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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: β€œboy”
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: β€œdog”
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: β€œgo”
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: β€œkey”
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: β€œpen”
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: β€œtime”
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: β€œchair”
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 (/Κƒ/) as the tongue pulls back slightly.
Γ°
Γ°
Example: this
Say: β€œthis”
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: β€œfun”
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: β€œhat”
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
dΚ’
Example: job
Say: β€œjob”
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: β€œsee”
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.
Κƒ
Κƒ
Example: she
Say: β€œshe”
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.
Κƒ
Κƒ
Example: she
Say: β€œshe”
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: β€œvery”
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: β€œzoo”
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.
Κ’
Κ’
Example: vision
Say: β€œvision”
The ZH sound is a voiced postalveolar fricative, the voiced counterpart to the SH sound (/Κƒ/). It is made in the same mouth position as SH, but with vocal cord vibration.
Κ’
Κ’
Example: vision
Say: β€œvision”
The ZH sound is a voiced postalveolar fricative, the voiced counterpart to the SH sound (/Κƒ/). It is made in the same mouth position as SH, but with vocal cord vibration.
ΞΈ
ΞΈ
Example: think
Say: β€œthink”
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: β€œlight”
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: β€œman”
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: β€œno”
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: β€œred”
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
dΚ’
Example: job
Say: β€œjob”
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: β€œway”
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.
Consonant Sounds Pronunciation Practice | Learn English Sounds