English orthography

Template:Short description Template:Use British English Template:Use dmy dates Template:IPA notice Template:English language English orthography comprises the set of rules used when writing the English language,Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn allowing readers and writers to associate written graphemes with the sounds of spoken English, as well as other features of the language.Template:Sfn English's orthography includes norms for spelling, hyphenation, capitalisation, word breaks, emphasis, and punctuation.

As with the orthographies of most other world languages, written English is broadly standardised. This standardisation began to develop when movable type spread to England in the late 15th century.Template:Sfn However, unlike with most languages, there are multiple ways to spell every phoneme, and most letters also represent multiple pronunciations depending on their position in a word and the context.

This is partly due to the large number of words that have been loaned from a large number of other languages throughout the history of English, without successful attempts at complete spelling reforms,Template:Sfn and partly due to accidents of history, such as some of the earliest mass-produced English publications being typeset by highly trained, multilingual printing compositors, who occasionally used a spelling pattern more typical for another language.Template:Sfn For example, the word ghost was spelled in Middle English, until the Flemish spelling pattern was unintentionally substituted, and happened to be accepted.Template:Sfn Most of the spelling conventions in Modern English were derived from the phonemic spelling of a variety of Middle English, and generally do not reflect the sound changes that have occurred since the late 15th century (such as the Great Vowel Shift).

Despite the various English dialects spoken from country to country and within different regions of the same country, there are only slight regional variations in English orthography, the two most recognised variations being British and American spelling, and its overall uniformity helps facilitate international communication. On the other hand, it also adds to the discrepancy between the way English is written and spoken in any given location.Template:Sfn

Function of letters

Phonemic representation

Letters in English orthography positioned at one location within a specific word usually represent a particular phoneme. For example, at Template:IPAc-en consists of 2 letters Template:Vr and Template:Vr, which represent Template:IPAslink and Template:IPAslink, respectively.

Sequences of letters may perform this role as well as single letters. Thus, in thrash Template:IPAc-en, the digraph Template:Vr (two letters) represents . In hatch Template:IPAc-en, the trigraph Template:Vr represents .

Less commonly, a single letter can represent multiple successive sounds. The most common example is Template:Vr, which normally represents the consonant cluster (for example, in tax Template:IPAc-en).

The same letter (or sequence of letters) may be pronounced differently when occurring in different positions within a word. For instance, Template:Vr represents at the end of some words (tough Template:IPAc-en) but not in others (plough Template:IPAc-en). At the beginning of syllables, Template:Vr is pronounced , as in ghost Template:IPAc-en. Conversely, Template:Angbr is never pronounced in syllable onsets other than in inflected forms, and is almost never pronounced in syllable codas (the proper name Pittsburgh is an exception).

Some words contain silent letters, which do not represent any sound in modern English pronunciation. Examples include the Template:Vr in talk, half, calf, etc., the Template:Vr in two and sword, Template:Vr as mentioned above in numerous words such as though, daughter, night, brought, and the commonly encountered [[silent e|silent Template:Vr]] (discussed further below).

Word origin

Another type of spelling characteristic is related to word origin. For example, when representing a vowel, Template:Vr represents the sound Template:IPAslink in some words borrowed from Greek (reflecting an original upsilon), whereas the letter usually representing this sound in non-Greek words is the letter Template:Vr. Thus, myth Template:IPAc-en is of Greek origin, while pith Template:IPAc-en is a Germanic word. However, a large number of Germanic words have Template:Vr in word-final position.

Some other examples are Template:Vr pronounced Template:IPAslink (which is most commonly Template:Angbr), and Template:Vr pronounced Template:IPAslink (which is most commonly Template:Vr or Template:Vr). The use of these spellings for these sounds often marks words that have been borrowed from Greek.

Some researchers, such as Brengelman (1970), have suggested that, in addition to this marking of word origin, these spellings indicate a more formal level of style or register in a given text, although Rollings (2004) finds this point to be exaggerated as there would be many exceptions where a word with one of these spellings, such as Template:Vr for Template:IPAslink (like telephone), could occur in an informal text.

Homophone differentiation

Spelling may also be useful to distinguish in written language between homophones (words with the same pronunciation but different meanings), and thus resolve potential ambiguities that would arise otherwise. However in most cases the reason for the difference is historical, and it was not introduced to resolve ambiguity.

Examples

• heir and air are pronounced identically in most dialects, but spelt differently.

• pain and pane are both pronounced Template:IPAc-en but have two different spellings of the vowel . This arose because the two words were originally pronounced differently: pain used to be pronounced as , with a diphthong, and pane as , but the diphthong merged with the long vowel in pane, making pain and pane homophones (pane–pain merger). Later became a diphthong .

• break and brake: (She's breaking the car vs. She's braking the car).

Nevertheless, many homophones remain that are unresolved by spelling (for example, the word bay has at least five fundamentally different meanings).

Marking sound changes in other letters

Some letters in English provide information about the pronunciation of other letters in the word. Rollings (2004) uses the term "markers" for such letters. Letters may mark different types of information.

For instance, Template:Vr in once Template:IPAc-en indicates that the preceding Template:Vr is pronounced Template:IPAslink, rather than the more common value of Template:Vr in word-final position as the sound Template:IPAslink, such as in attic Template:IPAc-en.

Template:Vr also often marks an altered pronunciation of a preceding vowel. In the pair mat and mate, the Template:Vr of mat has the value Template:IPAslink, whereas the Template:Vr of mate is marked by the Template:Vr as having the value . In this context, the Template:Vr is not pronounced, and is referred to as a "silent e".

A single letter may even fill multiple pronunciation-marking roles simultaneously. For example, in the word ace, Template:Vr marks not only the change of Template:Vr from Template:IPAslink to , but also of Template:Vr from Template:IPAslink to Template:IPAslink. In the word vague, Template:Vr marks the long Template:Vr sound, but Template:Vr keeps the Template:Vr hard rather than soft.

Doubled consonants usually indicate that the preceding vowel is pronounced short. For example, the doubled Template:Vr in batted indicates that the Template:Vr is pronounced Template:IPAslink, while the single Template:Vr of bated gives . Doubled consonants only indicate any lengthening or gemination of the consonant sound itself when they come from different morphemes, as with the Template:Vr in unnamed (un+named).

Multiple functionality

Any given letters may have dual functions. For example, Template:Vr in statue has a sound-representing function (representing the sound Template:IPAslink) and a pronunciation-marking function (marking the Template:Vr as having the value Template:IPAslink opposed to the value Template:IPAslink).

Underlying representation

Like many other alphabetic orthographies, English spelling does not represent non-contrastive phonetic sounds (that is, minor differences in pronunciation which are not used to distinguish between different words).

Although the letter Template:Vr is pronounced by most speakers with aspiration at the beginning of words, this is never indicated in the spelling, and, indeed, this phonetic detail is probably not noticeable to the average native speaker not trained in phonetics.

However, unlike some orthographies, English orthography often represents a very abstract underlying representation (or morphophonemic form) of English words.Template:SfnTemplate:SfnTemplate:Sfn

[T]he postulated underlying forms are systematically related to the conventional orthography ... and are, as is well known, related to the underlying forms of a much earlier historical stage of the language. There has, in other words, been little change in lexical representation since Middle English, and, consequently, we would expect ... that lexical representation would differ very little from dialect to dialect in Modern English ... [and] that conventional orthography is probably fairly close to optimal for all modern English dialects, as well as for the attested dialects of the past several hundred years.Template:Sfn

In these cases, a given morpheme (i.e., a component of a word) has a fixed spelling even though it is pronounced differently in different words. An example is the past tense suffix -Template:Vr, which may be pronounced variously as , , or Template:Efn (for example, pay Template:IPAc-en, payed Template:IPAc-en, hate Template:IPAc-en, hated Template:IPAc-en). As it happens, these different pronunciations of -Template:Vr can be predicted by a few phonological rules, but that is not the reason why its spelling is fixed.

Another example involves the vowel differences (with accompanying stress pattern changes) in several related words. For instance, photographer is derived from photograph by adding the derivational suffix -Template:Vr. When this suffix is added, the vowel pronunciations change largely owing to the moveable stress:

Spelling	Pronunciation
photograph	Template:IPAc-en or Template:IPAc-en
photographer	Template:IPAc-en
photographical	Template:IPAc-en

Other examples of this type are the -Template:Vr suffix (as in agile vs. agility, acid vs. acidity, divine vs. divinity, sane vs. sanity). See also: Trisyllabic laxing.

Another example includes words like mean Template:IPAc-en and meant Template:IPAc-en, where Template:Vr is pronounced differently in the two related words. Thus, again, the orthography uses only a single spelling that corresponds to the single morphemic form rather than to the surface phonological form.

English orthography does not always provide an underlying representation; sometimes it provides an intermediate representation between the underlying form and the surface pronunciation. This is the case with the spelling of the regular plural morpheme, which is written as either -Template:Vr (as in tat, tats and hat, hats) or -Template:Vr (as in glass, glasses). Here, the spelling -Template:Vr is pronounced either Template:IPAslink or Template:IPAslink (depending on the environment, e.g., tats Template:IPAc-en and tails Template:IPAc-en) while -Template:Vr is usually pronounced Template:Efn (e.g. classes ). Thus, there are two different spellings that correspond to the single underlying representation || of the plural suffix and the three surface forms. The spelling indicates the insertion of before the in the spelling -Template:Vr, but does not indicate the devoiced distinctly from the unaffected in the spelling -Template:Vr.

The abstract representation of words as indicated by the orthography can be considered advantageous since it makes etymological relationships more apparent to English readers. This makes writing English more complex, but arguably makes reading English more efficient.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn However, very abstract underlying representations, such as that of Chomsky & Halle (1968) or of underspecification theories, are sometimes considered too abstract to accurately reflect the communicative competence of native speakers. Followers of these arguments believe the less abstract surface forms are more "psychologically real" and thus more useful in terms of pedagogy.Template:Sfn

Diacritics

Some English words can be written with diacritics; these are mostly loanwords, usually from French. As vocabulary becomes naturalised, there is an increasing tendency to omit the accent marks, even in formal writing. For example, rôle and hôtel originally had accents when they were borrowed into English, but now the accents are almost never used. The words were originally considered foreign—and some people considered that English alternatives were preferable—but today their foreign origin is largely forgotten. Words most likely to retain the accent are those atypical of English morphology and therefore still perceived as slightly foreign. For example, café and pâté both have a pronounced final Template:Vr, which would otherwise be silent under the normal English pronunciation rules. Moreover, in pâté, the acute accent is helpful to distinguish it from pate.

Further examples of words sometimes retaining diacritics when used in English are: ångström—partly because its symbol is Template:Angbr—appliqué, attaché, blasé, bric-à-brac, Brötchen,Template:Efn cliché, crème, crêpe, fiancé(e), flambé, jalapeño, naïve, naïveté, né(e), papier-mâché, passé, piñata, protégé, résumé, risqué, and voilà. Italics, with appropriate accents, are generally applied to foreign terms that are uncommonly used in or have not been assimilated into English: for example, Template:Linktext, belles-lettres, crème brûlée, Template:Linktext, Template:Linktext, and Template:Linktext.

It was formerly common in American English to use a diaeresis to indicate a hiatus, e.g. coöperate, daïs, and reëlect. The New Yorker and Technology Review magazines still use it for this purpose, even as general use became much rarer. Instead, modern orthography generally prefers no mark (cooperate) or a hyphen (co-operate) for a hiatus between two morphemes in a compound word. By contrast, use of diaereses in monomorphemic loanwords such as naïve and Noël remains relatively common.

In poetry and performance arts, accent marks are occasionally used to indicate typically unstressed syllables that should be stressed when read for dramatic or prosodic effect. This is frequently seen with the -ed suffix in archaic and pseudoarchaic writing, e.g. cursèd indicates the Template:Vr should be fully pronounced. The grave being to indicate that an ordinarily silent or elided syllable is pronounced (warnèd, parlìament).

