What are the phonics sounds of each letter?

Tap any card above. Each letter's most common phonics sound plays in American English, with a word that shows it; c and g appear under both of their sounds.

What are alphabet sounds, and are they the same as phonics sounds?

Alphabet sounds is what most parents call the phonics sounds of the letters: /æ/ for a, /b/ for b, not the names. This chart plays all 44 of them.

How many letter sounds are there?

26 letters make about 44 alphabet sounds. Several are written with two letters (sh, ch, th, ng) and most vowel sounds have more than one spelling.

Can I teach phonics sounds if my own English is weak?

Yes. The recording is the model; you tap, listen alongside and say it together. You do not need to study phonics first.

Is eight or nine too late to start phonics sounds?

No. Phonics sounds are learned by repetition, not by age; a nine-year-old gets there with the same two minutes a night.

Are phonics sounds the same as phonemes?

Yes. Phoneme is the linguistics word; phonics programs just say sounds. This chart uses the 44 that most programs teach.

Is this phonics sounds chart free? Can I print it?

Listening is free, with no download and no sign-up. Sign in to save progress across devices. A printable phonics chart is planned.

Does the phonics sounds chart work on a phone?

Yes. The phonics sounds chart and the lessons work on phone, tablet and computer, in the browser.

Why is the phonics sounds chart called DinoSay?

A small dinosaur says the sound first and your child says it back; the site is named after that routine.

Phonics Sounds Chart: Learn 44 Letter Sounds

All 44 phonics sounds, one tap each

English is written with 26 letters but spoken with 44 sounds. The phonics sounds chart above is those 44 sounds, one card each, grouped the way phonics programs teach them: short vowel sounds, long vowel sounds, consonant sounds, the digraph sounds that spell one sound with two letters, and the other vowel sounds in words like book, cow, coin, car and bird. Every sound a phonics program will ask your child for is on this chart.

Tap any card and the recording plays first, in clear American English. Under every sound is a word that shows the letters, so you can see the letter sounds as well as hear them. Consonant sounds, vowel sounds and digraphs all play in the same American English voice; the whole phonics chart runs in the browser, nothing to install.

Short vowel sounds, long vowel sounds, consonant sounds and digraph sounds: the five groups of phonics sounds

Short vowel sounds are the five in cat, bed, sit, hot and cup, where the letter is not saying its own name. Long vowel sounds are the opposite: in cake, feet, bike, boat and cute it does. Those ten letter sounds are where most children start, and where most spelling trouble begins, because English writes the same long vowel sounds several ways.

Consonant sounds are the eighteen single letters with a sound of their own: s, t, p, n, m, d, g, k, r, h, b, f, l, j, v, w, y and z. Digraph sounds are the six that need two letters for one sound: ch, sh, the two th sounds, ng, and the sound in vision. A child with the consonant sounds but not the digraph sounds reads chip as c-h-i-p and stops, so here the digraph sounds sit in their own group, learned as single phonics sounds.

Other vowel sounds are the remaining ten: the short oo in book, ow in cow, oi in coin, the r-shaped vowels in car, corn and bird, and the schwa in banana. Most programs teach these last. Tap any group heading above to hear all of its letter sounds in order.

Learn the phonics sounds together: the recording says it, you both repeat

"Is my own pronunciation right?" Most parents wonder, and most do not know. With this phonics sounds chart it does not matter: the American recording is always the model. Tap the card, listen together, say the sound together. When your child gets it, say "yes, that's it."

Children copy a clear recording faster than any adult, and the recording says the same phonics sound every time, so letter sounds that are easy to mix up, like th, v and w, still come out right. You hear the same recording and say the same sound. Many parents get /θ/ right for the first time here, next to their kid.

How well you speak English has nothing to do with it, and you do not need to study how to teach phonics first. Tap one card tonight and phonics has started, for both of you. A shaky pronunciation is exactly the chance to learn alongside your child: the same sound on the same day.

Alphabet sounds vs letter names: the phonics sounds mix-up that stalls reading

"Ay, bee, see" are letter names. /æ/, /b/, /k/ are letter sounds. Reading uses the sounds: a child who says "see-ay-tee" for cat is naming letters, not reading. Phonics starts with the letter sounds, not the names.

Mix the two and a child gets stuck at "knows the alphabet, can't read a word". Every card on this phonics sounds chart plays the sound, never the name. Keep the alphabet song if your child knows it, and add the letter sounds underneath.

The test at home takes ten seconds. Point at m and ask "what sound?" If the answer is "em", your child has the names. If it is /m/, they have the letter sounds, and blending can start tonight.

