Close your lips, then open them with a short voice sound. Keep it quick.
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Tap, listen and have a go. Explore 44 English speech sounds, one little discovery at a time. Choose a British or Indian English voice.
44 sounds · 2 voices · practise on the website. This chart uses a common British-English model; accents and teaching schemes vary, so you may see different sound counts.
LITTLE EARS, READY?
Listen. Say. Repeat.
- Hear the sound and its example word.
- Say the sound together with a grown-up.
- Listen again. A few sounds at a time is plenty.
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A world of sounds to explore.
Each clip plays a sound, an example word, then the sound again. Tap a playing card to stop it.
Listen and practise here on LipiLeap.
Consonant sounds
24 sounds made with your lips, tongue, teeth and breath.
Touch your tongue just behind your top teeth, then release with your voice.
Rest your top teeth lightly on your bottom lip and blow softly.
Lift the back of your tongue, then release it with a short voice sound.
Open your mouth and let out a gentle breath, as if misting a mirror.
Start with your tongue raised, then release into a short, buzzy sound.
Lift the back of your tongue, then release a quick puff without a voice buzz.
Touch your tongue just behind your top teeth and let your voice flow around it.
Close your lips and hum. Feel the gentle buzz around your nose.
Touch your tongue just behind your top teeth and hum through your nose.
Close your lips, then release a small puff of air. Keep the sound short.
Lift your tongue without touching the roof of your mouth and use your voice.
Keep your teeth close and let the air hiss gently, like a snake.
Touch your tongue just behind your top teeth, then release a quick puff.
Rest your top teeth on your bottom lip and add a gentle voice buzz.
Round your lips, then open them as your voice begins.
Raise the middle of your tongue close to the roof, then glide into your voice.
Make the mouth shape for s and add a voice buzz, like a little bee.
Start with your tongue raised, then release a short burst of air.
Round your lips a little and blow gently, as if asking for quiet.
Put the tip of your tongue lightly between your teeth and blow without a buzz.
Put the tip of your tongue lightly between your teeth and add your voice.
Lift the back of your tongue and hum through your nose. Hear it at the end of ring.
Make the mouth shape for sh and add a voice buzz. Hear it in the middle of treasure.
Short vowel sounds
7 short sounds, including the gentle, unstressed schwa.
Open your mouth wide and keep your tongue low and towards the front.
Open your mouth a little, with relaxed lips and your tongue towards the front.
Keep your lips relaxed and your tongue high near the front. Make it short.
Open your jaw and gently round your lips for this short British-English vowel.
Relax your lips and open your mouth. Keep your tongue low in the middle.
Round your lips gently and keep this sound short and relaxed.
Relax your whole mouth. Say the soft, unstressed first sound in about.
Long vowel sounds
5 steady vowel sounds that you can hold a little longer.
Spread your lips into a small smile and hold your tongue high at the front.
Open your mouth and lower your tongue towards the back. Hold the vowel gently.
Round your lips and hold a steady sound with your tongue towards the back.
Keep your lips relaxed and your tongue in the middle. Hold the vowel steadily.
Round your lips and lift your tongue. Hold this oo longer than the oo in book.
Gliding vowel sounds
8 vowels where your mouth moves as you make one sound.
Begin with your mouth slightly open, then lift your tongue as the vowel glides.
Start with your mouth open, then lift your tongue and bring your jaw up.
Start with relaxed lips, then round them as the vowel moves.
Start with your mouth open, then bring your lips into a rounded shape.
Begin with rounded lips, then relax them as your tongue moves forwards and up.
Start with your tongue high near the front, then relax towards the middle.
Start with your mouth open a little, then relax the vowel towards the middle.
Start with gently rounded lips, then relax them. This vowel varies between accents.
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A NOTE FOR GROWN-UPS
Keep the sounds small and the practice playful.
These are speech sounds, not letter names. Try to avoid adding an extra “uh” to consonants. The letters shown are example spellings; the same sound can be written in other ways. Symbols between slashes show the sound in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA).
AI-generated practice audio in two female voices. Local accents can sound different; those differences are not mistakes. Listen with an adult and follow your child’s teacher’s pronunciation guidance. Start with sounds your child has already been introduced to.
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