Ligatures

In certain older texts (typically British), the use of the ligatures Template:Vr and Template:Vr is common in words such as archæology, diarrhœa, and encyclopædia, all of Latin or Greek origin. Nowadays, the ligatures have been generally replaced by the digraphs Template:Angbr and Template:Angbr (encyclopaedia, diarrhoea) in British English or just Template:Vr (encyclopedia, diarrhea) in American English, though both spell some words with only Template:Vr (economy, ecology) and others with Template:Vr and Template:Vr (paean, amoeba, oedipal, Caesar). In some cases, usage may vary; for instance, both encyclopedia and encyclopaedia are current in the UK.

Phonic irregularities

Partly because English has never had any official regulating authority for spelling, such as the Spanish , the French , the German Council for German Orthography, the Danish Sprognævn, and the Thai Royal Society, English spelling is considered irregular and complex compared to that of other languages. Although French, Danish, and Thai, among other languages, present a similar degree of difficulty when encoding (writing), English is more difficult when decoding (reading), as there are clearly many more possible pronunciations of a group of letters. For example, in French, (as in "true", but short), can be spelled Template:Vr (ou, nous, tout, choux), but the pronunciation of each of those sequences is always the same. However, in English, while can be spelled in up to 24 different ways, including Template:Vr (spook, truth, suit, blues, to, shoe, group, through) (see Sound-to-spelling correspondences below), all of these spellings have other pronunciations as well (e.g., foot, us, build, bluest, so, toe, grout, plough, sew) Thus, in unfamiliar words and proper nouns, the pronunciation of some sequences, [[Ough (orthography)|Template:Vr]] being the prime example, is unpredictable even for educated native speakers.

Spelling irregularities

Attempts to regularise or reform the spelling of English have usually failed. However, Noah Webster promoted more phonetic spellings in the United States, such as flavor for British flavour, fiber for fibre, defense for defence, analyze for analyse, catalog for catalogue, and so forth. These spellings already existed as alternatives, but Webster's dictionaries helped standardise them in the United States.Template:Sfn (See American and British English spelling differences for details.)

Besides the quirks the English spelling system has inherited from its past, there are other irregularities in spelling that make it tricky to learn. English contains, depending on dialect, 24–27 consonant phonemes and 13–20 vowels. However, there are only 26 letters in the modern English alphabet, so there is not a one-to-one correspondence between letters and sounds. Many sounds are spelled using different letters or multiple letters, and for those words whose pronunciation is predictable from the spelling, the sounds denoted by the letters depend on the surrounding letters. For example, Template:Vr represents two different sounds (the voiced and voiceless dental fricatives) (see Pronunciation of English th), and the voiceless alveolar sibilant can be represented by Template:Vr or Template:Vr.

It is, however, not (solely) the shortage of letters which makes English spelling irregular. Its irregularities are caused mainly by the use of many different spellings for some of its sounds, such as and (too, true, shoe, flew, through; sleeve, leave, even, seize, siege; stole, coal, bowl, roll, old, mould), and the use of identical sequences for spelling different sounds (over, oven, move).

Furthermore, English no longer makes any attempt to anglicise the spellings of loanwords, but preserves the foreign spellings, even when they do not follow English spelling conventions like the Polish Template:Vr in Czech (rather than *Check) or the Norwegian Template:Vr in fjord (although fiord was formerly the most common spelling). In early Middle English, until roughly 1400, most imports from French were respelled according to English rules (e.g. bataille–battle, bouton–button, but not double, or trouble). Instead of loans being respelled to conform to English spelling standards, sometimes the pronunciation changes as a result of pressure from the spelling, e.g. ski, adopted from Norwegian in the mid-18th century. It used to be pronounced , similar to the Norwegian pronunciation, but the increasing popularity of the sport after the mid-20th century helped the pronunciation replace it.

There was also a period when the spelling of a small number of words was altered to make them conform to their perceived etymological origins. For example, Template:Vr was added to debt (originally dette) to link it to the Latin , and Template:Vr in island to link it to Latin instead of its true origin, the Old English word īġland. Template:Vr in ptarmigan has no etymological justification whatsoever, only seeking to show Greek origin despite being a Gaelic word.

The spelling of English continues to evolve. Many loanwords come from languages where the pronunciation of vowels corresponds to the way they were pronounced in Old English, which is similar to the Italian or Spanish pronunciation of the vowels, and is the value the vowel symbols Template:Vr have in the International Phonetic Alphabet. As a result, there is a somewhat regular system of pronouncing "foreign" words in English, and some borrowed words have had their spelling changed to conform to this system. For example, Hindu used to be spelled Hindoo, and the name Maria used to be pronounced like the name Mariah, but was changed to conform to this system. This only further complicates the spelling, however. On the one hand, words that retained anglicised spellings may be misread in a hyperforeign way. On the other hand, words that are respelled in a 'foreign' way may be misread as if they are English words, e.g. Muslim was formerly spelled Mooslim because of its original pronunciation.

Commercial advertisers have also had an effect on English spelling. They introduced new or simplified spellings like lite instead of light, thru instead of through, and rucsac instead of rucksack. The spellings of personal names have also been a source of spelling innovations: diminutive versions of women's names that sound the same as men's names have been spelled differently: Nikki and Nicky, Toni and Tony, Jo and Joe. The differentiation in between names that are spelled differently but have the same phonetic sound may come from modernisation or different countries of origin. For example, Isabelle and Isabel sound the same but are spelled differently; these versions are from France and Spain respectively.

As an example of the irregular nature of English spelling, Template:Vr can be pronounced at least nine different ways: in out, in soul, Template:IPAslink in soup, Template:IPAslink in touch, Template:IPAslink in could, Template:IPAslink in four, Template:IPAslink in journal, Template:IPAslink in cough, and Template:IPAslink in famous (See Spelling-to-sound correspondences). In the other direction, Template:IPAslink can be spelled in at least 18~21 different ways: be (cede), ski (machine), bologna (GA), algae, quay, beach, bee, deceit, people, key, keyed, field (hygiene), amoeba, chamois (GA), dengue (GA), beguine, guyot, and ynambu (See Sound-to-spelling correspondences). (These examples assume a more-or-less standard non-regional British English accent. Other accents will vary.)

Sometimes everyday speakers of English change counterintuitive spellings, with the new spellings usually not judged to be entirely correct. However, such forms may gain acceptance if used enough. An example is the word miniscule, which still competes with its original spelling of minuscule, though this might also be because of analogy with the word mini.

History

Inconsistencies and irregularities in English pronunciation and spelling have gradually increased in number throughout the history of the English language. There are a number of contributing factors. First, gradual changes in pronunciation, such as the Great Vowel Shift, account for a tremendous number of irregularities. Second, more recent loan words generally carry their original spellings, which are often not phonetic in English; this includes romanized words from languages written using non-Latin scripts.

The regular spelling system of Old English was swept away by the Norman Conquest, and English itself was supplanted in some spheres by Norman French for three centuries, eventually emerging with its spelling much influenced by French. English had also borrowed large numbers of words from French, and kept their French spellings. The spelling of Middle English is very irregular and inconsistent, with the same word being spelled in different ways, sometimes even in the same sentence. However, these were generally much better guides to the then-pronunciation than modern English spelling is.Template:Opinion

For example, Template:IPAslink, normally written Template:Vr, is spelled with an Template:Vr in one, some, love, etc., due to Norman spelling conventions which prohibited writing Template:Vr before Template:Vr due to the graphical confusion that would result. (Template:Vr were written identically with two minims in Norman handwriting; Template:Vr was written as two Template:Vr letters; Template:Vr was written with three minims, hence Template:Vr looked like Template:Vr, etc.). Similarly, spelling conventions also prohibited final Template:Vr. Hence the identical spellings of the three different vowel sounds in love, move, and cove are due to ambiguity in the Middle English spelling system, not sound change.

In 1417, Henry V began using English, which had no standardised spelling, for official correspondence instead of Latin or French which had standardised spelling, e.g. Latin had one spelling for right (rectus), Old French as used in English law had six and Middle English had 77. This motivated writers to standardise English spelling, an effort which lasted about 500 years.Template:Sfn

There was also a series of linguistic sound changes towards the end of this period, including the Great Vowel Shift, which resulted in the Template:Vr in make, for example, changing from a pure vowel to a diphthong. These changes for the most part did not detract from the rule-governed nature of the spelling system; but, in some cases, they introduced confusing inconsistencies, like the well-known example of the many pronunciations of Template:Vr (tough, through, though, cough, plough, etc.). Most of these changes happened before the arrival of printing in England. However, the arrival of the modern printing press in 1476 froze the current system, rather than providing the impetus for a realignment of spelling with pronunciation.Template:Sfn Furthermore, it introduced further inconsistencies, partly because of the use of typesetters trained abroad, particularly in the Low Countries. For example, the Template:Angbr in ghost was influenced by Flemish.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn The addition and deletion of a silent e at the ends of words was also sometimes used to make the right-hand margin line up more neatly.Template:Sfn

By the time dictionaries were introduced in the mid-17th century, the spelling system of English had started to stabilise. By the 19th century, most words had set spellings, though it took some time before they diffused throughout the English-speaking world. In The Mill on the Floss (1860), English novelist George Eliot satirised the attitude of the English rural gentry of the 1820s towards orthography:

Mr. Tulliver did not willingly write a letter, and found the relation between spoken and written language, briefly known as spelling, one of the most puzzling things in this puzzling world. Nevertheless, like all fervid writing, the task was done in less time than usual, and if the spelling differed from Mrs. Glegg's,–why, she belonged, like himself, to a generation with whom spelling was a matter of private judgment.

The modern English spelling system, with its national variants, spread together with the expansion of public education later in the 19th century.

⟨ough⟩ words

The tetragraph Template:Vr can be pronounced in at least ten different ways, six of which are illustrated in the construct, Though the tough cough and hiccough plough him through, which is quoted by Robert A. Heinlein in The Door into Summer to illustrate the difficulties facing automated speech transcription and reading. Ough itself is a word, an exclamation of disgust similar to ugh, though rarely known or used. The following are typical pronunciations of this string of letters:

• Template:IPAc-en (as in so) in though and dough
• Template:IPAc-en (as in cuff) in tough, rough, enough, and the name Hough
• Template:IPAc-en (as in off) in trough, cough, and Gough
• Template:IPAc-en (as in blue) in through
• Template:IPAc-en (as in saw) in thought, ought, sought, nought, brought, etc.
• Template:IPAc-en (as in comma) in thorough, borough, and names ending in -borough; however, American English pronounces this as Template:IPAc-en
• Template:IPAc-en (as in how) in bough, sough, drought, plough (plow in North America), doughty, and the names Slough and Doughty
• Template:IPAc-en (as in loch; mainly in words of Gaelic origin) in the word lough (an anglicised variant of loch used in Ireland) and in Irish place names, such as Ardclough, Glendalough, Loughmoe, Loughrea, etc.

The following pronunciations are found in uncommon single words:

• hough: Template:IPAc-en (more commonly spelled "hock" now)
• hiccough (a now-uncommon variant of hiccup): Template:IPAc-en as in up
• Oughterard (Irish place name): Template:IPAc-en

The place name Loughborough uses two different pronunciations of Template:Vr: the first Template:Vr has the sound as in cuff and the second rhymes with thorough.

Spelling-to-sound correspondences

Notes:

• In the tables, the hyphen has two different meanings. A hyphen after the letter indicates that it must be at the beginning of a syllable, e.g., Template:Vr- in jumper and ajar. A hyphen before the letter indicates that it cannot be at the beginning of a word, e.g., -Template:Vr in sick and ticket.
• More specific rules take precedence over more general ones, e.g., "Template:Vr- before Template:Vr" takes precedence over "Template:Vr".
• Where the letter combination is described as "word-final", inflectional suffixes may be added without changing the pronunciation, e.g., catalogues.
• The dialects used are Received Pronunciation and General American. When pronunciations differ idiosyncratically, a pronunciation that only applies to one of the dialects is noted as being (RP) or (GA). When pronunciations differ systematically in a way that is not accounted for by the diaphonemic transcription system (i.e. the trap-bath and lot-cloth splits), the pronunciations in both dialects are given.
• Isolated foreign borrowings are excluded.

