What are vowels?

A vowel is a particular kind of speech sound made by changing the shape of

the upper vocal tract, or the area in the mouth above the tongue

These letters are vowels in English:

A, E, I, O, U, and sometimes W and Y.
It is said that Y is "sometimes" a vowel, because the letter Y represents both
vowel and consonant sounds. In the words cry, sky, fly, my and why, letter Y
represents the vowel sound /aɪ/. In words like myth and synchronize, Y
represents the vowel sound /ɪ/. In words like only, quickly, and folly, Y
represents the vowel sound /i/.
It can also be a consonant sound called a glide as in the beginning of these
words: yellow, yacht, yam, yesterday. Y is a consonant about 2.5% of the time,
and a vowel about 97.5% of the time.[1]
The letter W can sometimes be the second part of a vowel sound as in words
like such as cow, bow, or how. In these words the vowel has the sound of /aʊ/.
The letter W can be used as a consonant sound at the beginning of in the
words when, where, wet.

Letters and speech sounds are divided into two categories: sounds where the air
is blocked by the lips, tongue, or throat before leaving the mouth and sounds
where the air is not blocked. Consonants represent sounds that are blocked;
vowels represent sounds that are not blocked.

While consonant sounds are differentiated by how the air is blocked—such as

sticking the tongue behind the front teeth for d and t, or closing the lips
for b, m, and p—vowel sounds are differentiated by pitch, accent, volume, and
duration.

So what are the vowels? The letters a, e, i, o, u—and sometimes y—are vowels.
However, some consonants, like h, r, and w, can also make vowel sounds.
In grammar, these letters are still considered consonants and don’t follow the
vowel rules.
Vowels play a major role in both spelling and grammar. They also have a direct
impact on how consonants are used, such as spelling words with double
consonants. Consider the difference between hop and hope—which, as present
participles, become hopping and hoping. The presence of the silent e at the end
changes the rules for how to conjugate certain words.

When do you need a vowel?

Unlike consonants, every word needs at least one vowel. There are a small
number of exceptions, which we explain below, but in general, this is the rule.
In fact are one letter, and they’re both vowels: the article a and the pronoun I.

Moreover, every syllable also needs a vowel sound. If a word has more than
one syllable, it then needs more than one vowel.

Short vs. long vowels vs. dipthong in IPA

Short Vowels:

– a short English vowel is noticeably shorter than a long vowel

– an English short vowel is made with only one mouth position
– one mouth position is represented by one IPA symbol (every sound /mouth
position has a different IPA symbol)
– the weak vowel schwa is the most common vowel in English.

The IPA for English short vowels are: /ɪ/, /e/, /æ/, /ʌ/, /ʊ/ , /ɒ/, /ə/

/ɪ/ – fit /fiːt/, pick /piːk/, difficult /ˈdɪ.fɪ.kəlt/

/e/ – pet /pet/, sent /sent/, attention /əˈten.ʃən/
/æ/ – pat /pæt/, flat /flæt/, family /ˈfæ.mə.li/
/ʌ/ – cut /kʌt/ jump /dʒʌmp/, cover /ˈkʌ.vər/
/ʊ/ – put /pʊt/, book /bʊk/, cushion /ˈkʊ.ʃən/
/ɒ/ – pot /pɒt/, dog /dɒg/, hospital /ˈhɒs.pɪ.təl/
/ə/ – about /əˈbaʊt/, system /ˈsɪs.təm/, complete /kəmˈpliːt/.

Even though there are only five (sometimes six) vowels in the alphabet, they
can be combined in a variety of ways to change their sounds, which results in
more than a dozen distinct vowel sounds in American English. Without getting
too confusing, we can divide these vowel sounds into two categories: short
vowels and long vowels.

