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The English alphabet: learn all 26 letters by playing

Tap a letter to hear its name and a word that starts with it. Listen to the whole alphabet, play four games and learn to spell your name out loud in English.

  • 26 letters
  • UK / US audio
  • IPA for every letter
  • 4 games
  • No sign-up
Listen to the alphabetPlay

Tap the letter

[eɪ]

apple

The English alphabet with pronunciation

Tap a card: first you hear the letter’s name, then a word. Vowels are pink. Every letter you listen to earns a star — collect all 26!

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0 of 26 heard

The English alphabet: table with IPA

All 26 letters: the name of each letter, its IPA transcription, an example word and the NATO word used to spell things over the phone.

The English alphabet with letter names, IPA and the NATO phonetic alphabet
LetterIPAWordNATO
A a[eɪ]appleAlfa
B b[biː]ballBravo
C c[siː]catCharlie
D d[diː]dogDelta
E e[iː]eggEcho
F f[ef]fishFoxtrot
G g[dʒiː]giraffeGolf
H h[eɪtʃ]houseHotel
I i[aɪ]ice creamIndia
J j[dʒeɪ]juiceJuliett
K k[keɪ]kiteKilo
L l[el]lionLima
M m[em]moonMike
N n[en]noseNovember
O o[əʊ / oʊ]orangeOscar
P p[piː]pandaPapa
Q q[kjuː]queenQuebec
R r[ɑː / ɑːr]rabbitRomeo
S s[es]sunSierra
T t[tiː]tigerTango
U u[juː]umbrellaUniform
V v[viː]violinVictor
W w[ˈdʌbl juː]whaleWhiskey
X x[eks]foxX-ray
Y y[waɪ]yo-yoYankee
Z z[zed / ziː]zebraZulu

A slash shows British and American versions: R is /ɑː/ in British English and /ɑːr/ in American English; Z is zed or zee.

English alphabet games

Ten questions a round, for kids and grown-ups alike: praise for every right answer and stars at the end.

Choose a game

Spell it out

How do you spell your name or email address out loud in English? Type it and see (and hear) the name of every letter. Kids learn to spell their names; adults get ready for hotels, banks and phone calls.

  1. Start typing and the letters will appear here.

Vowels and consonants

The English alphabet has 26 letters: 5 vowels — A, E, I, O, U — and 21 consonants. Y can be a vowel (my, happy) or a consonant (yes, you).

English has about 44 sounds — more than letters. So one letter can be read in different ways: the a in cat, car and cake sounds different each time. A letter’s name is just one of its sounds.

Vowels · 5

Consonants · 21

Letters people often mix up

The names of these letters are easy to confuse. Tap to listen.

  • E is /iː/ and I is /aɪ/. Many learners swap them.

  • G is /dʒiː/, J is /dʒeɪ/. Only the ending is different.

  • A is /eɪ/, R is /ɑː/ (/ɑːr/ in American English).

  • H is /eɪtʃ/. W is /ˈdʌbl juː/ — literally “double U”.

  • Y is /waɪ/. Z is zed in the UK and zee in the US.

  • C is /siː/, S is /es/. Don’t mix them up when you spell an email.

How to learn the English alphabet

A few days of short daily practice is enough. Here’s what works.

For parents: learning with your child

  • 5–10 minutes a day beats one long hour: kids don’t get tired and look forward to the next time.
  • Listen to the alphabet together and sing along — rhythm sticks faster than a list.
  • Start with the letters of your child’s name: “Your name is M, A, R, K!”
  • Play “First letter” and look for things at home that start with the same letter: apple, ball, cup…
  • Praise every try, not only the right answers.

For adults: why it matters

  • Spell your name or email at a hotel, a bank or on the phone without hesitating.
  • Understand abbreviations: CV, VIP, USA, BBC are said letter by letter.
  • Know the NATO phonetic alphabet: “K as in Kilo” prevents mistakes in important details.
  • Practise E, I, G, J, H, R, W and Y — they cause the most mistakes.

FAQ

Didn’t find your answer? Send us a request — we’ll tell you everything.

How many letters are there in the English alphabet?

26 letters: 5 vowels (A, E, I, O, U) and 21 consonants, with Y working as either. English has more sounds than letters — about 44.

How do you pronounce the letters of the English alphabet?

The best way is to listen and repeat: tap any card on this page. The IPA shows the exact sound: A is /eɪ/, E is /iː/, I is /aɪ/.

Zed or zee?

Both are correct: zed is British, zee is American. Switch the accent between UK and US to hear the difference. R is similar: /ɑː/ in British English and /ɑːr/ in American English.

When should children learn the alphabet?

Kids can listen to and sing the alphabet from 3–4, and recognise and write letters from 5–6. Keep it short, playful and regular.

How do I spell my name or email address in English?

Say each letter’s name (Anna — A, double N, A) and say symbols as words: @ is at, . is dot, - is dash. Try the “Spell it out” tool above.

What is the NATO phonetic alphabet?

A word for every letter (A — Alfa, B — Bravo, C — Charlie) so that similar-sounding letters aren’t confused on the phone: “B as in Bravo”. Pilots, support teams and banks use it.

What’s next

All English resources

Next step

Keep learning with a mini-course

Short online courses by Slay School teachers: a 15-minute lesson a day with audio, exercises and dialogues, and the words you forget come back on their own.

  • Day 1 is free
  • 15 minutes a day, at your own pace
  • Every word has audio
  • Lifetime access once paid
Start for freeAll mini-courses

All you need to start is an email or a Google account.