Consonants

Spelling		Major value (IPA)	Examples of major value	Other values	Examples of other values
b, bb	morpheme final after Template:Vr	∅	climber, numbing, bombed	Template:IPAc-en	lamb, nimb
	elsewhere	Template:IPAc-en	bit, ebb, limber, bombe, obtain, blood, bring	∅	combe, bdellium, debtor, doubt
c	before Template:Vr	Template:IPAc-en	cellar, city, cyst, face, prince, nicer caesium, coelacanth	Template:IPAc-en Template:IPAc-en Template:IPAc-en Template:IPAc-en Template:IPAc-en	cello, vermicelli special, liquorice coercion Celts, chicer, syncing letovicite
	word initial before Template:Vr	∅	cnidarian, ctenoid
	elsewhere	Template:IPAc-en	cat, cross, predict, opuscule, picture	∅	blancmange, indict, muscle, victual
cc	before Template:Vr	Template:IPAc-en	accept, eccentric, occidental	Template:IPAc-en Template:IPAc-en Template:IPAc-en	soccer, recce, siccing bocce, breccia, cappuccino flaccid
	elsewhere	Template:IPAc-en	account, accrue, occur, yucca
ch	after Template:Vr	Template:IPAc-en	branch, truncheon, franchise, trenchant	Template:IPAc-en Template:IPAc-en Template:IPAc-en	inchoate, synchronise, elasmobranch enchant, enchilada, chinchilla penchant
	in words of Greek origin	Template:IPAc-en	chasm, chimera, chord, lichen	∅	drachm
	in words of Modern French origin	Template:IPAc-en	chaise, machine, cached, parachute	Template:IPAc-en Template:IPAc-en	chemist, choir, machination chassis (GA), cheque, chowder, niche (GA)
	elsewhere	Template:IPAc-en	chase, chin, attached, chore	Template:IPAc-en Template:IPAc-en Template:IPAc-en Template:IPAc-en Template:IPAc-en ∅	ached, anchor, leprechaun machete, pistachio, welch chutzpah (also with Template:IPAc-en) sandwich, Greenwich loch yacht, Crichton
ck		Template:IPAc-en	tack, ticket
d, dd, dh		Template:IPAc-en	dive, ladder, jodhpurs	Template:IPAc-en Template:IPAc-en Template:IPAc-en ∅	ached, creased, iced, puffed, raked graduate, gradual (both also Template:IPAc-en in RP) gorsedd, edh Wednesday, handsome, sandwich, ceilidh
dg	before Template:Vr or a suffix	Template:IPAc-en	lodger, pidgin, edgy, abridgment, acknowledgment, judgment, lodgment, fledgling	Template:IPAc-en	headgear
f, ff		Template:IPAc-en	fine, off, affinity	Template:IPAc-en	of
g	before Template:Vr	Template:IPAc-en Template:IPAc-en	get, eager, algae (RP), gig gel, pager, algae (GA), gin gentle, rage, gigantic, regimen	Template:IPAc-en	genre, barrage, gigue, regime
	before Template:Vr	∅	phlegmy, diaphragm gnome, signed, poignant, reign	Template:IPAc-en Template:IPAc-en	pigmy, signet, indignant judgment
	elsewhere	Template:IPAc-en	go, great, leg, margaric	Template:IPAc-en Template:IPAc-en	margarine, gaol witgat
gg		Template:IPAc-en	dagger, smuggest, staggering	Template:IPAc-en Template:IPAc-en	agger, suggest, exaggerate suggest (GA)Template:Efn-lr
gh	word-initial	Template:IPAc-en	ghost, ghastly, ghetto
	elsewhere	∅	daughter, through, fraught, brougham eight, higher, straight, sighed	Template:IPAc-en Template:IPAc-en Template:IPAc-en Template:IPAc-en Template:IPAc-en Template:IPAc-en Template:IPAc-en Template:IPAc-en Template:IPAc-en	burgh lough, saugh hough laughter, trough, draught, rough burgher, ogham, yogh leghorn, pigheaded hiccough
h	word-final or after Template:Vr	∅	oh, rhubarb, rhyme, exhibit, exhaust	Template:IPAc-en Template:IPAc-en	exhale, exhume (in RP) sinh
	elsewhere	Template:IPAc-en	honey, heist, house, manhandle doohickey, vehicular	j w ∅	posthumous (in RP) Nahuatl honest, heir, hours, piranha annihilate, vehicle, dinghy
j		Template:IPAc-en	jump, ajar jonquil, Julian jalap, cajole bijugate	Template:IPAc-en Template:IPAc-en Template:IPAc-en ∅	Hallelujah, fjord jongleur, julienne, bijou jalapeno, fajita marijuana
k, kk, kh	word-initial before Template:Vr	∅	knee, knife, knock	Template:IPAc-en	knish, Knoebel
	elsewhere	Template:IPAc-en	key, bake, trekking, sheikh, weeknight	∅	beknave, camiknickers
l, ll		Template:IPAc-en	valve, balcony, almost, valley, flotilla, line, colony	∅ Template:IPAc-en Template:IPAc-en	halve, balk, salmon tortilla colonel (in rhotic accents)
m, mm	word-initial before Template:Vr	∅	mnemonic
	elsewhere	Template:IPAc-en	mine, hammer
n, nn	word-final after Template:Vr	∅	hymn, autumn, damningly
	before Template:IPAc-en	Template:IPAc-en	inkling, bangle, anchor, minx	Template:IPAc-en	incline, vanguard, mankind
	elsewhere	Template:IPAc-en	nice, funny, enzyme monsignor, damnable, tin	Template:IPAc-en ∅	anxiety monsieur
ng	word-final non-silent letter	Template:IPAc-en	long, tongue, kingly, singer, clingy	Template:IPAc-en Template:IPAc-en Template:IPAc-en	longer, strongest stingy (ungenerous) strength, amongst
	medially otherwise	Template:IPAc-en Template:IPAc-en	congress, singly, finger, language binging, wharfinger, dingy, engaol	Template:IPAc-en Template:IPAc-en Template:IPAc-en	congrats, engage, vanguard hangar, lingonberry, angst ingenue, lingerie
	word-initial	Template:IPAc-en	ngana, ngultrum, Nguni	Template:IPAc-en	ngaio, Ngati
p, pp	word-initial before Template:Vr	∅	pneumonia, psyche, ptomaine	Template:IPAc-en	psst
	elsewhere	Template:IPAc-en	pill, happy, soup, corpse, script	∅	coup, corps, receipt, raspberry
ph, pph		Template:IPAc-en	photograph, sapphire	Template:IPAc-en Template:IPAc-en Template:IPAc-en ∅	Stephen shepherd, kniphofia, drophead apophthegm
q	in words of Chinese origin	Template:IPAc-en	qi, qigong, guqin
	elsewhere	Template:IPAc-en	Iraq, waqf, yaqona, mbaqanga, qiviut
r, rr, rh, rrh	before a consonant finally before final Template:Vr	Template:IPAc-en, ∅ in non-rhotic	cart, hurt fir, walker, tear, burr, myrrh care	∅	sarsaparilla, forecastle
	elsewhere	Template:IPAc-en	ray, parrot, rhyme, diarrhoea	∅	iron, croissant (RP), hors d'oeuvre (some pronunciations)
See below for combinations of vowel letters and Template:Vr
s	word-final -Template:Vr morpheme after a fortis sound	Template:IPAc-en	pets, shops
	word-final -Template:Vr morpheme after a lenis sound	Template:IPAc-en	ines
	between vowels	Template:IPAc-en	phrases, prison, pleasing	Template:IPAc-en Template:IPAc-en	bases, bison, leasing vision, closure
	elsewhere	Template:IPAc-en	song, ask, misled	Template:IPAc-en Template:IPAc-en ∅	is, lens, raspberry sugar, tension island, aisle, debris, mesne
sc	before Template:Vr	Template:IPAc-en	scene, scepter, scissors, scythe	Template:IPAc-en Template:IPAc-en Template:IPAc-en	sceptic, scirrhus fascism crescent (RP), discern
sch		Template:IPAc-en	schedule (RP), schist, eschalot	Template:IPAc-en Template:IPAc-en Template:IPAc-en	school, scheme, schizoid, ischemia, eschar schism (RP) mischief, eschew
sh		Template:IPAc-en	shin, fashion, wish, Lewisham, foreshore, kinship	Template:IPAc-en Template:IPAc-en Template:IPAc-en Template:IPAc-en Template:IPAc-en	mishap, mishit hogshead tranship threshold dishonour
ss		Template:IPAc-en	boss, assign, narcissus dissert, posses, brassier, finesse, cesspool, missout	Template:IPAc-en Template:IPAc-en Template:IPAc-en Template:IPAc-en	tissue, passion rescission, scissure dessert, possess, brassiere, scissor disseat, misspell, missort
sw		Template:IPAc-en	swore, swan, swift	Template:IPAc-en Template:IPAc-en ∅	sword, answer menswear coxswain
t, tt	in -Template:Vr	∅	hasten, listens, rustling, thistles	Template:IPAc-en	tungsten, listless
	elsewhere	Template:IPAc-en	ten, bitter, etiology, nastier, attune, piteous, cation, softer, wallet, gristmill, haste, dishearten	Template:IPAc-en Template:IPAc-en Template:IPAc-en Template:IPAc-en Template:IPAc-en ∅	ration, martial, cautious bastion, nature, fortune, righteous equation, transition (RP) kindergarten (GA) tanh soften, ballet, Christmas, mortgage
tch		Template:IPAc-en	batch, kitchen
th		Template:IPAc-en Template:IPAc-en	absinthe bother, soothe	Template:IPAc-en Template:IPAc-en Template:IPAc-en Template:IPAc-en ∅	thyme eighth outhouse, potherb (RP) posthumous asthma
v, vv		Template:IPAc-en	vine, heavy, savvy, reveled, revved
w	before Template:Vr	∅Template:Efn-lr	wrong, wrist, awry
	elsewhere	Template:IPAc-en	sward, swerve, wale	∅ Template:IPAc-en	two, sword, answer, gunwale Weltanschauung, witgat
wh-	before Template:Vr	Template:IPAc-en	who, whole	Template:IPAc-enTemplate:Efn-lr	whopping, whorl
	elsewhere	Template:IPAc-enTemplate:Efn-lr	wheel	Template:IPAc-en	whew (RP), whanau
x	word-initial	Template:IPAc-en	xylophone, xenon, xenophobia	Template:IPAc-en	Xavier
	after Template:Vr-, and before a vowel	Template:IPAc-en	example, exist, exotic, exult existential, exultation, exitTemplate:Efn-lr	Template:IPAc-en Template:IPAc-en	exogenous, exercise
	elsewhere	Template:IPAc-en	boxes, mixes, expect, taxation, tuxedo, proximity, jinxed, next, six, taxi	Template:IPAc-en Template:IPAc-en Template:IPAc-en Template:IPAc-en ∅	Alexander, auxiliary luxury (GA)Template:Efn-lr anxiety anxious, luxury, sexual (GA) luxuriousTemplate:Efn-lr plateaux, chateaux faux-pas, roux
	in words of Chinese or Mesoamerican origin	Template:IPAc-en	xiangqi, xoloitzcuintle
xc	before Template:Vr	Template:IPAc-en	excellent, except, excited
xh		Template:IPAc-en	exhale, foxhole	Template:IPAc-en Template:IPAc-en Template:IPAc-en Template:IPAc-en	exhibition, Vauxhall exhaust, exhibit, exhilarating, exhortation exhume
y-		Template:IPAc-en	yes, young	Template:IPAc-en	ye (mock archaic)
z, zz	after Template:Vr	Template:IPAc-en	waltz, ditzy, pretzel, tzatziki	Template:IPAc-en	tzar
	elsewhere	Template:IPAc-en	gazump, seized, crazier, rhizoophagous, pizzazz, zoo, quiz	Template:IPAc-en Template:IPAc-en Template:IPAc-en ∅	azure, seizure, brazier (GA) schizophrenic, pizzas jiaozi rendezvous

Vowels

In a generative approach to English spelling, Rollings (2004) identifies twenty main orthographic vowels of stressed syllables that are grouped into four main categories: "Lax", "Tense", "Heavy", "Tense-R".

