American English Vowels - IPA - Pronunciation - International Phonetic Alphabet
A1 A2 B1 B2 C1 C2
act
US / ækt /
•UK / ækt /
- noun
- What someone did; action; behavior
- A law or rule passed by a government we must obey
- One of the parts that a stage play is divided into
- verb
- To behave in a certain way
- To perform on a stage or in a movie
look
US / lʊk /
•UK / lʊk /
- noun
- Person's beauty or physical attractiveness
- Particular style of dress, clothes, or appearance
- The way someone, something appears to be
- Act of searching for or examining something
- verb
- To appear to be; seem
thank
US / θæŋk /
•UK / θæŋk /
- verb
- To tell someone you are grateful to them
journey
US / 'dʒɜ:nɪ /
•UK / ˈdʒɚni /
- noun
- Act of traveling from one place to another; trip
- verb
- To travel through a place
they
US / ðeɪ /
•UK / ðe /
- pronoun
- Two or more people, animals, or things
sofa
US / 'səʊfə /
•UK / ˈsofə /
- noun
- Two to three person soft comfortable chair
familiarize
US / fə'mɪlɪəraɪz /
•UK / fəˈmɪljəˌraɪz /
- verb
- To learn about or get to know something
daughter
US / ˈdɔ:tə(r) /
•UK / ˈdɔtɚ /
- adjecitve
- (Of a company) being a subsidiary of another firm
- noun
- A female child of someone
take
US / teɪk /
•UK / tek /
- noun
- Filming of a single scene for TV or the movies
- verb
- To accept something that is offered
- To use a method of traveling, e.g. a bus or train
- To use a camera to make (a photo)
- To pick up something and go away with it
- To study a subject in school
- To attempt to pass (an exam)
- To require a certain amount of time, money, space
blood
US / blʌd /
•UK / blʌd /
- adjecitve
- Related by birth; family
- noun
- Red liquid in the bodies of people and animals
- verb
- To be initiated into something, e.g. a secret club
group
US / ɡru:p /
•UK / ɡrup /
- noun
- Two or more musicians who play music together
- Number of people or things gathered together
- verb
- To combine or collect objects or people together
have
US / həv /
•UK / hæv /
- verb
- To drink, smoke, eat or use something
- To experience the effects of something
- To organize an event, or join in an activity
- To own, possess, or hold something
- To cause to happen or produce a particular effect
father
US / ˈfɑ:ðə(r) /
•UK / ˈfɑðɚ /
- noun
- A male parent
- Man who is the first to do or invent something
- verb
- To create a child by making a woman pregnant
with
US / wɪð /
•UK / wɪð, wɪθ /
- preposition
- As an employee of a certain company
- Against something or someone
- By using something as a means
- Due to; because of
- Including
- Possessing as a feature
- Related to
- (Of the manner/attitude by which you do something)
- Used to express that people or things are together
could
US / kəd /
•UK / kʊd /
- other
- Past form of 'can' to mean have ability
- Used to ask for something politely, or to offer
see
US / si: /
•UK / si /
- verb
- To go on a date with someone
- To predict whether something is, or will be true
- To understand what someone says
- To use your eyes to look at something
- To visit a place often for sightseeing or pleasure
- To visit or meet with someone
- To find out by waiting or looking
- To watch (a game, movie or TV show)
vowel
US / ˈvaʊəl /
•UK / ˈvaʊəl /
- noun
- A speech sound; a, e , it, o, u and sometimes y
focus
US / 'fəʊkəs /
•UK / ˈfokəs /
- noun
- Main purpose or center of interest or activity
- verb
- To see clearly by adjusting your eyes or a camera
- To keep your attention, concentration on one thing
familiar
US / fəˈmɪliə(r) /
•UK / fəˈmɪljɚ /
- adjecitve
- Well-known or easily recognized
phonetic
US / fəˈnetɪk /
•UK / fəˈnɛtɪk /
- adjecitve
- Concerning the sounds of languages
- Concerning symbols that represent human sounds
- Of or relating to speech sounds
and
US / ənd /
•UK / ənd, ən,ænd /
- conjunction
- Used to refer to two or more things
- Plus; in addition; on top of that
- Used to introduce an action that follows another
lot
US / lɒt /
•UK / lɑt /
- noun
- What happens to a person in life from chance; fate
- A group of people seen together
- Item for sale at an auction
- Small area of land used for a purpose e.g. parking
hot
US / hɒt /
•UK / hɑ:t /
- adjecitve
- Angry or excited
- Being very good at something
- Having a high temperature
- Popular and causing a great deal of excitement
- Attractive in a sexually exciting way
- (Of food) very spicy
- Stolen; dangerous to buy or trade in
use
US / ju:s /
•UK / ju:s /
- noun
- Ability to employ something
- Need to enable it to work
- Permission to do something with something
- Act of spending money
- Operation of a machine for its function
- verb
- To have; to eat, drink, consume etc.
