A

The English letter A is a vowel and has several pronunciations.

The table below lists the IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) symbol and the standard (std) symbol used to describe the sounds of the letter A. The standard symbol is used in many English dictionaries. The phonetic transcription of each word is in parentheses.

The example in the first column includes the sound when it is word initial (at the beginning of the word). The second column provides an example of the sound when it is word internal (in the middle of the word). The third column provides examples of the sound when it is word final (at the end of the word).

Click on the sample words to listen to the sound files. Pay attention to the sound of the letters in bold.

name IPA std examples    
short a ă and
(nd)
black
(blk)
 
long a eI ā April
(eIprl)
taste
(teIst)
quay
(keI)
  ô also
(ls)
fall
(fl)
 
short o ä avocado
(vkd)
massage
(ms)
 
schwa about
(bt)
garage
(gr)
fauna
(fn)

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