Letter	Lax		Tense		Heavy		Tense-R
	IPA	example	IPA	example	IPA	example	IPA	example
a	Template:IPAc-en	man	Template:IPAc-en	mane	Template:IPAc-en	mar	Template:IPAc-en	mare
e	Template:IPAc-en	met	Template:IPAc-en	mete	Template:IPAc-en	her	Template:IPAc-en	here
i	Template:IPAc-en	win	Template:IPAc-en	wine	Template:IPAc-en	fir	Template:IPAc-en	fire
o	Template:IPAc-en	mop	Template:IPAc-en	mope	Template:IPAc-en	forTemplate:Efn-lr	Template:IPAc-en	foreTemplate:Efn-lr
u	Template:IPAc-en	hug	Template:IPAc-en	huge	Template:IPAc-en	cur	Template:IPAc-en	cure
	Template:IPAc-en	push	Template:IPAc-en	rude	Template:Efn-lr		Template:IPAc-en	sure

Digraph	Lax		Tense		Heavy		Tense-R
	IPA	example	IPA	example	IPA	example	IPA	example
ai, ay	–		Template:IPAc-en	bait	–		Template:IPAc-en	air
				essay				Ayr
au, aw	–		Template:IPAc-en	audio	–		Template:IPAc-en	aura
				draw				rawr
ea	Template:IPAc-en	dreamt	Template:IPAc-en	dream	Template:IPAc-en	learn	Template:IPAc-en	hear
ee	–		Template:IPAc-en	see	–		Template:IPAc-en	beer
eu, ew	–		Template:IPAc-en	feudal	–		Template:IPAc-en	neurotic
				few				Newry
oa	–		Template:IPAc-en	boat	–		Template:IPAc-en	soar
oo	Template:IPAc-en	foot	Template:IPAc-en	goose	–		Template:IPAc-en	poor
	–		–		–		Template:IPAc-en	floor
ou, ow	Template:IPAc-en	southern	Template:IPAc-en	south	Template:IPAc-en	scourge	Template:IPAc-en	hour
	–			now	–			dowry
	–		Template:IPAc-en	soul	–		Template:IPAc-en	four
	Template:IPAc-en	knowledge		know			–
oi, oy	–		Template:IPAc-en	point	–		Template:IPAc-en	coir
				boy				Moyra

For instance, Template:Vr can represent the lax vowel Template:IPAc-en, tense Template:IPAc-en, heavy , or tense-r . Heavy and tense-r vowels are the respective lax and tense counterparts followed by Template:Vr.

Tense vowels are distinguished from lax vowels with a [[Silent e|"silent" Template:Vr]] that is added at the end of words. Thus, Template:Vr in hat is lax Template:IPAc-en, but when Template:Vr is added in the word hate Template:Vr is tense Template:IPAc-en. Heavy and tense-r vowels follow a similar pattern, e.g. Template:Vr in car is heavy Template:IPAc-en, Template:Vr followed by silent Template:Vr in care is Template:IPAc-en. Template:Vr represents two different vowel patterns, one being Template:IPAc-en, the other Template:IPAc-en. There is no distinction between heavy and tense-r Template:Vr, and Template:Vr in the Template:IPAc-en pattern does not have a heavy vowel.

Besides silent Template:Vr, another strategy for indicating tense and tense-r vowels is the addition of another orthographic vowel forming a digraph. In this case, the first vowel is usually the main vowel while the second vowel is the "marking" vowel. For example, man has a lax Template:Vr (Template:IPAc-en), but the addition of Template:Vr (as the digraph Template:Vr) in main marks the Template:Vr as tense (Template:IPAc-en). These two strategies produce words that are spelled differently but pronounced identically, which helps differentiate words that would otherwise be homonyms, as in mane (silent Template:Vr strategy), main (digraph strategy) and Maine (both strategies).

Besides the 20 basic vowel spellings, Template:Harvp has a reduced vowel category (representing the sounds Template:IPAc-en) and a miscellaneous category (representing the sounds Template:IPAc-en and Template:IPAc-en+V, Template:IPAc-en+V, V+V).

Combinations of vowel letters excluding those followed by ⟨r⟩

To reduce dialectal difficulties, the sound values given here correspond to the conventions at Help:IPA/English. This table includes Template:Vr when they represent vowel sounds. If no information is given, it is assumed that the vowel is in a stressed syllable.

Deriving the pronunciation of an English word from its spelling requires not only a careful knowledge of the rules given below (many of which are not explicitly known even by native speakers: speakers merely learn the spelling of a word along with its pronunciation) and their many exceptions, but also:

• a knowledge of which syllables are stressed and which are unstressed (not derivable from the spelling: compare hallow and allow)
• which combinations of vowels represent monosyllables and which represent disyllables (ditto: compare waive and naive, creature and creator)

The pronunciation of vowel letters when followed by Template:Angbr is covered in a separate table below.

