1

a   

/æ/

except for “alter, all, overall”

cat, sat, bat, hat, have, has, had   

2

a   

/ɑː/

long “a”

father, harm, far, bar, barrel   

3

ai   

/ɪ/

long “ei”

straight, wait, bait, faint   

4

au   

/ɔː/

"o"

daughter, Australia, augment, laurel   

5

ay   

/eɪ/

long “ei”

day, stay, play, today, may, stray, hay   

6

a+[]+e   

/eI/

ate, evade, pursuade, navigate, fate, gate   

7

aw   

/ɔː/

light “o”

law, awesome, awkward, awful   

8

b   

/b/

boy, bottle, binary, bottom, below, above   

9

c   

/k/

"k" if not followed by [e,i,y]

cat, create, cope, cup, cut, cozy, cart, carve   

10

c+[e,i,y]   

/s/

"s" + [e,i,y]

cereal, ceremony, circle, cigar, cycle, civil   

11

ch   

/k/

light "k"

character, school, chemistry, schedule   

12

ch   

/ʃ/

like “sh”

chef, chic, niche (from French)   
Except “loch, lochness”   

13

ch   

/tʃ/

like “t.sh”

chicken, cheese, cheep, chocolate, chamber   

14

ck   

/k/

strong “k”

clock, crack, snack, knock, block, track   

15

d   

/d/

dear, door, dog, dig, dumb, drive, beard   

16

e   

/e/

silent at the end of words

envelope, arrive, elaborate, resonate, rely   

17

ea   

/i/

long “i”

eat, repeat, defeat, cheat, ear, speak, treat   

18

ee   

/iː/

long “i”

week, weed, exceed, indeed, need, knee   

19

eigh/aigh   

/eɪ/

long “ai”

eight, freight, weight, straight, eighteen   

20

er   

/ɚ/

mother, father, further, another, singer   

21

ere   

/er/

long "er"

here, mere, sphere, atmosphere, adhere   

22

ey   

/i/

long “i”

key, kidney, Sydney, honey, money   

23

eye   

/aɪ/

eye, eyebrow, eyeball, redeye, pinkeye   

24

f   

/f/

four, figure, fire, fellow, few, fish   

25

g   

/g/

gather, go, gutter, give, get, together   

26

g+[e,i]   

/dʒ/+[e,i]

“j”+[e,i]

Germany, gigantic, bridge, fridge, bulge   

27

gn   

/g.n/

long "n"

sign, align, assign, design, foreign   
Except: signature, signal, signaling, designate   

28

gh   

/eɪ/

light and long “ei”/“ae”

right, straight, might, thought, bought   

29

h   

/h/

except “ch, sh, th..”

hat, hot, hill, high, honey, overhaul, hen   

30

i   

/ɪ/

imaging, irrigate, ignore, idiom, ignite   

31

i   

/ɝː/

short "i"

bit, hit, knit, sit, stir, kit, it, itself, is, his   

32

ie/ei   

/iː/

"ee"

field, yield, shield, thief, chief, receive   
Tip: in spelling/writing it is always “ie” (e.g., field) unless it is preceded by “c” (e.g., receive)

33

i+[]+e   

/aI/

"ai"+[consonant]

rise, like, bike, strike, write, lite, site, kite   

34

igh   

deep “ai”

high, thigh, flight, sight, bright, might   

35

ing   

/ɪŋ/

hiding, king, bring, sing, walking, sitting   

36

j   

/dʒ/

joke, jump, jury, judge, joy, jasmine, jug   

37

k   

kite, kilo, kin, kid, kind, kick, kindle, kiss   

38

kn   

/n/

deep “n”

knowledge, knife, know, knock, knob   

39

l   

/l/

lamb, lump, loop, line, align, live, liberate   

40

ll   

strong "l'

allocate, allign, alligator, all, ally, finally   

41

m   

/m/

marble, merit, make, mellow, mom, dam   

42

n   

/n/

noble, name, nominal, analysis, abnormal   

43

ng   

/ŋ/

strong “n”+
short “g”

