British English vowel sounds
We explain the 20 British English vowel sounds in videos (Lessons 1-5) and give examples of spelling and quizzes as part of our English pronunciation sounds course.
Learn pronunciation with videos
We also recommend watching the introduction to our British English pronunciation sounds course.
The whole course has 12 videos and you can learn all the British English pronunciation sounds in less than 30 minutes.
(1) English vowel sounds: iː ɪ ʊ uː
You can watch, listen and repeat each vowel sound (iː ɪ ʊ uː) and the examples.
Spellings: iː ɪ ʊ uː
Here are spelling examples for each vowel sound (iː ɪ ʊ uː).
| iː | be, see, beach, ski, city |
| ɪ | big, busy, England, been, myth |
| ʊ | full, look, woman |
| uː | who, food, music, you, new |
Quiz: iː ɪ ʊ uː
Choose the vowel sound (iː ɪ ʊ uː) that we have underlined in each word.
(2) English vowel sounds: e ə ɜː ɔː
You can watch, listen and repeat each vowel sound (e ə ɜː ɔː) and the examples.
Spellings: e ə ɜː ɔː
Here are spelling examples for each vowel sound (e ə ɜː ɔː).
| e | egg, head, any, friend, said |
| ə | the, brother, doctor, popular, arrive |
| ɜː | person, nurse, bird, work, earth |
| ɔː | for, door, saw, walk, warm |
Quiz: e ə ɜː ɔː
Choose the vowel sound (e ə ɜː ɔː) that we have underlined in each word.
(3) English vowel sounds: æ ʌ aː ɒ
You can watch, listen and repeat each vowel sound (æ ʌ aː ɒ) and the examples.
Spellings: æ ʌ aː ɒ
Here are spelling examples for each vowel sound (æ ʌ aː ɒ).
| æ | apple |
| ʌ | sun, money, does, touch, flood |
| aː | car, father, are, aunt, heart |
| ɒ | dog, watch, because, cough |
Quiz: æ ʌ aː ɒ
Choose the vowel sound (æ ʌ aː ɒ) that we have underlined in each word.
(4) English vowel sounds: ɪə eɪ ʊə ɔɪ
You can watch, listen and repeat each vowel sound (ɪə eɪ ʊə ɔɪ) and the examples.
Spellings: ɪə eɪ ʊə ɔɪ
Here are spelling examples for each vowel sound (ɪə eɪ ʊə ɔɪ).
| ɪə | ear, beer, here, idea |
| eɪ | cake, day, train, great, they |
| ʊə | tour, Europe, cure |
| ɔɪ | boy, voice |
Quiz: ɪə eɪ ʊə ɔɪ
Choose the vowel sound (ɪə eɪ ʊə ɔɪ) that we have underlined in each word.
(5) English vowel sounds: əʊ eə aɪ aʊ
You can watch, listen and repeat each vowel sound (əʊ eə aɪ aʊ) and the examples.
Spellings: əʊ eə aɪ aʊ
Here are spelling examples for each vowel sound (əʊ eə aɪ aʊ).
| əʊ | open, coat, grow, although, toe |
| eə | hair, share, bear, their, there |
| aɪ | time, fly, high, pie, eye |
| aʊ | now, house |
Quiz: əʊ eə aɪ aʊ
Choose the vowel sound (əʊ eə aɪ aʊ) that we have underlined in each word.
More videos and English courses
Just click on the buttons below for our introduction and English consonant sounds videos, or to find out more information about our English courses to develop your English pronunciation and fluency.