Spelling			Major value (IPA)	Examples of major value	Minor values	Examples of minor value	Exceptions
a	in closed syllables before multiple consonants final vowel in word		Template:IPAc-en	hatchet, banner, tally acrobat, cat	Template:IPAc-en	ancient, chamber, pastry, bass	Template:Plainlist
					Template:IPAc-en (RP), Template:IPAc-en (GA)	aft, ask, dance, past
	followed by 2+ unstressed syllables next syllable contains Template:IPAc-en		Template:IPAc-en	national, camera, reality acid, granite, palace	Template:IPAc-en	nationhood, scathingly basis, aphasic	∅ sarsaparilla
	in open syllables or before cons. + Template:Vr before single consonant before heterosyllabic vowel		Template:IPAc-en	ache, gave, opaque, savor, status table, hatred, April chaos, aorta, mosaic	Template:IPAc-en	have, plaque, manor, statue macle, sacrifice, theatrical	Template:IPAc-en many, any, ate (RP) Template:IPAc-en naive (also with Template:IPAc-en) Template:IPAc-en sati
					Template:IPAc-en	debacle gala, lava, slalom, sonata
	before final -Template:Vr		Template:IPAc-en	range, exchange, haste	Template:IPAc-en	flange, caste (GA)
					Template:IPAc-en	melange
	after Template:IPAc-en except before Template:IPAc-en closed syllables		Template:IPAc-en	want, watch, swamp, swastika, wallet	Template:IPAc-en (RP), Template:IPAc-en (GA) Template:IPAc-en Template:IPAc-en	squash, wasp, wash wall, walnut, walrus wastage	Template:IPAc-en qualm (also Template:IPAc-en), suave, swami Template:IPAc-en swam, aquatic (RP) Template:IPAc-en was (GA), what (GA)
	after Template:IPAc-en except before Template:IPAc-en open syllables		Template:IPAc-en	persuade, swathe	Template:IPAc-en Template:IPAc-en	quality water
	word-final		Template:IPAc-en	bra, cha-cha, schwa, spa
	unstressed	in -Template:Vr (except verbs)	Template:IPAc-en	palace, damage, forage, garbage, pirate, private	Template:IPAc-en Template:IPAc-en	RP: garage, barrage chocolate, purchase, solace	Template:IPAc-en rampage, primate
		elsewhere	Template:IPAc-en	about, an, salary, woman, blancmange, opera, via	Template:IPAc-en to ∅ Template:IPAc-en Template:IPAc-en Template:IPAc-en (RP), Template:IPAc-en (GA)	artistically, ordinary, necessary probate, folate, kinase anorak, rectangle, abscond contrast (n), flabbergast, reprimand	Template:IPAc-en karaoke, bologna (GA) Template:IPAc-en Assam Template:IPAc-en chaprassi
aa, ah			Template:IPAc-en	baa, naan, blah	Template:IPAc-en	Isaac, bar mitzvah	Template:IPAc-en Quaalude
ae			Template:IPAc-en	encyclopaedia, paediatrician, Caesar	Template:IPAc-en	aesthetic	Template:IPAc-en reggae, sundae, Gael Template:IPAc-en Michael, polkaed Template:IPAc-en maestro Template:IPAc-en paella Template:IPAc-en Scottish Gaelic
ai	stressed		Template:IPAc-en	daisy, laid, paisley, regain, waif	Template:IPAc-en Template:IPAc-en Template:IPAc-en	aisle, bonsai, daimon, krait said, again, against dais, laic, mosaic, papain	Template:IPAc-en plaid, plaited, daiquiri Template:IPAc-en naif, caique Template:IPAc-en archaism (RP)
	unstressed		Template:IPAc-en	bargain, mountain, portrait	Template:IPAc-en	certain, coxswain, spritsail
ao			Template:IPAc-en	manoao, miaow, Maoism, cacao (GA)	Template:IPAc-en Template:IPAc-en Template:IPAc-en Template:IPAc-en Template:IPAc-en Template:IPAc-en	gaol kaon, chaos Naomi (GA) kaolin karaoke baobab
au			Template:IPAc-en	cause, fraud, haul, sauce, slaughter	Template:IPAc-en Template:IPAc-en (RP), Template:IPAc-en (GA) Template:IPAc-en Template:IPAc-en	because (RP), sausage (RP), leprechaun (GA) aunt, draught, laughter degauss, graupel, trauma (GA) chauffeur, gauche, mauve	Template:IPAc-en gauge Template:IPAc-en because (GA) Template:IPAc-en meerschaum ∅ restaurant
aw			Template:IPAc-en	awed, flaw, hawk, tawny			Template:IPAc-en Mawlid
ay			Template:IPAc-en	bayonet, essays, grayer, hayride	Template:IPAc-en Template:IPAc-en	aye, bayou, kayak, papaya mayor, prayer, says	Template:IPAc-en cay, quay, parlay Template:IPAc-en gayal
e	in closed syllables before multiple consonants final vowel in word		Template:IPAc-en	petty, lethargy, trebleget, watershed	Template:IPAc-en	axes (plural of axis)	Template:IPAc-en pretty, English Template:IPAc-en ennui, entourage, genre Template:IPAc-en eh Template:IPAc-en feng shui
	bef. 2+ unstressed syllables next syllable contains Template:IPAc-en		Template:IPAc-en	legacy, elegant, delicate, metric, crevice, epic	Template:IPAc-en	lethal, reflex, Stephen, feces, legally, devious, premium, evil, scenic, strategic
	in open syllables before single consonant before cons. + Template:Vr + vowel final, only vowel in word before heterosyllabic vowel		Template:IPAc-en	even, demon, fetal, recombine metre, secret, egret, secretion be, she museum, neon, theater (GA)	Template:IPAc-en	ever, lemon, petal, recollect petrol, debris (RP), discretion	Template:IPAc-en crepe, suede, ukulele
					Template:IPAc-en	abbe, cafe (GA), saute, seance, rodeo, deity  (RP)	Template:IPAc-en yeah (GA)
	unstressed	word-final	∅	Template:Not a typoe, recites, smile, limitrophe	Template:IPAc-en	recipes, simile, apostrophe, deled	Template:IPAc-en latte, mores, protege Template:IPAc-en zanze
		before heterosyllabic vowel	Template:IPAc-en	create, area, atheism, video	Template:IPAc-en	fideism, realpolitik
		elsewhere	Template:IPAc-en	market, ticket, honest, college, boxes, perfect, express, believe	Template:IPAc-en	taken, decency, moment	Template:IPAc-en contest, alphabet, princess
ea	in closed syllables before multiple consonants		Template:IPAc-en	dreamt, cleanse, wealth	Template:IPAc-en Template:IPAc-en	feast, yeast realty, fealty	Template:IPAc-en ealderman Template:IPAc-en poleax Template:IPAc-en seance
	in open syllables before single consonant before cons. + Template:Vr + vowel final, only vowel in word before heterosyllabic vowel		Template:IPAc-en	read (infinitive), leaf, zeal, dreams, cleans	Template:IPAc-en Template:IPAc-en Template:IPAc-en Template:IPAc-en Template:IPAc-en Template:IPAc-en Template:IPAc-en	read (past simple), deaf, zealot break, great, eagre, yea hydrangea, likeable, ocean ideal, real, cereal idea urea, laureate creating, protease, reagent	Template:IPAc-en orgeat yeah (RP) Template:IPAc-en whereas Template:IPAc-en caveat Template:IPAc-en mileage Template:IPAc-en lineage Template:IPAc-en beatify, reality Template:IPAc-en real
eau			Template:IPAc-en	bureau, plateau, tableau	Template:IPAc-en	beauty	Template:IPAc-en bureaucracy Template:IPAc-en bureaucrat
ee			Template:IPAc-en	bee, breech, feed, trainee	Template:IPAc-en	breeches, been (GA)	Template:IPAc-en matinee, fiancees, nee Template:IPAc-en bungee, coffee Template:IPAc-en freest, weest Template:IPAc-en reecho, Template:IPAc-en reelect Template:IPAc-en threepence (also Template:IPAc-en or Template:IPAc-en)
eh			Template:IPAc-en	eh, prehnite, tempeh	Template:IPAc-en	yeh	Template:IPAc-en feh Template:IPAc-en, keffiyeh
ei, ey	usually		Template:IPAc-en	veil, weight, heinous, obey	Template:IPAc-en Template:IPAc-en Template:IPAc-en	caffeine, seize, key, geyser either, height, heist, heinie, eye albeit, being, cysteine, deist	Template:IPAc-en heifer, leisure, seigneur Template:IPAc-en reveille, serein Template:IPAc-en fideist, Template:IPAc-en deice
	after Template:Vr		Template:IPAc-en	deceive, ceiling, conceit			Template:IPAc-en ceinture, enceinte Template:IPAc-en glaceing, Template:IPAc-en haecceity
	unstressed	word-final	Template:IPAc-en Template:IPAc-en	monkey, volley, curtsey, jersey			Template:IPAc-en survey (n)
		elsewhere	Template:IPAc-en	foreign, counterfeit, forfeit	Template:IPAc-en	mullein, villein	Template:IPAc-en ageist, herein, ogreish
eo	usually bisyllabic		Template:IPAc-en Template:IPAc-en Template:IPAc-en	eon, geology, reoffer, teleost creole, geode, leonine, video galleon, leotard, peon, theory	Template:IPAc-en Template:IPAc-en Template:IPAc-en	feoffee, jeopardy, leopard feoff, people luncheon, pigeon, embraceor	Template:IPAc-en yeoman, Template:IPAc-en ceorl Template:IPAc-en feodary, Template:IPAc-en geoduck Template:IPAc-en rodeo, teosinte Template:IPAc-en thereon Template:IPAc-en whereof Template:IPAc-en someone
eu, ew (ieu, iew)	usually		Template:IPAc-en	deuce, feudal, queue, dew, ewe, view	Template:IPAc-en Template:IPAc-en	berceuse, danseuse museum	Template:IPAc-en sew ∅ fauteuil
	after Template:IPAc-en		Template:IPAc-en	rheumatism, sleuth, jewel, blew, leukemia, lewd, lieu	Template:IPAc-en	nucleus, pileus	Template:IPAc-en shew Template:IPAc-en lieutenant (RP)Template:IPAc-en milieu (RP) Template:IPAc-en reuse Template:IPAc-en reutters Template:IPAc-en pileup Template:IPAc-en whereupon Template:IPAc-en Freudian
i	in closed syllables before multiple consonants final vowel in worded		Template:IPAc-en	dissent, mislaid, slither kiss, sic, bit, inflict, hint, plinth	Template:IPAc-en	dissect, island, indict, pint, ninth	Template:IPAc-en meringue, timbre, absinthe (also Template:IPAc-en) Template:IPAc-en artiste, chenille, skis, chic, ambergris
	bef. 2+ unstressed syllables next syllable contains Template:IPAc-en before cons. + Template:Vr + vowel		Template:IPAc-en	litany, liberal, chivalry, misery finish, limit, minute (n) hideous, position, Sirius	Template:IPAc-en	blithely, irony, libelous, rivalry, miserly, whitish, writing, shinier, tidied
	in open syllables before single consonant before cons. + -Template:Vr or Template:Vr + vowel before -Template:Vr word final before heterosyllabic vowel		Template:IPAc-en	cited, dive, mica, rise, polite, shine idle, trifle, nitrous, mitres sighed, signage alumni, alibi, radii vial, quiet, prior, pious	Template:IPAc-en	city, give, vicar, risen triple, citrus, giblets pighead, signal
					Template:IPAc-en	ski, police, elite, machine, litres, in vitro, chignon, Monsignor clientele, fiat, lien, skiing
	before -Template:Vr		Template:IPAc-en	wilder, remind	Template:IPAc-en	bewilder, rescind
	unstressed	before heterosyllabic vowel	Template:IPAc-en	onion, minion	Template:IPAc-en	biology, diameter	∅ parliament, lieu, nostalgia Template:IPAc-en liaison, alien, radii, idiot
		elsewhere	Template:IPAc-en	divide, permit (n), livid, typical	Template:IPAc-en	giraffe, pencil, cousin, Cheshire	∅ business Template:IPAc-en director, minute (adj) Template:IPAc-en sapphire
Template:Not a typo	word-finally		Template:IPAc-en	belie, die, untie, vie	Template:IPAc-en	goalie, oldie, auntie, movie	Template:IPAc-en lingerie (GA), Template:IPAc-en kyrie
	elsewhere		Template:IPAc-en	field, siege, rabies, skied	Template:IPAc-en Template:IPAc-en Template:IPAc-en to Template:IPAc-en Template:IPAc-en	allied, pied, skies client, diet, science, sliest ambient, alien, oriel, ugliest orient (v), acquiesce	Template:IPAc-en sieve, mischief, kerchief Template:IPAc-en friend, hygienic (GA) Template:IPAc-en biennial Template:IPAc-en diene Template:IPAc-en clientele Template:IPAc-en medieval Template:IPAc-en lien
o	in closed syllables before multiple consonants final vowel in word		Template:IPAc-en	doctor, bother, donkey dot, bomb, wonk, font	Template:IPAc-en Template:IPAc-en	won, monkey, front gross, comb, wonted, both	Template:IPAc-en tomb, womb Template:IPAc-en wolf Template:IPAc-en once Template:IPAc-en (GA) long, broth
	bef. 2+ unstressed syllables next syllable contains Template:IPAc-en		Template:IPAc-en	opera, colonise, botany topic, solid, promise	Template:IPAc-en	brokenly, probity, diplomacy meiosis, aerobic
	in open syllables before single consonant before cons. + -Template:Vr or Template:Vr + vowel word-final before heterosyllabic vowel (inc. unstressed)		Template:IPAc-en	omen, grove, total noble, cobra banjo, go boa, poet, stoic cooperate, proactive	Template:IPAc-en Template:IPAc-en Template:IPAc-en	proper, gone, shone (RP) to, who, move, doable come, love, done, colander	Template:IPAc-en woman, bosom Template:IPAc-en women Template:IPAc-en one ∅ colonel, chocolate
	unstressed		Template:IPAc-en	eloquent, wanton, purpose, Europe			Template:IPAc-en neuron, proton Template:IPAc-en hydrogen
oa			Template:IPAc-en	boat, coal, load, coaxing	Template:IPAc-en Template:IPAc-en Template:IPAc-en	boa, inchoate coaxial, ogdoad oasis, cloaca	Template:IPAc-en broad Template:IPAc-en doable Template:IPAc-en koala Template:IPAc-en quinoa
oe	usually		Template:IPAc-en	amoeba, coelacanth, foetal, phoenix	Template:IPAc-en Template:IPAc-en Template:IPAc-en	doeskin, woeful shoelace, canoeing poetic, soever, orthoepic	Template:IPAc-en foetid, roentgen Template:IPAc-en coeval, noesis Template:IPAc-en coerce Template:IPAc-en poetry, orthoepy
	last vowel in word		Template:IPAc-en	foe, goes, toed, woe	Template:IPAc-en Template:IPAc-en Template:IPAc-en Template:IPAc-en	shoes, canoe coed, noel, phloem goer loess, poem	Template:IPAc-en does Template:IPAc-en doeth, doer Template:IPAc-en foehn Template:IPAc-en diploe, kalanchoe
	unstressed		Template:IPAc-en	oedema, oesophagus	Template:IPAc-en	aloe, echoed, oboes, soloed	Template:IPAc-en hoopoe
oeu			Template:IPAc-en	manoeuvre			Template:IPAc-en hors d'oeuvre
oh	final or before a consonant		Template:IPAc-en	oh, kohlrabi, ohm, pharaoh	Template:IPAc-en	John, johnny	Template:IPAc-en bohrium Template:IPAc-en matzoh
oi			Template:IPAc-en	boing, moist, coin, envoi	Template:IPAc-en Template:IPAc-en Template:IPAc-en	going, egoist, heroin, stoic bourgeois, coiffeur, patois connoisseur, porpoise, tortoise	Template:IPAc-en doing Template:IPAc-en croissant (RP) Template:IPAc-en chamois Template:IPAc-en ghettoise, oroide
oo	usually		Template:IPAc-en	cool, sooth, boot, goosebumps	Template:IPAc-en	wool, soot, foot, gooseberry	Template:IPAc-en brooch Template:IPAc-en coopt, zoology
	before Template:Vr		Template:IPAc-en	cook, shook, wood, stood	Template:IPAc-en	kook, spook, food, brood	Template:IPAc-en flood, blood
ou	before single consonant before cons. + -Template:Vr or Template:Vr + vowel before -Template:Vr word final before heterosyllabic vowel		Template:IPAc-en	out, aloud, bough	Template:IPAc-en Template:IPAc-en Template:IPAc-en	soup, you, through touch soul, dough	Template:IPAc-en (GA): ampoule, coupon
	before multiple consonants final vowel in word bef. 2+ unstressed syllables next syllable contains Template:IPAc-en before cons. + Template:Vr + vowel		Template:IPAc-en	could, should	Template:IPAc-en Template:IPAc-en	trouble, country boulder	Template:IPAc-en cough, fount (printing)
	unstressed		Template:IPAc-en	camouflage, labour, nervous	Template:IPAc-en Template:IPAc-en	bivouac, bedouin, potpourri detour, fourchette	Template:IPAc-en hiccough Template:IPAc-en ratatouille, ouabaine
ow	stressed		Template:IPAc-en	owl, bow, row, sow, allow	Template:IPAc-en	own, bow, row, sow, alow	Template:IPAc-en acknowledge Template:IPAc-en or Template:IPAc-en rowlock
	unstressed		Template:IPAc-en	yellow, teabowl, landowner	Template:IPAc-en	peafowl, sundowner	Template:IPAc-en cassowary, toward (RP)
oy			Template:IPAc-en	boy, doyenne, foyer, voyage	Template:IPAc-en	voyeur, noyade	Template:IPAc-en oyez Template:IPAc-en coyote (GA) Template:IPAc-en buoy (GA)
u	in closed syllables before multiple consonants final vowel in word		Template:IPAc-en	budding, cuckold, mullet but, gull, fuss	Template:IPAc-en	pudding, cuckoo, bullet, put, full, puss	Template:IPAc-en ruthless, brut Template:IPAc-en butte, debut, fuchsia, tulle
	in open syllables before single consonant before cons. + -Template:Vr or Template:Vr + vowel before heterosyllabic vowel word-final		Template:IPAc-en	mute, student, puny, union, fuses bugle, hubris, nutrient (RP) duo, nuance, pursuant, ensuing menu, emu, impromptu (RP)	Template:IPAc-en Template:IPAc-en	study, punish, bunion, buses butler, cutlery, subrogate super, lunar, absolute, revolution suet, lucrative, lugubrious hindu, tutu, tofu, truth	Template:IPAc-en busy, business
	in open syllables after Template:IPAc-en, or cons. + Template:IPAc-en before single consonant before cons. + -Template:Vr or Template:Vr + vowel before heterosyllabic vowel word-final		Template:IPAc-en	rule, chute, June, recluses scruples, rubric truant, fluent, cruelty flu, guru	Template:IPAc-en	overuse, underused	Template:IPAc-en runaway, truculent, clubroom Template:IPAc-en sugar
	after Template:Vr	before Template:Vr	∅	guest, guide, vaguer	Template:IPAc-en	segue, distinguish	Template:IPAc-en ambiguity
		before Template:Vr	Template:IPAc-en	language	∅	guard, languor	Template:IPAc-en jaguar (RP)
	after Template:Vr		Template:IPAc-en	quail, conquest, banquet, quite	∅	quay, conquer, bouquet, mosquito
	unstressed		Template:IPAc-en	support, industry, useful, medium	Template:IPAc-en Template:IPAc-en	debut guffaw, unruly, upend, vulgarity	Template:IPAc-en minute, lettuce
ue	after Template:Vr	word final	∅	league, tongue	Template:IPAc-en	ague	Template:IPAc-en merengue, Template:IPAc-en dengue
		word medial	Template:IPAc-en Template:IPAc-en	guest, guessed, baguette guerrilla, beleaguered	∅	vaguely, intrigued argued	Template:IPAc-en segued, Template:IPAc-en guenon Template:IPAc-en unguent, Template:IPAc-en ungues Template:IPAc-en arguer Template:IPAc-en Portuguese
	after Template:Vr, or cons. + Template:Vr		Template:IPAc-en	true, clue, gruesome, blues	Template:IPAc-en	influence, cruel, fluent, bluest	Template:IPAc-en cruet, Template:IPAc-en influential
	elsewhere (except after Template:Vr)		Template:IPAc-en	virtue, cue, valued, hue, muesli	Template:IPAc-en Template:IPAc-en Template:IPAc-en Template:IPAc-en	fuel, constituent, rescuer innuendo, statuesque, minuet Sue, snafued (GA: due, revenue) GA: duel, pursuer	Template:IPAc-en suet, Template:IPAc-en muezz|in Template:IPAc-en tenues, Template:IPAc-en habitue Template:IPAc-en puerile, Template:IPAc-en muenster Template:IPAc-en suede, Venezuelan Template:IPAc-en pueblo, Template:IPAc-en desuetude
ui	after Template:Vr		Template:IPAc-en Template:IPAc-en	guild, guitar, intriguing, roguish guide, guise, beguile	Template:IPAc-en	anguish, penguin, linguist, sanguine	Template:IPAc-en beguine, Template:IPAc-en linguine Template:IPAc-en arguing, aguish, contiguity
	after Template:Vr or cons. + Template:Vr		Template:IPAc-en	juice, cruise, sluice, fruiting	Template:IPAc-en	fruition, fluid, ruin, druid, truism, incongruity	Template:IPAc-en alleluia Template:IPAc-en Cruickshank
	elsewhere (except after Template:Vr)		Template:IPAc-en Template:IPAc-en	conduit, cuing, genuine, Buick, circuitous, Jesuit build, circuit, biscuit, pursuivant	Template:IPAc-en Template:IPAc-en Template:IPAc-en Template:IPAc-en	suit, suitable, nuisance (GA) intuitive (RP), promiscuity nuisance (RP), puisne suicide, tui, Inuit, Hinduism	Template:IPAc-en duiker, Template:IPAc-en circuitry Template:IPAc-en cuisine, suint Template:IPAc-en suite, ennui, tuille Template:IPAc-en sui generis Template:IPAc-en feng shui
uu			Template:IPAc-en	continuum, residuum	Template:IPAc-en	menstruum	Template:IPAc-en duumvir Template:IPAc-en vacuum Template:IPAc-en muumuu
uy			Template:IPAc-en	buy, buyout, guyed	Template:IPAc-en Template:IPAc-en	guyot, cliquy, plaguy obsequy, soliloquy	Template:IPAc-en toluyl Template:IPAc-en thuya, gruyere Template:IPAc-en puy Template:IPAc-en tuyere
w					Template:IPAc-en	cwm
y	before multiple consonants bef. 2+ unstressed syllables next syllable contains Template:IPAc-en		Template:IPAc-en	myth, cryptic, system, symbol cylinder, typical, pyramid, dynasty cynic, lyric, lytic, syringe	Template:IPAc-en	cyclone, hyphen, psyche, python hydrogen, dynasty (GA) cyclist, hybrid, psychic, typist
	before single consonant before cons. + -Template:Vr or Template:Vr + vowel word-final		Template:IPAc-en	typing, style, paralyze, nylon cycle, cypress, hydrate, lycra awry, by, deny, sky, supply	Template:IPAc-en	byzantine, synod, synagogue, Cypriote, sycophantic
	unstressed	word-final	Template:IPAc-en	any, city, happy, only, supply (adv)			Template:IPAc-en ally (n)
		elsewhere	Template:IPAc-en	bicycle, oxygen, polymer, dyslexia, physique, synonymous	Template:IPAc-en Template:IPAc-en Template:IPAc-en	sibyl, pyjamas dynamics, hypothesis, typhoon anyway, everything

