This guide will help you to understand and use the pronunciation symbols found in the Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary and the Oxford Learner’s Dictionary of Academic English.
Consonants |
Vowels and diphthongs |
| p pen /pen/
b bad /bæd/ t tea /tiː/ d did /dɪd/ k cat /kæt/ ɡ get /ɡet/ tʃ chain /tʃeɪn/ dʒ jam /dʒæm/ f fall /fɔːl/ v van /væn/ θ thin /θɪn/ ð this /ðɪs/ s see /siː/ z zoo /zuː/ ʃ shoe /ʃuː/ ʒ vision /ˈvɪʒn/ h hat /hæt/ m man /mæn/ n now /naʊ/ ŋ sing /sɪŋ/ l leg /leɡ/ r red /red/ j yes /jes/ w wet /wet/ |
iː see /siː/
i happy /ˈhæpi/ ɪ sit /sɪt/ e bed /bed/ æ cat /kæt/ ɑː father /ˈfɑːðə(r)/ ɒ got /ɡɒt/ (British English) ɔː saw /sɔː/ ʊ put /pʊt/ u actual /ˈæktʃuəl/ uː too /tuː/ ʌ cup /kʌp/ ɜː fur /fɜː(r)/ ə about /əˈbaʊt/ eɪ say /seɪ/ əʊ go /ɡəʊ/ aɪ my /maɪ/ ɔɪ boy /bɔɪ/ aʊ now /naʊ/ ɪə near /nɪə(r)/ (British English) eə hair /heə(r)/ (British English) ʊə pure /pjʊə(r)/ (British English) |
The symbol (r) indicates that British pronunciation will have /r/ only if a vowel sound follows directly at the beginning of the next word, as in far away; otherwise the /r/ is omitted. For American English, all the /r/ sounds should be pronounced.
/x/ represents a fricative sound as in /lɒx/ for Scottish loch, Irish lough.