Catalog of Phonemes, Spellings, and Sound Analogies

Sound analogies are real-world sounds that sound something like their phonemes. Usually it takes some imagination to make the connection between the phoneme and the sound analogy, but once the analogy is established, it usually makes the phoneme much more memorable.

Phoneme Spellings and Example Words with Sound Analogies

/A/ a (table), a_e (bake), ai (train), ay (say); long A, Fonzie’s greeting

/a/ a (flat); crying baby, baby lamb, home alone

/b/ b (ball); beating heart, drum, basketball

/k/c (cake), k (key), ck (back); nutcracker, golf shot, camera, chopping with an ax, walking on gravel, breaking a stick

/d/ d (door); knocking, dribbling ball, drum, dinosaur

/E/ e (me), ee (feet), ea (leap), y (baby); long E, shriek

/e/ e (pet), ea (head); rocking chair, creaky door, hard of hearing, clearing my throat

/f/ f (fix), ph (phone); angry cat, clothes brush, electric fan, soda fizz, sweeping the floor, spray bottle

/g/ g (gas); croaking frog, gulping soda

/h/ h (hot); out of breath, warm breath, tired dog 

/I/ i (I), i_e (bite), igh (light), y (sky); long I, “Aye, aye, Captain” 

/i/ i (sit); crying puppy, icky sticky, baby pig 

/j/ j (jet), dge (edge), g[e, i, y] (gem); scrub brush, wood rasp, jump rope 

/l/ l (lamp); flying saucer, mixer, lapping water

/m/ m (my); mm-m-m, hummingbird 

/n/ n (no), kn (knock); mosquito, motorboat 

/O/ o (okay), o_e (bone), oa (soap), ow (low); long O, "Oh, I see"

/o/ o (hot); say ah, doctor sound, cool drink, yawn 

/p/ p (pie); popcorn, water drip, skipping stone, soap bubbles

/kw/ qu (quick); coffee pot, typewriter, quacking duck 

/r/ r (road), wr (wrong); chainsaw, angry lion, robot, growling dog 

/s/ s (say), c[e, i, y] (cent); snake, leaky ball, hair spray, sizzling bacon 

/t/ t (time); ticking clock, timer, automatic sprinkler 

/U/ or /OO/ oo (boot), u (truth), u_e (rude), ew (chew); ghost, howling wolf, owl; u (future), u_e (use), ew (few); Long U

/u/ u (thumb), a (about), e (loaded), o (wagon); I dunno, mother bear, punch in the stomach, foghorn 

/v/ v (voice); electric shaver, airplane, vacuum 

/w/ w (wash); lariat, fly rod, washing machine, helicopter 

/ks/ or /gz/ x (box, exam); pop top soda can, grease gun 

/y/ y (yes); sticky mess

/z/ z (zoo), s (nose); buzzing bee, arc welder, zipper 

/oo/ oo (book), u (put); lifting weights, chin-up bar 

/oi/ oi (soil), oy (toy); seal, squeaky gate, spring

/ou/ ou (out), ow (cow); inoculation, sting, pinch

/aw/ aw (saw), au (caught), a[l] (tall); poor thing, crow 

/ar/ ar (car); spinning tire, grinding gears, gargling, pirate 

/sh/ sh (ship), ti (nation), ci (special); be quiet, watering the lawn, rain 

/hw/ wh (white); blow out the candle 

/ch/ ch (chest), tch (catch); old train; antique car; chipmunk

/th/ or /th/ th (thick, this); peeling tape; angry goose; wet shoes 

/ng/ ng (sing), n (think); gong, string bass 

/zh/ s (measure); sawing wood, sander 

/er/ er (her), ir (sir), ur (fur); chainsaw, angry lion, robot, growling dog