Two minutes of phonics sounds a night is enough: Dino says it, your child says it back

Phonics sounds are learned in short repetitions that come back night after night, not in a long class. If thirty-minute sessions ended in tears, stop. Two minutes is enough, and nothing has to be filmed.

On DinoSay the routine is fixed: one of the 44 letter sounds, ten word cards that use it, done. Dino says the word, your child says it back, you tap Perfect or Needs work, and the record shows which letter sounds still need a night or two. You do not need to know how to teach phonics sounds; the routine carries it.

Two minutes works because the thing being learned is small: 44 letter sounds, each a fraction of a second. What makes them stick is the number of nights. Miss a few and come back; coming back counts.

Which phonics sounds trip up learners from your language

Some English letter sounds do not exist in your first language, and those are the ones to practise on purpose. Mandarin speakers often merge the two th sounds with s and z and say v as w; Japanese speakers work on r versus l and final consonants; Korean speakers on f versus p; Spanish speakers on sh versus ch.

"Is eight or nine too late?" No. Pronunciation is set by how many times a child has heard the right sound, not by age. Switch the chart to By mouth position to see where each sound is made. Ten extra nights on four hard letter sounds is worth more than a second pass through all 44.

Before you buy a program, hear the 44 phonics sounds first

Plenty of phonics programs, apps and tutors exist, and you can take your time comparing them. Whatever you choose later, the 44 letter sounds are something you and your child can hear tonight. This phonics sounds chart is free, with no download and no account.

A child who knows the letter sounds moves faster in any program. Sounds first, then materials. Tap, listen, say it together. Tonight.

Phonics sounds: frequently asked questions

What are the phonics sounds of each letter?: Tap any card above. Each letter's most common phonics sound plays in American English, with a word that shows it; c and g appear under both of their sounds.
What are alphabet sounds, and are they the same as phonics sounds?: Alphabet sounds is what most parents call the phonics sounds of the letters: /æ/ for a, /b/ for b, not the names. This chart plays all 44 of them.
How many letter sounds are there?: 26 letters make about 44 alphabet sounds. Several are written with two letters (sh, ch, th, ng) and most vowel sounds have more than one spelling.
Can I teach phonics sounds if my own English is weak?: Yes. The recording is the model; you tap, listen alongside and say it together. You do not need to study phonics first.
Is eight or nine too late to start phonics sounds?: No. Phonics sounds are learned by repetition, not by age; a nine-year-old gets there with the same two minutes a night.
Are phonics sounds the same as phonemes?: Yes. Phoneme is the linguistics word; phonics programs just say sounds. This chart uses the 44 that most programs teach.
Is this phonics sounds chart free? Can I print it?: Listening is free, with no download and no sign-up. Sign in to save progress across devices. A printable phonics chart is planned.
Does the phonics sounds chart work on a phone?: Yes. The phonics sounds chart and the lessons work on phone, tablet and computer, in the browser.
Why is the phonics sounds chart called DinoSay?: A small dinosaur says the sound first and your child says it back; the site is named after that routine.

Consonant sounds (18 phonics sounds)

Digraph sounds (6 phonics sounds)

Short vowel sounds (5 phonics sounds)

Long vowel sounds (5 phonics sounds)

Other vowel sounds (10 phonics sounds)

All 44 phonics sounds, one tap each

Short vowel sounds, long vowel sounds, consonant sounds and digraph sounds: the five groups of phonics sounds

Learn the phonics sounds together: the recording says it, you both repeat

Alphabet sounds vs letter names: the phonics sounds mix-up that stalls reading

Two minutes of phonics sounds a night is enough: Dino says it, your child says it back

Which phonics sounds trip up learners from your language

Before you buy a program, hear the 44 phonics sounds first

Phonics sounds: frequently asked questions

Phonics Sounds Chart: learn all 44 letter sounds together, two minutes a night

Phonics sounds chart: tap a card to hear it

Consonant sounds (18 phonics sounds)

Digraph sounds (6 phonics sounds)

Short vowel sounds (5 phonics sounds)

Long vowel sounds (5 phonics sounds)

Other vowel sounds (10 phonics sounds)

All 44 phonics sounds, one tap each

Short vowel sounds, long vowel sounds, consonant sounds and digraph sounds: the five groups of phonics sounds

Learn the phonics sounds together: the recording says it, you both repeat

Alphabet sounds vs letter names: the phonics sounds mix-up that stalls reading

Two minutes of phonics sounds a night is enough: Dino says it, your child says it back

Which phonics sounds trip up learners from your language

Before you buy a program, hear the 44 phonics sounds first

Phonics sounds: frequently asked questions