The English language uses the Latin alphabet, consisting of 26 letters. Each letter can represent one or more sounds (phonemes), and understanding these is essential for reading, writing, and pronunciation.

1. The 26 Letters of the Alphabet

Here is the full list of the English alphabet:

• A a
• B b
• C c
• D d
• E e
• F f
• G g
• H h
• I i
• J j
• K k
• L l
• M m
• N n
• O o
• P p
• Q q
• R r
• S s
• T t
• U u
• V v
• W w
• X x
• Y y
• Z z

2. Vowels and Consonants

Letters in the alphabet are divided into two groups:

• Vowels: A, E, I, O, U (and sometimes Y)
• Consonants: The remaining 21 letters

3. Vowel Sounds

Each vowel can produce multiple sounds, depending on its position and surrounding letters.

A

• Short A: /æ/ – cat, hat, map
• Long A: /eɪ/ – cake, late, rain

E

• Short E: /ɛ/ – bed, pen, red
• Long E: /iː/ – he, see, me

I

• Short I: /ɪ/ – sit, hit, miss
• Long I: /aɪ/ – bike, time, high

O

• Short O: /ɒ/ or /ɑː/ – hot, dog, rock
• Long O: /oʊ/ – go, nose, rope

U

• Short U: /ʌ/ – cup, sun, luck
• Long U: /juː/ – use, cute, music

Y (as a vowel)

• /aɪ/ – my, cry, fly
• /ɪ/ – happy, party, baby

4. Consonant Sounds

Consonants are produced by obstructing the airflow in some way. Here are common consonant sounds with examples:

• /b/ – bat, big, cab
• /d/ – dog, bed, red
• /f/ – fish, fun, leaf
• /g/ – go, gate, bag
• /h/ – hat, hope, hello
• /j/ – jam, joke, juice
• /k/ – kite, king, back
• /l/ – let, lamp, ball
• /m/ – man, mother, time
• /n/ – no, name, run
• /p/ – pen, pet, cup
• /r/ – red, run, car
• /s/ – see, sing, pass
• /t/ – top, tree, boat
• /v/ – van, voice, give
• /w/ – we, wall, win
• /z/ – zoo, zip, buzz

5. Digraphs and Blends

Sometimes two letters come together to make one sound.

Common Digraphs

• ch – /tʃ/ as in chair, cheese
• sh – /ʃ/ as in shop, shell
• th – /θ/ or /ð/ as in think, this
• ph – /f/ as in phone, elephant
• wh – /w/ as in what, when

Blends

• bl – black, blue
• gr – green, grow
• st – stop, star

6. Silent Letters

Some letters are written but not pronounced:

• k in knife, knee
• w in wrist, write
• b in thumb, doubt

7. Conclusion

The English alphabet is simple in form but rich in sounds. Learning the letters and their possible pronunciations is a foundation for mastering English reading and speaking.

Practice by reading words out loud, listening to native speakers, and noticing how different letters and combinations change sounds in different words.