- To need to operate or work
- To operate a machine, e.g. a computer
- To treat a person badly
- To do something with, for a task or purpose
write
US / raɪt /
•UK / raɪt /
- verb
- To compose letters and words on paper or a screen
- To invent or create a computer program
- To create a song or piece of music
handy
US / 'hændɪ /
•UK / ˈhændi /
- adjecitve
- Convenient, easy to use, easy to reach
- Being skillful in performing small tasks
should
US / ʃʊd /
•UK / ʃʊd /
- other
- Used to indicate what is proper or reasonable
schwa
US / ʃwɑ: /
•UK / ʃwɑ /
- other
- A neutral middle vowel; occurs in unstressed syllables
always
US / 'ɔ:lweɪz /
•UK / ˈɔlwez,-wɪz,-wiz /
- adverb
- For a very long time
- At all times; in every situation
- For ever
will
US / wɪl /
•UK / wɪl /
- noun
- Desire or choice of someone
- Document saying who gets your money when you die
- Strong desire to do something; determination
- Desire to do something; strong wish to do
- other
- Used with verbs to express the future
- verb
- To leave property to someone after your death
- To use mental effort to make something happen
- Am (is, are) likely to do
- To influence someone to do something
- To make something happen by strongly wanting it
burn
US / bɜ:n /
•UK / bɚn /
- noun
- Damage from fire or heat
- verb
- To destroy with fire
- To feel pain and heat
- To use as fuel for a fire to make light or heat
- To overcook food with too much heat it goes black
heat
US / hi:t /
•UK / hit /
- noun
- State of anger, excitement, or arguing
- Particular temperature at which to cook something
- High temperature
- One of series of races to find the finalists
- Hot temperature, conditions, or weather
- verb
- To make hot or hotter
head
US / hed /
•UK / hɛd /
- noun
- Counter for the number of cattle
- Natural mental ability or intelligence
- Leader or person with the greatest authority
- Mind; mental ability; mental state
- Side of a coin with a head on it
- Top part of your body with eyes and a mouth
- Starting point of something, e.g. a river
- verb
- To hit a ball with your head in a game
- To be first or at the front or top (e.g. a list)
- To travel or move toward a particular place; To go in a particular direction
- To become the leader of something
- To lead or be responsible for something
begin
US / bɪ'ɡɪn /
•UK / ˈbeɡɪn /
- verb
- To do the first part of an action; to start
pronunciation
US / prəˌnʌnsiˈeɪʃn /
•UK / prəˌnʌnsiˈeʃən /
- noun
- How a word is said; how a word sounds
sound
US / saʊnd /
•UK / saʊnd /
- adjecitve
- Sensible, dependable and reliable
- Unbroken or undisturbed, as of sleep
- Firm or solid in structure
- Sane; not mentally ill
- Clearly reasoned; involving sense, good judgment
- noun
- Unique quality that characterizes a style of music
- Waves traveling in air or water that can be heard
- verb
- To seem or appear to be, from what was said
- To say in a clear deliberate manner
- To make a noise, e.g. to ring a bell
yourself
US / jɔ:ˈself /
•UK / jʊrˈsɛlf, jɔr-, jor-, jə- /
- pronoun
- Reflexive form of 'you', used for an emphasis
much
US / mʌtʃ /
•UK / mʌtʃ /
- adjecitve
- Very; to a high level or degree
- adverb
- A lot; large amount; a high degree of
- Nearly; basically
- On many occasions; often
- noun
- A large amount; a great quantity
system
US / 'sɪstəm /
•UK / ˈsɪstəm /
- adjecitve
- Working in an organized, logical way
- noun
- Set of organized, planned ideas that work together
for
US / fə(r) /
•UK / fɔr,fə /
- preposition
- Used to show the purpose, or need of something
necessarily
US / ˌnesəˈserəli /
•UK / ˌnɛsɪˈsɛrəli, -ˈsɛr- /
- adverb
- In a way that is needed/required/is unavoidable
through
US / θru: /
•UK / θru /
- adjecitve