Short vowels are the standard pronunciation of vowels—usually when there is

only one vowel in the word—especially in short words.

 a as in cat

 e as in wet

 i as in big

 o as in clock

 u as in but

Long Vowels:
What you need to know.
– English long vowels have two dots like this – /:/ after the vowel symbol. If it
has /:/ after it, you know it’s a long vowel!
– English long vowels are noticeably longer than short vowels.
– distinguishing between short and long vowels is very important in English
because they mean different words. eg ship and sheep, sh*t and sheet, wick and
week and so on.
– an English long vowel is only one symbol in the IPA because it is one mouth
position.
Vowel Phonetic Symbol & IPA Examples in Words
/i:/ week /wi:k/, feet /fi:t/, media /ˈmiː.di.jə/
/ɑ:/ hard /ha:/, park /pa:k/, article /ɑː.tɪ.kəl/
/ɔ:/ fork /fɔ:k/, walk /wɔ:k/, August /ɔːˈɡʌst/
/ɜ:/ heard /hɜ:d/, word /wɜ:d/, surface /ˈsɜː.fɪs/
/u:/ boot /bu:t/, group /gru:p/, beautiful /ˈbjuː.tɪ.fəl/
Long vowels are a little more complex. Generally, they’re created by combining
two vowels, where one is typically silent. Often they’re pronounced like the
name of the vowel; for example, the long vowel sound in eat is pronounced like
the name of letter e.

 a as in cake

 e as in street

 i as in like

 o as in phone

 u as in use

These are the basics of vowel pronunciation, but they are also the most common
examples. If you can master these vowel sounds, you can master most of the
English words you’ll come across, and it will also help your spelling when
you write.

Dipthong:

What you need to know.

– English diphthong vowels have two IPA symbols because they are made up of
two mouth position.
– in other words, diphthong vowels are two short vowels joined together, they
are also called double vowels.
– many non-native speakers make some English diphthong vowels as single
vowels
/eɪ/ place /pleɪs/, late /leɪt/, dangerous /ˈdeɪn.dʒə.rəs/
/oʊ/ home /hoʊm/, phone /foʊn/, global /ˈɡloʊ.bəl/
/aʊ/ mouse /maʊs/, brown /braʊn/, accountant /əˈkaʊn.t̬ ənt/
/ɪə/ clear /klɪə/, fear /fɪə/, career /kəˈrɪə/
/eə/ care /keə/, wear /weə/, declare /dɪˈkleə/
/ɔɪ/ boy /bɔɪ/, toy /tɔɪ/, enjoyable /ɪnˈdʒɔɪ.jə.bəl/
/aɪ/ find /faɪnd/, bite /baɪt/, tiger /ˈtaɪ.ɡə/
/ʊə/ tour /tʊə/, pure /pʊə/, mature /məˈtʃʊə/

Vowel usage

What 5-letter word has the most vowels?

The 5-letter word with the most vowels is Iouea (with a capital i), which uses all
the main vowels and no consonants. Iouea is the scientific name for a genus of
extinct water sponges.

If you’re asking this question because of Wordle, try adieu, which is an English
loan word of 5 letters that contains every vowel except o.

What is assonance?

Assonance is a literary device that uses a series of words with the same vowel
sounds. It is the vowel version of consonance, which repeats consonant sounds.
Both assonance and consonance are common in works where sound is
important, such as poetry, music lyrics, and creative writing. For example, look
at this passage from Edgar Allan Poe’s poem “The Raven”:

And the silken, sad, uncertain rustling of each purple curtain

Thrilled me—filled me with fantastic terrors never felt before.

Words like silken, uncertain, and curtain use similar vowel sounds, as do the
words terrors, never, and before.

Are there words with no vowels?

There are only a handful of words in English without any proper vowels, and
they’re mostly loan words from Welsh. They use a rare vowel form of the
letter w that is not usually accepted in English.

 crwth—a Welsh violin-like instrument

 cwtch—a hiding place

 cwm—a hollowed-out area in a mountain

None of these words are common in everyday English, so we advise against

using them in your own communication or writing (unless it’s directly related to
Wales).

Vowel FAQs

What are vowels?

Vowels are letters representing a speech sound where air leaves the mouth
without blockage. In English, the vowels are a, e, i, o, and u, although y can
sometimes count as a vowel, too. Vowels are contrasted with consonants, which
represent sounds where air is obstructed, such as the closing of the lips for b, m,
and p.

What’s the difference between short and long vowels?

The same vowel can make different sounds, depending on whether it’s paired
with another vowel. When vowels are used alone in a syllable, they make a
short vowel sound, such as the i in big. When vowels are combined with another
vowel, typically a silent vowel, they can make a long vowel sound that’s usually
pronounced like the letter’s name, such as the ea in eat, which sounds like the
name of the letter e.