English has 26 letters. The full set is A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K, L, M, N, O, P, Q, R, S, T, U, V, W, X, Y, and Z. Each letter has a name, and the name is what you say when you speak or spell the alphabet. The letters are the basic written forms used in English.

Full English letter names in alphabetical order

Word	Notation	Description	Example
A	ay	The letter A is named with the long a sound.	Please write A at the top of the page.
B	bee	The letter B is named with the bee sound.	I can see B on the card.
C	see	The letter C is named with the see sound.	Please point to C first.
D	dee	The letter D is named with the dee sound.	I wrote D beside the line.
E	ee	The letter E is named with the ee sound.	Please circle E on the sheet.
F	ef	The letter F is named with the ef sound.	I can hear F in the name.
G	jee	The letter G is named with the jee sound.	Please trace G slowly.
H	aitch	The letter H is named with the aitch sound.	I found H near the top.
I	eye	The letter I is named with the eye sound.	Please underline I in your notes.
J	jay	The letter J is named with the jay sound.	I wrote J on the board.
K	kay	The letter K is named with the kay sound.	Please match K with the same card.
L	el	The letter L is named with the el sound.	I can see L at the end.
M	em	The letter M is named with the em sound.	Please say M clearly.
N	en	The letter N is named with the en sound.	I wrote N in the margin.
O	oh	The letter O is named with the oh sound.	Please choose O from the row.
P	pee	The letter P is named with the pee sound.	I circled P in red.
Q	cue	The letter Q is named with the cue sound.	Please say Q with me.
R	ar	The letter R is named with the ar sound.	I marked R on the chart.
S	ess	The letter S is named with the ess sound.	Please copy S exactly.
T	tee	The letter T is named with the tee sound.	I wrote T in the first box.
U	you	The letter U is named with the you sound.	Please point to U next.
V	vee	The letter V is named with the vee sound.	I can spot V right away.
W	double you	The letter W is named with the double you sound.	Please repeat W after me.
X	ex	The letter X is named with the ex sound.	I underlined X on the page.
Y	why	The letter Y is named with the why sound.	Please write Y in the last space.
Z	zee	The letter Z is named with the zee sound.	I found Z at the end of the list.

Every English letter has two forms: uppercase and lowercase. Uppercase letters are the larger forms, such as A, B, and C. Lowercase letters are the smaller forms, such as a, b, and c. The letter name stays the same in both forms. You say A for A and a for a, but both are the same letter.

Five English letters are vowels: A, E, I, O, and U. All the other letters are consonants. When you learn the alphabet, it helps to know the vowels as a separate group because they are the only five letters in English with that name.

English vowels and consonant letter groups

Idea
The vowels in English are A, E, I, O, and U.
All other English letters are consonants.

English letters follow a fixed order from A to Z. You can say the alphabet in this order and use it to check where a letter comes in a list. When spelling letter by letter, say the names one at a time: A, then B, then C, and so on. This keeps the sequence clear and exact.