vowel sound – there is no extra consonant.
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7 P, T, K /p t k/

Close the lips (/p/), touch the ridge behind your top teeth (/t/) or raise the back of your tongue (/k/), build up air – then release. At the start of a stressed syllable, add a little puff of air (aspiration): hold a sheet of paper in front of your mouth and watch it move.

Minimal pairs

pin – bin
tin – din
came – game
cap – cab
back – bag

Words

Start

pen · top · key · cat

End

map · cat · book · walk

Sentences

Please pass the paper.
Take your time.
Keep calm and carry on.
At the end of a word, /p t k/ are short and often not released – but they must stay different from /b d g/: cap – cab, back – bag.
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8 The Many Faces of T

British English uses a clear /t/ in careful speech. In everyday speech many British speakers replace /t/ before a consonant with a glottal stop /ʔ/ – a tiny stop in the throat.

Words

Clear /t/

time · table · better · city

Glottal /ʔ/ before a consonant

football · not now · statement · exactly · gently

Glottal before syllabic n

button · kitten · Britain

Sentences

I’ll meet you at the football match.
What are you doing?
The appointment is at two.
The American ‘flap’ T (water → “wadder”, better → “bedder”) is typical of American English, not British. Recognise it – but for British English use a clear /t/ between vowels.
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9 D /d/

Same place as /t/, but with voice and less air.

Minimal pairs

dime – time
down – town
bed – bet
card – cart
ride – write

Words

Start

day · door · dance

Middle

ladder · radio · idea · garden

End

bad · said · friend · played

Sentences

Don’t worry.
The food was good.
My friend is tired.
German devoices final consonants (Hund = /hʊnt/). In English, bed must not sound like bet. Tip: make the vowel slightly longer before /d/. See also -ED endings.
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10 Z /z/

Like /s/, but with voice – a buzzing bee.

Minimal pairs

zoo – Sue
zip – sip
rise – rice
eyes – ice
prize – price

Words

Start

zero · zoo · zone

Middle

busy · lazy · amazing · music

End

is · was · has · his · quiz · cheese

Sentences

She is amazing.
He has two dogs.
Who won the prize?
The very common words is, was, has, his, as, does all end in /z/, not /s/. And watch the opposite trap: English sun, so, see start with /s/ – not with the German /z/ of Sonne.
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11 N /n/ and NG /ŋ/

/n/: tongue tip on the ridge behind your top teeth. /ŋ/: the back of the tongue touches the soft palate (like German Ding). Both let air out through the nose.

Minimal pairs

sin – sing
thin – thing
ran – rang
win – wing
ton – tongue

Words

/ŋ/ only

sing · singer · morning · long · hanging

/ŋɡ/ – with a g

finger · longer · English · angry · hungry

Syllabic /n/

button · sudden · listen · garden · nation · season

Sentences

She’s singing all morning.
He’s a strong swimmer.
My finger is longer than yours.
Don’t add /k/ or /g/ after -ing: sing, not *sink* or *singg*. But finger, longer, English do have a /g/ – unlike German Finger! Endings like -ion, -on, -en usually sound /ən/ or just /n/: season /ˈsiːzn/.
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12 SH /ʃ/

Tongue a little further back than for /s/, lips slightly rounded and pushed forward.

Minimal pairs

she – see
ship – sip
shoe – Sue
shell – sell

Words

Start

shop · should · sure · sugar

Middle

fashion · ocean · special · mission

End

wash · finish · fresh

Sentences

She should wash the dishes.
Sure, I’ll finish it.
This fashion is special.
Many spellings: sh (ship), ti (nation), ci (special), ss (mission), s (sugar, sure), ch (chef, machine). See TI as SH.
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13 CH /tʃ/

Start with /t/, then release straight into /ʃ/ – one quick sound.

Minimal pairs

chip – ship
chop – shop
cheap – sheep
watch – wash
match – mash

Words

Start

chair · cheese · change

Middle

teacher · kitchen · picture

End

lunch · watch · beach

Sentences

Choose the cheese.
The teacher is in the kitchen.
Let’s watch a film after lunch.
Spellings: ch (chair), tch (watch), t + u (picture, nature, future). Careful: chef and machine have /ʃ/.
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14 J /dʒ/

Like /tʃ/, but with voice: start with /d/ and release into /ʒ/.

Minimal pairs

jet – yet
jam – yam
joke – yolk
Jess – yes
badge – batch
ridge – rich

Words

Start

job · just · gym · giant

Middle

major · project · magic · enjoy

End

age · bridge · large · change

Sentences

Just join us for dinner.
The project manager enjoyed the job.
Change the page.
German j is /j/, so job can sound like *yob*. Spellings: j, g before e/i/y (giant, gym – but not always: get, give), dge (bridge), ge (age). See G and J.
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15 R /r/

Curl the tongue tip up towards the roof of your mouth without touching it; lips slightly rounded. No friction in the throat – not the German R.

Minimal pairs

right – light
pray – play
grass – glass
crown – clown
ring – wing

Words

R is pronounced (before a vowel)

red · river · very · sorry · around

R is silent (British English)

car · star · teacher · work · bird

Sentences

Rain is refreshing.
The story is very interesting.
Where is the car? It’s far away.
In British English a written r is only pronounced before a vowel. So teacher is /ˈtiːtʃə/ and car is /kɑː/ – but car is links with an /r/: ca‿r‿is. See The English R.
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16 L /l/

Tongue tip on the ridge behind your top teeth; air flows around the sides. Before a vowel it’s a clear L (light); after a vowel or before a consonant it’s a dark L, with the back of the tongue raised (ball, milk).

Minimal pairs

light – night
low – no
lock – rock
collect – correct

Words

Clear L

light · love · lemon · family

Dark L

ball · cool · milk · help

Syllabic L

bottle · little · people · table

Silent L

calm · half · talk · could · salmon

Sentences

Look at the lovely lake.
I feel well.
A little bottle of milk.
German has only a clear L. Practise the dark L at the end of words: ball, feel, people. See Dark L.
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17 H /h/

Just breath – an open throat, like breathing on glasses to clean them.

Minimal pairs

hat – at
heart – art
hair – air
high – I
hold – old

Words

Start

house · happy · holiday

Middle

behind · perhaps · unhappy

Silent H

hour · honest · honour · heir

Sentences

Hello, how are you?
He has a house in Hamburg.
It’s an honour to wait an hour.
In fast speech the weak words him, her, his, have often lose their /h/: tell him → “tell‿im”. In stressed words, always say the /h/.
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18 Next Steps: Stress and Intonation

Clear sounds are the foundation. To sound natural, combine them with the right stress and intonation.

Word stress

Which syllable is strong: PHOtograph – phoTOgrapher.

Start here →

Sentence stress & rhythm

Which words carry the beat of a sentence.

Learn more →

Intonation

How the voice rises and falls to show meaning and feeling.

Learn more →
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Quiz: English Sounds

Say the words aloud first, then choose.

Score: 0 / 0
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Go deeper Difficult Sounds PracticeTH SoundsS and SHEnglish RFinal Voiced ConsonantsEnglish ConsonantsMinimal Pairs
Hear it. Feel it. Say it. Use it.
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