Consonant Sounds Pronunciation
Practice speaking English consonant sounds aloud. Click on any sound below to start practicing with real-time feedback.
Plosive Consonants
b
b
Example: boy
Say: “boy”
The B sound is a voiced bilabial stop consonant. It is made the same way as P, but with the vocal cords vibrating. Press both lips together to stop the airflow, then release them while vibrating your vocal cords.
d
d
Example: dog
Say: “dog”
The D sound is a voiced alveolar stop consonant. It is made by briefly stopping the airflow by pressing the tip of the tongue against the ridge behind the upper teeth, then releasing it while vibrating the vocal cords.
g
g
Example: go
Say: “go”
The G sound is a voiced velar stop consonant. It is made similarly to the K sound, but with vocal cord vibration.
k
k
Example: key
Say: “key”
The K sound is a voiceless velar stop consonant. It is made by pressing the back of your tongue against the soft palate (velum) and releasing it with a puff of air.
p
p
Example: pen
Say: “pen”
The P sound is a voiceless bilabial stop consonant. It is made by briefly stopping the airflow by pressing both lips together, then releasing them with a small puff of air.
t
t
Example: time
Say: “time”
The voiceless alveolar stop sound heard at the beginning of "time" or end of "cat". In American English, this sound has several variants depending on word position and surrounding sounds.
Fricative Consonants
ch
tʃ
Example: chair
Say: “chair”
The CH sound is a voiceless post-alveolar affricate. It starts like a T sound (/t/) with the tongue tip at the alveolar ridge, but then quickly releases into an SH sound (/ʃ/) as the tongue pulls back slightly.
ð
ð
Example: this
Say: “this”
The voiced TH sound is made by placing your tongue between your teeth and vibrating your vocal cords while pushing air out. Common in function words and between vowels in English.
f
f
Example: fun
Say: “fun”
The F sound is a voiceless labiodental fricative consonant. It is made by pressing your upper teeth against your lower lip and forcing air out between them.
h
h
Example: hat
Say: “hat”
The H sound is a voiceless glottal fricative. It's essentially a whispered vowel sound, made by pushing air through the open glottis (the space between the vocal cords) without vibration.
j
dʒ
Example: job
Say: “job”
The J sound is a voiced post-alveolar affricate. It starts like a D sound (/d/) with the tongue tip at the alveolar ridge, but then quickly releases into a ZH sound (/ʒ/) as the tongue pulls back slightly. It's the voiced counterpart to the CH sound /tʃ/.
s
s
Example: see
Say: “see”
The S sound is a voiceless alveolar fricative. It is made by forcing air through a narrow channel formed by the tip of the tongue and the alveolar ridge.
ʃ
ʃ
Example: she
Say: “she”
The SH sound is a voiceless postalveolar fricative. It is made by bringing the blade of the tongue close to the area just behind the alveolar ridge and forcing air through, creating a hushing sound.
ʃ
ʃ
Example: she
Say: “she”
The SH sound is a voiceless postalveolar fricative. It is made by bringing the blade of the tongue close to the area just behind the alveolar ridge and forcing air through, creating a hushing sound.
v
v
Example: very
Say: “very”
The V sound is a voiced labiodental fricative consonant. It is made the same way as F, but with the vocal cords vibrating. Press your upper teeth against your lower lip and force air out between them while vibrating your vocal cords.
z
z
Example: zoo
Say: “zoo”
The Z sound is a voiced alveolar fricative. It is made in the same mouth position as the S sound, but with the vocal cords vibrating.
ʒ
ʒ
Example: vision
Say: “vision”
The ZH sound is a voiced postalveolar fricative, the voiced counterpart to the SH sound (/ʃ/). It is made in the same mouth position as SH, but with vocal cord vibration.
ʒ
ʒ
Example: vision
Say: “vision”
The ZH sound is a voiced postalveolar fricative, the voiced counterpart to the SH sound (/ʃ/). It is made in the same mouth position as SH, but with vocal cord vibration.
θ
θ
Example: think
Say: “think”
The voiceless dental fricative sound heard in words like "think", "thin", and "bath". Air passes between the tongue and teeth creating friction.
Liquids & Nasals
l
l
Example: light
Say: “light”
The L sound is a voiced alveolar lateral approximant. Airflow is blocked centrally by the tongue tip touching the alveolar ridge, but escapes around the sides of the tongue.
m
m
Example: man
Say: “man”
The M sound is a voiced bilabial nasal consonant. Airflow is blocked by closing the lips but escapes through the nose while the vocal cords vibrate.
n
n
Example: no
Say: “no”
The N sound is a voiced alveolar nasal consonant. Airflow is blocked by the tongue tip touching the alveolar ridge (behind the top teeth) but escapes through the nose while the vocal cords vibrate.
r
r
Example: red
Say: “red”
The General American R is a voiced post-alveolar or retroflex approximant, often called a liquid. Unlike many languages, the tongue tip does NOT tap or trill. The sound is produced by either bunching the back/middle of the tongue towards the palate or curling the tongue tip back slightly (retroflex), with air flowing over the center of the tongue.
Approximants
j
dʒ
Example: job
Say: “job”
The J sound is a voiced post-alveolar affricate. It starts like a D sound (/d/) with the tongue tip at the alveolar ridge, but then quickly releases into a ZH sound (/ʒ/) as the tongue pulls back slightly. It's the voiced counterpart to the CH sound /tʃ/.
w
w
Example: way
Say: “way”
The W sound is a voiced labio-velar approximant. It's like a quick glide starting with rounded lips (similar to the OO vowel /u/) and moving quickly away from that position.
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How to practice individual English sounds
Speech recognition gives you a quick score, but the score is only useful if you know what to change. Treat each card as a short experiment: listen, adjust one thing about your mouth position, record again, and compare. Small, deliberate changes improve a sound faster than many fast repetitions.
1
Listen to the model three times
Focus first on length, then on mouth shape, then on whether the sound is voiced. Hearing the target clearly before you speak makes your first attempt far more accurate.
2
Change one thing at a time
If your score is low, adjust only the tongue, the lips, or the length on the next attempt. Changing everything at once makes it hard to learn which movement made the difference.
3
Lock it in with real words
When a sound scores well, say three new words that contain it, then use one of them in a sentence. This moves the sound from a drill into your everyday vocabulary.
A focused five-minute drill
- 1.Pick one sound card.
- 2.Listen to the model three times.
- 3.Record five attempts, changing one thing each time.
- 4.Use the sound in a short sentence.