Combinations of vowel letters and ⟨r⟩

Spelling			Major value (IPA)	Examples of major value	Minor values (IPA)	Examples of minor value	Exceptions
ar	before a vowel	next syllable contains Template:IPAc-en within the same morpheme	Template:IPAc-en	apparent, arid, guarantee, mariners, parish	Template:IPAc-en	parent, garish
		followed by a morpheme boundary	Template:IPAc-en	carer, scary, sharing, rarity	Template:IPAc-en Template:IPAc-en	comparable, comparative faraway, tsarist
		otherwise	Template:IPAc-en	area, care, pharoah, vary, wariness	Template:IPAc-en	aria, are, safaris	Template:IPAc-en quarantine, waratah
	elsewhere	stressed	Template:IPAc-en	argyle, car, farce			Template:IPAc-en scarce Template:IPAc-en sarsaparilla (GA) Template:IPAc-en dharna
		after Template:IPAc-en	Template:IPAc-en	war, award, dwarf, warning, quarter
		unstressed	Template:IPAc-en	circular, pillar
aer			Template:IPAc-en	aerial, aeroplane	Template:IPAc-en	chimaera	Template:IPAc-en anaerobe
air			Template:IPAc-en	cairn, millionaire, dairy			Template:IPAc-en hetaira Template:IPAc-en zaire
aor			Template:IPAc-en	aorta	Template:IPAc-en Template:IPAc-en	Maori extraordinary
arr	before a spoken vowel		Template:IPAc-en	marry, barrel, arrow, barren, carrot	Template:IPAc-en	starry, barring
	elsewhere		Template:IPAc-en	scarred, Parr
aur			Template:IPAc-en	dinosaur, aural, aura, Laura	Template:IPAc-en	laurel, Laurence
awer			Template:IPAc-en	gnawer, rawer, thawer			Template:IPAc-en drawer
ayer, ayor			Template:IPAc-en	layer, mayor, soothsayer
er	before a vowel		Template:IPAc-en	here, series, query, merely	Template:IPAc-en Template:IPAc-en Template:IPAc-en	compere, there, werewolf derelict, heresy, perish, very derail, reremind	Template:IPAc-en were, weregild
	elsewhere	stressed	Template:IPAc-en	her, jerk, coerced, merchant	Template:IPAc-en	berceuse	Template:IPAc-en clerk, sergeant
		unstressed	Template:IPAc-en	starter, fewer, Berber, arguer, shower	Template:IPAc-en (or Template:IPAc-en)	dossier, foyer
ear	before a consonant	before a morpheme boundary	Template:IPAc-en	dearly, fearless, tearful, yearling	Template:IPAc-en	bearskin, swearword	Template:IPAc-en heard
		elsewhere	Template:IPAc-en	pearly, hearse, yearning, earth	Template:IPAc-en	hearken, hearty, hearth	Template:IPAc-en beard, peart Template:IPAc-en bearnaise Template:IPAc-en rearm
	elsewhere		Template:IPAc-en	fear, year, appear, hearing,	Template:IPAc-en Template:IPAc-en	pear, bearish, wearing linear, nuclear, stearin	Template:IPAc-en tearoom
eer			Template:IPAc-en	cheering, beer, eerTemplate:Not a typo	Template:IPAc-en	freer, seers
eir			Template:IPAc-en	heir, madeira, their	Template:IPAc-en	weird, weir, eyrie	Template:IPAc-en oneiric, eirenic
eor			Template:IPAc-en	deorbit, reorganise	Template:IPAc-en	theory
err	before a spoken vowel		Template:IPAc-en	error, merry, terrible, herring, ferret	Template:IPAc-en	referring
	elsewhere		Template:IPAc-en	err, preferred
eur	after Template:IPAc-en, cons. + Template:IPAc-en		Template:IPAc-en	pleurisy
	elsewhere		Template:IPAc-en	euro, liqueur, neural	Template:IPAc-en	masseur, voyeur	Template:IPAc-en theurgy
ir	before a spoken vowel	usually	Template:IPAc-en	pirate, virus, iris, spiral	Template:IPAc-en	mirage, virile, iridescent, spirit
		derived from a word with silent Template:Angbr following	Template:IPAc-en	wirable, aspiring
	before silent Template:Angbr		Template:IPAc-en	hire, fires, mired
	elsewhere	stressed	Template:IPAc-en	bird, fir			Template:IPAc-en menhir
		unstressed	Template:IPAc-en	elixir, kefir, triumvir
ier			Template:IPAc-en	cashier, fierce, frontier, pier	Template:IPAc-en Template:IPAc-en	shier, fiery, hierarchy, plier busier, rapier, glacier, hosiery	Template:IPAc-en concierge, premiere Template:IPAc-en atelier, bustier, dossier Template:IPAc-en skier
irr	before a spoken vowel		Template:IPAc-en	mirror, squirrel, cirrus, tirret	Template:IPAc-en	stirrer
	elsewhere		Template:IPAc-en	whirred
or	after Template:Vr		Template:IPAc-en	word, work, worst	Template:IPAc-en	worn, sword, swore
	elsewhere	stressed	Template:IPAc-en	ford, boring, more	Template:IPAc-en	forest, moral	Template:IPAc-en whorl Template:IPAc-en borough ∅ comfortable
		unstressed	Template:IPAc-en	gladiator, major, equator
oar			Template:IPAc-en	boar, coarse, keyboard, soaring			Template:IPAc-en cupboard, starboard Template:IPAc-en coarctate
oer			Template:IPAc-en	partygoer, forgoer	Template:IPAc-en	undoer, canoer	Template:IPAc-en oersted
oir			Template:IPAc-en	reservoir, memoir, moire, soiree	Template:IPAc-en	coir, loir, Moira	Template:IPAc-en choir Template:IPAc-en avoirdupois
oor			Template:IPAc-en	poor, moor, boorish, roorback	Template:IPAc-en	door, flooring	Template:IPAc-en whippoorwill Template:IPAc-en coordinate
orr	stressed	after Template:Vr	Template:IPAc-en	worry
		elsewhere	Template:IPAc-en	horrid, porridge, torrent, correlate	Template:IPAc-en (RP), Template:IPAc-en (GA)	borrow, sorry	Template:IPAc-en Andorra
	unstressed		Template:IPAc-en	correct, corrupt, haemorrhage, horrific
our	stressed		Template:IPAc-en	four, courtesan, discourse	Template:IPAc-en Template:IPAc-en Template:IPAc-en	hour, flour, scours journey, courtesy, scourge tour, courier, gourd, velour	Template:IPAc-en courage, flourish
	unstressed		Template:IPAc-en	labour, colourful	Template:IPAc-en Template:IPAc-en	entourage, potpourri detour, fourchette
ur	before a vowel	elsewhere	Template:IPAc-en	lure, purity, curing	Template:IPAc-en	allure, guru, Silurian	Template:IPAc-en bury, burial
		after Template:IPAc-en, cons. + Template:IPAc-en	Template:IPAc-en	rural, jury, plural, sure, assurance, allure
	elsewhere	stressed	Template:IPAc-en	turn, occur, curdle	Template:IPAc-en		Template:IPAc-en langur
		unstressed	Template:IPAc-en	sulphur, jodhpur, bulgur, murmur
urr	before a spoken vowel		Template:IPAc-en	current, hurry, flurry, burrow, turret	Template:IPAc-en	furry, blurring
	elsewhere		Template:IPAc-en	burr, blurred
yr
	before a spoken vowel	bef. 2+ unstressed syllables next syllable contains Template:IPAc-en	Template:IPAc-en	syrup, Pyrenees, lyric, pyramid, Syria, myriad, syringe, tyranny, pyrrhic
		elsewhere	Template:IPAc-en	tyrant, gyrate, pyrotechnic, thyroid
	before silent Template:Angbr		Template:IPAc-en	lyre, pyre, tyres, gyred
	elsewhere	stressed	Template:IPAc-en	myrtle, myrrh
		unstressed	Template:IPAc-en	martyr

