English words are built from speech sounds called phonemes. Phonemes are grouped into vowels and consonants based on how the airflow moves through your mouth. Spelling uses letters to represent these sounds, but letters and sounds do not match perfectly in English. This module explains how vowels and consonants work in pronunciation and how they commonly appear in writing.

Vowels are sounds made with an open vocal tract, so the air flows without a major blockage. English vowels are shaped by tongue height, tongue position, and lip rounding, and most vowels are voiced. Vowels can be short, long, or part of a diphthong, and vowel spelling is especially variable in English. Vowels often form the “core” of a syllable.

Consonants are sounds made with some kind of narrowing or closure in the vocal tract, which changes or blocks airflow. English consonants differ by place of articulation, manner of articulation, and voicing. Some consonants are stop sounds, some are continuous, and some are nasal with airflow through the nose. Consonants often appear at syllable edges, before or after the vowel.

Many English consonants come in voiced and voiceless pairs, where the mouth position is similar but the vocal folds vibrate for the voiced sound. Voicing affects how a consonant feels and how it interacts with nearby sounds, especially at the ends of words. Learning the voiced versus voiceless contrast helps with clear pronunciation and listening. Not all consonants have a voiced pair, but the pattern is common.

Rule	Example
Voiced sounds use vocal fold vibration	z in zoo is voiced
Voiceless sounds have no vibration	s in see is voiceless
Some consonants form common pairs by voicing	f and v as in fan and van
Final voiced consonants stay voiced in careful speech	bag ends with voiced g

In English orthography, the vowel letters are a, e, i, o, u, and sometimes y. These letters can represent several different vowel sounds depending on the word, and multiple letters can combine to represent one vowel sound. A single written vowel can also be “silent” as part of a spelling pattern. Because of this, it helps to separate vowel letters from vowel sounds.

Rule	Example
A E I O U are vowel letters	a in cat, o in hot
Y can act like a vowel letter	y in my, happy
Two vowel letters can form one vowel sound	ea in team
Vowel letters can signal another vowel sound without being fully pronounced	e in make signals a long a sound

Most letters besides a, e, i, o, u are treated as consonant letters in spelling, including y when it starts a syllable. Some consonant sounds are written with two letters, and some letters represent different consonant sounds in different words. English also has silent consonant letters in certain patterns. These spelling patterns are common and worth recognizing.

Word/Phrase	Definition	Example
ch	Often one consonant sound	chair
sh	Often one consonant sound	ship
th	Two common consonant sounds	thin, this
ng	Nasal consonant sound	sing
kn	k is silent in this pattern	knife

A syllable usually has a vowel sound as its center, and consonants group around it. The vowel sound determines the syllable’s “peak” of sonority, which is why vowels are the most noticeable part of many words. English allows clusters of consonants before or after the vowel, which can make syllables feel dense. Recognizing the vowel core helps you divide words for pronunciation and spelling.

Some English vowels are diphthongs, meaning the tongue moves during the vowel, creating a glide from one quality to another. Diphthongs often feel longer than simple vowels and are frequently spelled with two letters, though not always. Learning them as single vowel units improves fluency because you avoid inserting an extra syllable. They are common in everyday words.

Word/Phrase	Definition	Example
/aɪ/	Vowel glide toward i	my, time
/aʊ/	Vowel glide toward u	now, out
/ɔɪ/	Vowel glide toward i	boy, coin
/eɪ/	Vowel glide toward i	day, name
/oʊ/	Vowel glide toward u	go, home

English spelling does not map one-to-one to pronunciation, but there are useful patterns. Vowel sounds change with stress, and consonants can change based on neighboring sounds and word position. Letter combinations often behave predictably across many words, even when individual words are irregular. Focusing on patterns helps you read and pronounce new words more confidently.

Rule	Description	Notation	Example
Reduced vowels in unstressed syllables	Unstressed vowels often become a neutral sound	/ə/	about, pencil
C is hard or soft	c is usually k before a o u and s before e i y	/k/ or /s/	cat, city
G is hard or soft	g is usually g before a o u and dʒ before e i y	/g/ or /dʒ/	go, giant
Final e influences the vowel	A silent final e often signals a long vowel earlier	V plus consonant plus e	cap to cape

To describe English clearly, separate sounds from letters: a word can have more vowel letters than vowel sounds or the opposite. Some vowels are written with consonant letters like w and y, and some consonants are written with vowel letters in certain names or loanwords. Thinking in terms of vowel sounds versus consonant sounds helps with both listening and spelling. This sound-based approach is the most reliable way to classify vowels and consonants in English.