Pronunciation Key
Updated February 21, 2017 | Factmonster Staff

Key to Pronunciation Symbols
u | sofa (sOfu), item (Itum), easily (EzulE), cannon (kanun), circus (srkus) |
a | act (akt), bat (bat) |
A | ape (Ap), fail (fAl), day (dA) |
air (r), care (kr) | |
art (rt), father (fur) | |
b | back (bak), labor (lAbur), cab (kab) |
ch | chin (chin), hatchet (hachut), rich (rich) |
d | dock (dok), lady (lAdE), sad (sad) |
e | end (end), steady (stedE), met (met) |
E | eve (Ev), clear (klEr), see (sE) |
f | fat (fat), phase (fAz), cough (kf) |
g | get (get), bigger (bigur), tag (tag) |
h | hand (hand), ahead (uhed) |
hw | wheel (hwEl), which (hwich) |
i | it (it), pill (pil), mirror (mirur) |
I | iron (Iurn), eye (I), buyer (bIur) |
j | jam (jam), ginger (jinjur), edge (ej) |
k | kit (kit), tackle (takul), cook (kook) |
l | little (litul), holly (holE), pull (pool) |
m | man (man), hammer (hamur), climb (klIm) |
n | new (noo), known (nOn), winner (winur) |
ng | singing (singing), finger (finggur), sang (sang), sank (sangk) |
o | hot (hot), body (bodE) |
O | over (Ovur), hope (hOp), grow (grO) |
orbit (rbit), fall (fl), saw (s) | |
oo | foot (foot), wolf (woolf), put (poot), pure (pyoor) |
OO | boot (bOOt), lose (lOOz), drew (drOO), true (trOO) |
oi | oil (oil), royal (roiul), boy (boi) |
ou | out (out), crowd (kroud), how (hou) |
p | pipe (pIp), happy (hapE) |
r | road (rOd), appeared (upErd), carpenter (krpuntur) |
s | so (sO), cite (sIt), baste (bAst) |
sh | shall (shal), sure (shOOr), nation (nAshun) |
t | tight (tIt), better (betur), talked (tkt) |
th | thin (thin), bath (bath) |
then (en), father (fur), bathe (bA) | |
u | but (but), flood (flud), some (sum) |
curl (krl), girl (grl), fern (frn), worm (wrm) | |
v | vest (vest), trivial (trivEul), eve (Ev) |
w | wax (waks), twins (twinz), coward (kouurd) |
y | you (yOO), onion (unyun) |
z | zipper (zipur), ease (Ez), treads (tredz) |
zh | pleasure (plezhur), rouge (rOOzh) |
as in French peu (p), German Goethe (gtu) | |
as in French Cluny (klnE) | |
kh | as in German ach (kh), ich (ikh); Scottish loch (lokh) |
N | this symbol indicates that the preceding vowel is nasal as in French cinq (saNk), un (N), sans (sN), tombe (tNb), en (N) |
primary accent, written after accented vowel or syllable: Nebraska (nubrasku), James Buchanan (byOOkanun) | |
" | secondary accent: Mississippi (mis"us-sipE) |
dash, replacing obvious portion of pronunciation: hegemony (hijemunE, hE, hejumO"nE, hegu) | |
- | hyphen, to prevent ambiguity in syllabification: Erlanger (rlang-ur), dishearten (dis-hrtun) |