Combinations of other consonant and vowel letters

Spelling		Major value (IPA)	Examples of major value	Minor values (IPA)	Examples of minor value	Exceptions
al	Excluding before Template:Vr (see below)	Template:IPAc-en	pal, talcum, algae, alp	Template:IPAc-en	bald, Nepal, always, walrus	Template:IPAc-en falcon (also with Template:IPAc-en, Template:IPAc-en or Template:IPAc-en) Template:IPAc-en false (RP; also Template:IPAc-en)
alf	before a vowel	Template:IPAc-en	alfalfa, malfeasance
	elsewhere	Template:IPAc-en (RP) Template:IPAc-en (GA)	calf, half			Template:IPAc-en palfrey
alk	before a vowel	Template:IPAc-en	alkaline, grimalkin	Template:IPAc-en	balkanise
	elsewhere	Template:IPAc-en	walk
all		Template:IPAc-en Template:IPAc-en	call, fallout, smaller shall, callus, fallow	Template:IPAc-en Template:IPAc-en	wallet, swallow allow, dialled	Template:IPAc-en marshmallow (GA), pall-mall (GA)
alm	before a vowel	lm/	palmate, salmonella, talmud	lm/	almanac, almost , instalment	Template:IPAc-en salmon Template:IPAc-en almond (GA)Template:Efn-lr Template:IPAc-en signalment Template:IPAc-en almond (RP), balmy, palmistry.
	elsewhere	Template:IPAc-en	alms, calm			Template:IPAc-en halm
alt		Template:IPAc-enTemplate:Efn-lr	alter, malt, salty, basalt	Template:IPAc-en	alto, shalt, saltation, asphalt (RP)	Template:IPAc-en gestalt (GA) Template:IPAc-en royalty, penalty
ange	word final	Template:IPAc-en	arrange, change, mange, strange	Template:IPAc-en	flange, phalange	Template:IPAc-en melange Template:IPAc-en blancmange Template:IPAc-en orange
aste	word final	Template:IPAc-en	chaste, lambaste, paste, taste	Template:IPAc-en	cineaste, caste (GA), pleonaste	Template:IPAc-en (out)caste (RP) Template:IPAc-en namaste
-ci	unstressed before vowel	Template:IPAc-en	special, gracious	Template:IPAc-en (also Template:IPAc-en)	species
-cqu		Template:IPAc-en	acquaint, acquire	Template:IPAc-en	lacquer, racquet
ed	word final after Template:IPAc-en or Template:IPAc-en	Template:IPAc-en	loaded, waited
	word final after a voiceless sound	Template:IPAc-en	piped, enserfed, snaked	Template:IPAc-en	biped, underfed	Template:IPAc-en naked
	word final after a lenis sound	Template:IPAc-en	limbed, enisled, unfeared	Template:IPAc-en	imbed, misled, infrared	Template:IPAc-en beloved
es	word final after a fricative	Template:IPAc-en	mazes, washes, axes, bases, pieces	Template:IPAc-en	axes, bases, feces, oases
ex-	unstressed before Template:Vr or a vowel	Template:IPAc-en	exist, examine, exhaust	Template:IPAc-en	exhale
gu-	before Template:Vr	Template:IPAc-en	bilingual, guano, language	Template:IPAc-en	guard, guarantee
(a)isle	word final	Template:IPAc-en	aisle, isle, enisle, lisle
le	word final after non Template:Vr cons.	Template:IPAc-en	little, table	Template:IPAc-en	orle, isle	Template:IPAc-en boucle
ngue	word final	Template:IPAc-en	tongue, harangue, meringue	Template:IPAc-en	merengue, Template:Not a typogué	Template:IPAc-en dengue
old		Template:IPAc-en	blindfold, older, bold	Template:IPAc-en	scaffold, kobold (also Template:IPAc-en)
olk		Template:IPAc-en	yolk, folklore	Template:IPAc-en	polka (RP), kolkhoz	Template:IPAc-en polka (GA)
oll		Template:IPAc-en	dollhouse, pollen, trolley, holly	Template:IPAc-en	tollhouse, swollen, troller, wholly	Template:IPAc-en atoll (GA) Template:IPAc-en cholla Template:IPAc-en caroller, collide
olm		Template:IPAc-en	olm, dolmen	Template:IPAc-en	enrolment, holmium	Template:IPAc-en holm (oak)
ong	morpheme-final	Template:IPAc-en (RP) Template:IPAc-en (GA)	songstress, along, strong, wronger	Template:IPAc-en	tonger, bong, dugong, tongs	Template:IPAc-en among
	elsewhere	Template:IPAc-en	congress, jongleur, bongo, conger, ongoing, nongraded	Template:IPAc-en Template:IPAc-en Template:IPAc-en	congeries, longevity, pongee monger, humongous, mongrel sponger, longe, spongy	Template:IPAc-en tongue Template:IPAc-en congratulate, lemongrass Template:IPAc-en congeal, congestion Template:IPAc-en allonge Template:IPAc-en congé (GA)
ought		Template:IPAc-en	bought, brought, fought, nought, ought, sought, thought, wrought	Template:IPAc-en	doughty, drought
qu-		Template:IPAc-en	queen, quick	Template:IPAc-en	liquor, mosquito
que	word final	Template:IPAc-en	mosque, bisque	Template:IPAc-en	manque, risqué	Template:IPAc-en barbeque Template:IPAc-en pulque
re	word final after non Template:Vr cons.	Template:IPAc-en	timbre, acre, ogre, centre	Template:IPAc-en, Template:IPAc-en Template:IPAc-en	cadre (GA), compadre, emigre genre, oeuvre, fiacre
ron	word final after vowel	Template:IPAc-en	neuron, moron, interferon, aileron	Template:IPAc-en	baron, heron, environ	Template:IPAc-en iron Template:IPAc-en chaperon
sci-	unstressed before a vowel	Template:IPAc-en	conscience, luscious, prosciutto	Template:IPAc-en	sciatica, sciamachy, sciential	Template:IPAc-en conscientious, fasciated Template:IPAc-en (RP) omniscient, prescience
scle	word final	Template:IPAc-en	corpuscle, muscle	Template:IPAc-en	mascle
-se	word final after vowel (noun)	Template:IPAc-en	house, excuse, moose, anise, geese	Template:IPAc-en	prose, nose, tease, guise, compromise	Template:IPAc-en marchese
	word final after vowel (verb)	Template:IPAc-en	house, excuse, choose, arise, please	Template:IPAc-en	grouse, dose, lease, chase, promise
-si	unstressed after a vowel	Template:IPAc-en	vision, occasion, explosion, illusion	Template:IPAc-en	easier, enthusiasm, physiological
	unstressed after a cons.	/ʃ/	pension, controversial, compulsion			/si/ tarsier, Celsius
-ssi	unstressed before a vowel	Template:IPAc-en	mission, passion, Russia, session	Template:IPAc-en	potassium, dossier, messier
-sti	unstressed before a vowel	Template:IPAc-en	question, Christian, suggestion
-sure	unstressed after a vowel	Template:IPAc-en	leisure, treasure
	unstressed after a cons.	Template:IPAc-en	tonsure, censure
-the	unstressed	Template:IPAc-en	scathe, spathe
-ti	unstressed before a vowel	Template:IPAc-en	cautious, patient, inertia, initial, ration	Template:IPAc-en Template:IPAc-en	patios, consortia, fiftieth, courtier ratios, minutia, initiate, negotiate	Template:IPAc-en cation, cationic Template:IPAc-en equation Template:IPAc-en rentier (GA)
-ture	unstressed	Template:IPAc-en	nature, picture
-zure	unstressed	Template:IPAc-en	seizure, azure

Sound-to-spelling correspondences

The following table shows for each sound the various spelling patterns used to denote it, starting with the prototypical pattern(s) followed by others in alphabetical order. Some of these patterns are very rare or unique (such as Template:Vr for , Template:Vr for , Template:Vr for ). An ellipsis (Template:Vr) stands for an intervening consonant.

Consonants

Arranged in the order of the IPA consonant tables.

Consonants
IPA	Spelling	Examples
	m, mm, chm, gm, lm, mb, mbe, me, mh, mme, mn, mp, sme	mine, hammer, drachm, phlegm, salmon, climb, combe, forme, mho, femme, autumn, assumption, disme
	n, nn, cn, dn, gn, gne, kn, mn, mp, nd, ne, ng, nh, nne, nt, pn, sn, sne	nice, inn, cnidarian, Wednesday, gnome, coigne, knee, mnemonic, comptroller, handsome, borne, ngaio, piranha, tonne, topgallant-sail, pneumonia, puisne, mesne
	ng, n, nc, nd, ngh, ngue, nh	sing, link, charabanc, handkerchief, sangh, tongue, sinh
	p, pp, gh, pe, (ph), ppe	pill, apps, hiccough, thorpe, diphthong (RP),Template:Efn-lr steppe
	b, bb, be, bh, pb, gb	bit, ebb, barbe, bhang, cupboard, Igbo
	t, tt, bt, cht, ct, d, dt, ed, ght, kt, pt, phth, st, te, th, tte	ten, sett, doubt, yacht, victual, iced, veldt, dressed, lighter, ktypeite, ptarmigan, phthisical, cestui, forte, thyme, cigarette
	d, dd, ddh, bd, de, dh, ed, ld	dive, odd, Buddhism, bdellium, horde, dharma, abandoned, solder,
	c, k, cc, cch, ch, ck, cq, cqu, cque, cu, ke, kh, kk, lk, q, qh, qu, que, x, (g)	cat, key, account, zucchini, chord, tack, acquire, lacquer, sacque, biscuit, burke, khaki, trekker, polka-dotted, quorum, fiqh, liquor, mosque, excite, (strength)
	g, gg, ckg, gge, gh, gu, gue	gig, egg, blackguard, pogge, ghost, guard, catalogue
	f, ff, fe, ffe, ft, gh, lf, ph, phe, pph, (u)	fine, chaff, carafe, gaffe, soften, laugh, half, physical, ouphe, sapphire, lieutenant (RP)
	v, vv, f, lve, ph, u, ve, w, zv, b, bh	vine, savvy, of, halve, Stephen, quetsch, have, weltanschauung, rendezvous, Habdalah, kethibh
	th, the, chth, phth, tth, h, t	thin, absinthe, chthonic, apophthegm, eighth, tanh
	th, the, dd, dh, y	them, breathe, gorsedd, edh, ye (mock archaic)
	s, ss, c, cc, ce, ps, sc, sce, sch, se, sh, sse, sses, st, (sth), sw, t, th, ti, (ts), tsw, tzs, tz, (z)	song, mess, city, flaccid, ounce, psalm, scene, coalesce, schism (RP), horse, dishonest, finesse, chausses, listen, asthma (RP), sword, tzitzit, zizith, Kiribati, tsunami (GA), boatswain, britzska, waltz (RP), quartz
	z, zz, cz, s, (sc), se, sh, sp, ss, (sth), ts, tz, x, ze, zh, zs (one pronunciation), c (some dialects)	zoo, fuzz, czar, has, crescent (RP),Template:Efn-lr tease, déshabillé, raspberry, dissolve, asthma (GA), tsarina, tzar, xylophone, breeze, zho, (vizsla), (electricity)
	sh, c, ce, ch, che, chi, chsi, ci, s, sc, sch, sche, schsch, sci, sesh, she, shh, shi, si, sj, ss, ssi, ti, psh, zh, x	shin, speciality, ocean, machine, quiche, marchioness, fuchsia, special, sugar, crescendo, schmooze, schottische, eschscholtzia, conscience, tortoiseshell, galoshe, shh, cushion, expansion, sjambok, tissue, mission, nation, pshaw, pirozhki, paxiuba
	(ci), g, ge, j, s, si, ssi, ti, z, zh, zhe, (zi), zs (one pronunciation)	coercion (GA), genre, beige, bijou, leisure, division, abscission, equation, seizure, muzhik, uzhe,Template:Efn-lr brazier (GA), (vizsla)
	ch (in Scottish English), gh (in Irish English)	loch, lough
	h, wh, j, ch	he, who, fajita, chutzpah
	r, rh, wr	run, rhyme, wrong
	l, ll, le, lh, lle, gl, sle, ln (some dialects)	line, shall, tale, pelham, gazelle, imbroglio, aisle, (kiln)
	y, h, i, j, l, ll, z, r (one pronunciation)	yes, vinho verde, onion, hallelujah, llano, tortilla, capercailzie, FebruaryTemplate:Efn-lr
Template:IPAslink	wh (in some dialects)	which
	w, u, h, ou, ju, wh (in most dialects)	we, persuade, choir, ouija, marijuana, what
	ts, tz, zz	nuts, quartz, pizza
	ds, dz, z	pads, podzol, jiaozi
	ch, tch, c, cc, cch, (che), chi, cs, cz, q, t, tche, te, (th), (ti), ts, tsch, tz, tzs, tzsch, h	chop, batch, cello, bocce, kaccha, niche (GA), falchion, csardas, Czech, qi, nature, escutcheon, righteous, posthumous (GA), bastion (GA), britska (US), putsch, britz(s)ka (US), Nietzschean, sinh
	g, j, (ch), d, dg, dge, di, dj, dzh, ge, gg, gi, jj, t, zh	magic, jump, sandwich (RP), graduate, judgment, bridge, soldier, adjust, Tadzhik, barge, veggies, Belgian, hajj, congratulate (US)Template:Efn-lr, guzheng
	x, xx, cast, cc, chs, cks, cques, cs, cz, kes, ks, lks, ques, xc, xe, xs, xsc, xsw	sax, doxxing, forecastle, accent, tachs, backs, sacques, sacs, eczema, burkes, yaks, caulks, toques, excel, axe, exsert, exscind, coxswain
	x, ggs, gs	exam, eggs, bags

