In English the letter S has two pronunciations.
Note that the examples are in three columns. The first column provides an example of 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.
| letter | IPA* | examples | ||
| s | s | sir (s  ) |
thesis (  is s) |
books (b  ks) |
| z | miser (maIz ) |
dishes (dI  z) |
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*IPA means International Phonetic Alphabet. Learn more about phonetics and the IPA.
Related lessons:
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S makes a [ ʃ ] sound in the word, “sure,” and few other exceptions.