English Alphabet

The English Alphabet has 26 letters. In alphabetical order, they are:

abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz

Five of the letters are "vowels". Twenty-one are "consonants":

5 vowels a e i o u
21 consonants b c d f g h j k l m n p q r s t v w x y z
 
See more about the English Alphabet.

Each letter may be written as a "large letter" (capital) or "small letter".

Capital letter Small letter

A a

B b

C c

D d

E e

F f

G g

H h

I i

J j

K k

L l
M m

N n

O o

P p

Q q

R r

S s

T t

U u

V v

W w

X x

Y y

Z z
Alphabet Pronunciation
Below, you can listen to how we pronounce the letters of the alphabet. Remember, this is just for
how we say the "name" of each letter. When we use the letters in words, they often have a
different sound.
 We say all the letters of the alphabet the same in British English and American English except
for Z. In British English we say "Zed". In American English we say "Zee".

English Phonetic Spelling

Sometimes wrongly called the
International Phonetic Alphabet
When speaking on the telephone, it is sometimes useful to spell a word using English Phonetic
Spelling. To spell "Club", for example, you would say: "C for Charlie, L for Lima, U for
Uniform, B for Bravo."

It is very easy to learn English Phonetic Spelling. Start by spelling your name, then your
company or address. Soon, you will know the whole alphabet. It also helps to remember that
there are several groups of words that go together:

 Dances: Foxtrot, Tango

 Shakespeare: Romeo & Juliet
 Men's first names: Charlie, Mike, Oscar, Victor
 Cities: Lima, Quebec

A Alpha N November
B Bravo O Oscar
C Charlie P Papa
D Delta Q Quebec
E Echo R Romeo
F Foxtrot S Sierra
G Golf            T Tango
H Hotel U Uniform
I India V Victor
J Juliet W Whisky
K Kilo X X-ray
L Lima Y Yankee
M Mike Z Zulu

According to the International Phonetic Association, the above list is sometimes wrongly called
the "International Phonetic Alphabet".