wrong, song, sing, bring, cling, sting, wing   

44

ng   

/ŋ/

strong “n” +
strong “g”

longer, strongest, warmonger, fearmonger   

45

ngst   

/ʌŋ/

"n” + short “gst”

amongst, angst, youngster   

46

nk   

/ŋk/

short “n”+
short “k”

think, blink, drink, brink, mink, link, kink   

47

o   

/ɔː/

operate, over, open, occur, horse, course   

48

o   

/ɒ/

strong "o"

stop, sock, shock, block, rock, off, of, on   

49

oo   

/uː/

"oo"

cool, fool, stool, pool, spool, tool, school   

50

oo   

/ʊ/

short “oo”

look, book, cook, nook, crook, took, shook   

51

oo   

/ɔː/

long “oo”

door, floor, trapdoor, doorstep, underfloor   

52

oo   

/ʌ/

short “a”

blood, flood, pureblood, lifeblood   

53

ose   

/oʊ/

"oz”

nose, rose, verbose, glucose, fructose, pose   

54

ou   

/aʊ/

"aw"

mouth, south, account, out, amount, tout   

55

ou   

/ɔː/

long "o"

four, fourteen, candour, vapour, colour   

56

ou   

/ʊ/

short “oo”

would, could, should, you, your, pour   

57

ough   

/uː/

long "oo”

through, although, brought, thought   

58

ow   

/au/

long "aw"

now, cow, how, bow, brow, vow, allow   

59

ow   

/ou/

long "o"

low, snow, blow, beau, glow, know, borrow   

60

oy   

/ɔɪ/

long "oi"

boy, toy, joy, employ, alloy, deploy, ploy   

61

p   

/p/

plane, pen, pencil, ample, approach   

62

ph   

/f/

strong "f"

symphony, phone, philosophy, laugh   

63

ps   

/s/

light “p” + strong “s”

psychology, psalm, psyche, psychiatry   

64

q   

/k/

quality, quantum, equal, qualifications   

65

r   

/r/

run, random, transfer, around, remedy   

66

s   

/ŋ/

sing, super, transfer, administer, say, sick   

67

[vowel]s[vowel]   

/z/

"z"

is, rise, resort, disaster, advise, close (v)   
Exception: browse   

68

sh   

/ʃ/

trash, shall, shock, shiver, shallow, ship   

69

sion   

/ɪʒ.ə/

"jj.n"

collision, revision, vision, television   

70

t   

/t/

time, plant, material, metal, town, try, to   

71

tch   

/tʃ/

catch, snatch, scratch, match, hatch, snatch   

72

th   

/θ/

method, theory, theatre, things, though   

73

th   

/ð/

strong "z"

this, that, there, therefore, father, mother   

74

tion   

/ɪ.ʒə/

"sh.n"

equation, donation, revelation, invitation   

75

tt   

/t̬/

strong "t"

attack, cutting, fitting, plotting, sitting   

76

u   

/ʌ/

short "a"

cut, cup, lumber, hut, nut, but, butter, gut   

77

u   

/u/

situation, usual, use, abuse, accuse, excuse   

78

ue   

/uː/

"you"

blue, hue, clue, true, fuel, glue, accrue   

79

v   

/v/

very, live, liver, love, hover, cover, vow   

80

w   

/w/

witch, were, worry, follow, why, what, was   

81

wh   

/w/

deep “w”

where, which, what, whom, white, whither   

82

x   

/k.s/

"ks"

proxy, epoxy, except, exclude, exchange   

83

xe/xy   

/k.se/

"ze"/"zi"

xenon, xenophobia, xylophone   

84

y   

/i/

yes, yoke, assembly, yap, yard, yarn, yeah   

85

y   

/aI/

strong “ai”

byte, bye, by, fly, try, fry, cry, why   

86

z   

/z/

zero, zebra, zoo, zone, organize, zinc, zip