Cambridge Phonemic Chart - Standard British English

Vocabulary practice flashcards covering the 44 phonemes, vowel types, consonant categories, and chart layout of Standard British English.

44 Phonemes of Standard British English

The complete system of distinct speech sounds in Standard British English, categorized into 20 vowel sounds (short vowels, long vowels, diphthongs) and 24 consonant sounds.

Short Vowels

Vowel phonemes produced with short duration in Standard British English, including /ɪ/ (ship), /e/ (bed), /æ/ (apple), /ʌ/ (up), /ɒ/ (not), /ʊ/ (good), and /ə/ (about).

Long Vowels

Vowel phonemes pronounced with longer duration, indicated by a length mark /ː/, including /iː/ (sheep), /uː/ (moon), /ɜː/ (bird), /ɔː/ (door), and /ɑː/ (car).

Diphthongs

Vowel sounds formed by glided combinations of two vowel qualities within a single syllable, such as /ɪə/ (ear), /eɪ/ (train), /ʊə/ (your), /ɔɪ/ (boy), /əʊ/ (coat), /eə/ (hair), /aɪ/ (by), and /aʊ/ (now).

Voiced Consonants

Consonant phonemes produced with vibration of the vocal cords, including /b/ (ball), /d/ (dog), /dʒ/ (jam), /g/ (green), /v/ (video), /ð/ (mother), /z/ (zebra), /ʒ/ (visual), /m/, /n/, /ŋ/, /j/, /l/, /r/, and /w/.

Unvoiced Consonants

Consonant phonemes produced without vibration of the vocal cords, including /p/ (pen), /t/ (table), /tʃ/ (chips), /k/ (key), /f/ (fire), /θ/ (thick), /s/ (see), /ʃ/ (shop), and /h/ (house).

Phoneme /ə/ (Schwa)

The central short vowel sound present in unstressed syllables of words such as 'about', 'police', and 'the'.

Phoneme /θ/

An unvoiced dental consonant phoneme featured in words such as 'thick', 'healthy', and 'teeth'.

Phoneme /ð/

A voiced dental consonant phoneme featured in words such as 'mother', 'this', and 'with'.

Phoneme /tʃ/

An unvoiced affricate consonant phoneme represented in common spellings like 'chips', 'itch', and 'picture'.

Phoneme /dʒ/

A voiced affricate consonant phoneme represented in common spellings like 'jam', 'danger', and 'fudge'.

Phoneme /ŋ/

A voiced velar nasal consonant phoneme found in words such as 'sing', 'uncle', and 'angry'.

Phoneme /ʃ/

An unvoiced postalveolar fricative consonant phoneme found in words such as 'shop', 'nation', and 'special'.

Phoneme /ʒ/

A voiced postalveolar fricative consonant phoneme found in words such as 'visual', 'casual', and 'leisure'.

Consonants Chart

The section of the Cambridge Phonemic Chart organizing the 24 consonant phonemes of Standard British English into unvoiced and voiced sound groups with example spellings.

Vowels Chart

The section of the Cambridge Phonemic Chart organizing the 20 vowel phonemes into short vowels, long vowels, and diphthongs with sample word spellings.