Vowels

Nasal vowels used by some speakers in words of French origin such as enceinte (Template:IPAc-en), are not included.

Vowels
IPA	Spelling	Examples
	a, a...e, (ag), ai, al, (ar), (au), ea, ei, i, o (one pronunciation)	hand, have, seraglio (GA), plaid, salmon, sarsaparilla (GA), laugh (GA), poleax enceinte, meringue, (chometz)
	a, a...e, aa, aae, aah, aahe, (ag), ah, (au), (i), o (one pronunciation), ar (one pronunciation)	father, garage, salaam, baaed, aah, aahed, seraglio (RP), blah, aunt (RP), lingerie (GA), (chometz), (schoolmarm)
	i...e, ae, ai, aie, (aille), ais, ay, aye, ei, eigh, eu, ey, eye, i, ia, ic, Template:Not a typo, ig, igh, ighe, is, oi, (oy), ui, uy, uye, y, y...e, ye	fine, maestro, krait, shanghaied, canaille (RP), aisle, kayak, aye, heist, height, deuddarn, heyduck, eye, mic, diaper, indict, tie, sign, high, sighed, isle, choir, coyote (GA), guide, buy, guyed, why, type, bye
	ou, ow, ao, aou, aow, aowe, au, odh, ough, oughe, owe, iao, iau	out, now, manoao, caoutchouc, miaow, miaowed, gauss, bodhrán, bough, ploughed, vowed, jiao, chiaus
	e, a, ae, ai, ay, e...e, ea, eh, ei, eo, Template:Not a typo, oe, ue, ee (one pronunciation)	met, many, aesthetic, said, says, there, deaf, feh, heifer, jeopardy, friend, foetid, guess, (threepence)
	a, a...e, aa, ae, ai, ai...e, aig, aigh, ais,, alf, ao, au, ay, aye, e (é), e...e, ea, Template:Not a typo, ee (ée), eh, ei, ei...e, eig, eigh, eighe, er, ere, es, et, ete, ey, eye, ez, (Template:Not a typo), (oeh), ue, uet	bass, rate, quaalude, reggae, rain, cocaine, arraign, straight, palais, halfpenny, gaol, gauge, hay, played, ukulele (café), crepe, steak, matinee (soirée), thTemplate:Not a typon, eh, veil, beige, reign, eight, weighed, dossier, espaliered, demesne, ballet, crocheted, they, obeyed, chez, lingerie (GA), boehmite (GA), merengue, bouquet
	a, e, i, o, u, y, a...e, ae, ah, ai, anc, ath, au, ea, eau, eh, ei, eig, eo, eou, (eu), gh, ia, ie, io, o...e, oa, oe, oh, oi, oo, op, ou, (ough), (u...e), ua, ue, (ui), uo, wa...e	tuna, oven, pencil, pilot, opus, beryl, carcase, Messiah, mountain, blancmange, tuath, sergeant, bureaucrat, keffiyeh, mullein, foreign, truncheon, timeous, amateur (RP), burgh, spatial, deficient, legion, awesome, starboard, biocoenosis, matzoh, porpoise, whipoorwill, topgallant, callous, borough (RP), minute (GA), piquant, guerilla, circuit (GA), languor, gunwale
	i, y, a, a...e, ai, e, ea, ee, ei, i...e, ia, Template:Not a typo, ii, o, oe, u, u...e, ui	bit, myth, orange, chocolate, bargain, pretty, mileage, breeches, counterfeit, medicine, carriage, sieve, shiitake, women, oedema, busy, minute, build
	e, e...e, i, i...e, a, ae, aoi, ay, ea, ee, e'e, ei, eo, ey, eye, Template:Not a typo, ie...e, is, ix, oe, oi, ue, ui, uy, y	be, cede, ski, machine, bologna, algae, Taoiseach, quay, beach, bee, e'en, deceit, people, key, keyed, field, hygiene, debris, prix, amoeba, chamois, dengue, beguine, guyot, ynambu
	a, o, ach, au, eau, oh, (ou), ow, e, (eo)	watch, lock, yacht, sausage, bureaucracy, cough (RP), acknowledge, entrée, cheongsam (RP)
	a, al, au, au...e, augh, aughe, aw, awe, ea, (o), oa, oss, (ou), ough	bald, talk, author, cause, caught, overslaughed, jaw, awe, ealdorman, broad, crossjack, cough, bought
	oi, oy, eu, oll, ooi, oye, ui, (uoy), uoye, (awy)	avoid, toy, lawyer, Freudian, cholla, rooibos, enjoyed, schuit, buoyant, buoyed (RP), (lawyer)
	o, o...e, aoh, au, aux, eau, eaue, eo, ew, oa, oe, oh, oo, ore, ot, ou, ough, oughe, ow, owe, w	so, bone, pharaoh, mauve, faux, beau, plateaued, yeoman, sew, boat, foe, oh, brooch, forecastle, depot, soul, though, furloughed, know, owe, pwn
	u, o, o...e, oe, oo, ou, uddi, wo, a, au (some dialects), ee (one pronunciation)	sun, son, come, does, flood, touch, studdingsail, twopence, sati, (because), (threepence)
	oo, u, o, o...e, (or), oul, w	foot, full, wolf, pembroke, worsted (RP), should, cwtch
	u, u...e, oo, oo...e, eew, eu, ew, ieu, ioux, o, o...e, oe, oeu, ooe, ou, ough, ougha, oup, ue, uh, ui, (uo), w, wo	tutu, flute, too, groove, leeward, sleuth, yew, lieu, Sioux, to, lose, shoe, manoeuvre, cooed, soup, through, brougham, coup, true, buhl, fruit, buoy (GA), cwm, two
	u, u...e, ew, eau, eo, eu, ewe, ieu, iew, (ou), ue, ueue, ui, ut, uu, you	music, use, few, beauty, feodary, feud, ewe, adieu, view, ampoule (GA), cue, queue, nuisance, debut, vacuum, you

Vowels followed by Template:Angbr

Nasal vowels used by some speakers in words of French origin such as enceinte (Template:IPAc-en), are not included.

Vowels
IPA	Spelling	Examples
	ar, arr, ahr, uar	arid, marry, Fahrenheit, guarantee
	ar, aar, ahr, alla, are, arr, arre, arrh, ear, er, uar, our (some dialects)	car, bazaar, tahr, topgallant-sail, are, parr, bizarre, catarrh, heart, sergeant, guard, (our)
	ire, ier, igher, yer, yre, oir, uyer	fire, crier, higher, flyer, pyre, choir, buyer
	our, ower	sour, tower
	er, err, ur	very, merry, bury
	are, aer, air, aire, ar, ayer, ayor, ayre, e'er, eah, ear, eir, eor, er, ere, err, erre, ert, ey're, eyr	bare, aerial, tahr, hair, millionaire, scarce, prayer, mayor, fayre, ne'er, yeah, bear, heir, ceorl, moderne, where, err (GA), parterre, couvert, they're, eyra
	ar, er, ir, or, aur, aer	hangar, letter, elixir, author, aurora, anaerobe
	er, ir, ur, ar, ear, ere, err, erre, eur, eure, irr, irre, oeu, olo, or, our, ueur, uhr, urr, urre, yr, yrrh	defer, fir, fur, dharna, earl, were, err, interred, voyeur, chauffeured (GA), birr, stirred, hors d'oeuvre, colonel, worst, adjourn, liqueur, buhrstone, purr, murre, myrtle, myrrh
	ir, irr, yr, yrrh, er	spirit, mirror, tyranny, pyrrhic, erase
	ere, aer, e're, ear, eare, eer, eere, ehr, eir, eor, er, ers, eyr, ier, iere, ir, oea, yer	here, chimaera, we're, ear, feared, beer, peered, lehr, weird, theory (RP), series, revers, eyrie, pier, premiere, souvenir, diarrhoea (RP), twyer
	or, orr, ar, arr, aur	orange, sorry, quarantine, quarry, laurel
	or, ore, aor, ar, aur, aure, hors, oar, oare, oor, oore, our, oure, owar, ohr, uor	or, fore, extraordinary, war, dinosaur, roquelaure, hors d'oeuvre, oar, soared, door, floored, four, poured, toward (GA), bohrium, fluoridate
	oir, awyer	coir, lawyer
	urr, ur, orr, or, our	hurry, burgh, worry, thorough, courage
	our	courier
	oor, our, ure, ur	poor, tour, sure, rural
	ure, ur, eur	cure, purity, neural

See also

• False etymology
• Spelling bee
• List of English homographs
• The Chaos – a poem by Gerard Nolst Trenité demonstrating the irregularities of English spelling

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Conventions

• English plural
• I before E except after C
• Three letter rule

Variant spelling

• American and British English spelling differences
• Misspelling
  • Satiric misspelling
  • Sensational spelling
• Spelling of disc

Graphemes

• Apostrophe
• Eth
• Long s
• Thorn (letter)
• Yogh

Phonetic orthographic systems

• English spelling reform
• Interspel
• Pronouncing Orthography

English scripts

• English alphabet (Latin script)
• American manual alphabet
• Two-handed manual alphabets
• English braille
• American braille
• New York Point
• Shavian alphabet

Words in English

• Lists of English words
• Classical compound
• Ghoti

English phonology

• Regional accents of English
  • IPA chart for English dialects
• Stress and vowel reduction in English
• Initial-stress-derived noun
• Traditional English pronunciation of Latin

Orthographies of English-related languages

Germanic languages

• Danish
• Dutch
• German
• Icelandic
• Scots

Romance languages

• French
• Italian
• Milanese
• Portuguese
• Spanish

Celtic languages

• Irish
• Scottish Gaelic
• Welsh

Historical languages

• Latin
• Old Norse
• Old English

Constructed languages

• Esperanto