- having finished using or doing something
- adverb
- From the beginning of something until the end
- preposition
- Over, in, across an entire thing or place
- Allowing you to pass between, or to
- By a particular way or process; by the use of
why
US / waɪ /
•UK / hwaɪ, waɪ /
- adverb
- Question word to ask for a reason
- exclamation
- (Used to express surprise or approval)
website
US / ˈwebsaɪt /
•UK / 'websaɪt /
- noun
- Collection of webpages in one location
worth
US / wɜ:θ /
•UK / wɚθ /
- other
- the financial, practical or moral value of somebody/something
- having a particular value, especially in money
letter
US / 'letə(r) /
•UK / ˈlɛtɚ /
- noun
- One of the 26 parts of the English alphabet
- Message you put in an envelope and send by post
just
US / dʒʌst /
•UK / dʒʌst /
- adjecitve
- Proper or appropriate; as is deserved
- Doing or being what is right or fair
- Legally correct; having enough evidence
- adverb
- Almost; nearly
- Exactly at the time of
- Exactly (the same as, like)
occur
US / əˈkɜ:(r) /
•UK / əˈkɚ /
- verb
- To come to pass or to happen
represent
US / ˌreprɪ'zent /
•UK / ˌrɛprɪˈzɛnt /
- verb
- To depict art objects, figures, scenes; to portray
- To show or describe something in a particular way
- To act on behalf of others in government
- To act or speak for another person or other people
blue
US / blu: /
•UK / blu /
- adjecitve
- Color of the clear sky
- Feeling sad or down
study
US / 'stʌdɪ /
•UK / ˈstʌdi /
- noun
- Room that a person studies or reads in
- Piece of research
- Topic or subject you research or learn about
- verb
- To focus on learning something usually at school
not
US / nɒt /
•UK / nɑt /
- adverb
- Word indicating the negative
- (Used to form the negative of verbs)
law
US / lɔ: /
•UK / lɔ /
- noun
- Field of study that relates to the legal profession
- A rule made and enforced by a government
- System or rules made by the government
become
US / bɪ'kʌm /
•UK / bɪˈkʌm /
- verb
- To begin to be; grow to be; develop into
- To be suitable for a particular job or role
same
US / seɪm /
•UK / sem /
- adjecitve
- Being equal in quality and amount
- Identical; not different
- Not changing; constant
book
US / bʊk /
•UK / bʊk /
- noun
- Thing made of pages with writing on that you read
- verb
- (Police) to officially record someone's crimes
- To reserve (hotel room, etc.) in advance
- To produce a red or yellow card to a soccer player
video
US / 'vɪdɪəʊ /
•UK / ˈvɪdiˌo /
- adjecitve
- Of a moving film, with sound
- noun
- Recording capturing action with sound
- verb
- To make a moving film of, with sound
especially
US / ɪˈspeʃəli /
•UK / ɛˈspɛʃəli, ɪˈspɛʃ- /
- adverb
- More than usual; extremely
english
US / ˈɪŋglɪʃ /
•UK / ˈɪŋɡlɪʃ /
- adjecitve
- Concerning the culture and people of England
- noun
- Language of the UK, USA, Nigeria and elsewhere
- Person's name
great
US / ɡreɪt /
•UK / ɡret /
- adjecitve
- Very large in size
- Very important
- Very good; fantastic; wonderful
- adverb
- Very good; better than before
- noun
- Successful and well-admired person
mean
US / mi:n /
•UK / min /
- adjecitve
- Being good at
- Nasty; unkind
- Not liking to spend money; cheap; stingy
- noun
- Average of a set of numbers
- verb
- To express a particular idea or thought
- To intend to do something in particular
- To have a particular meaning or value
student
US / ˈstju:dnt /
•UK / ˈstudnt, ˈstjud- /
- noun
- Person studying at school
notation
US / nəʊ'teɪʃn /
•UK / noˈteʃən /
- noun
- Set of written signs are used in music or math
about
US / ə'baʊt /
•UK / əˈbaʊt /
- adverb
- To be ready to; going to
- Nearly; approximately; roughly
- Near; next to; close to
- In every direction; in the area of
- preposition
- Concerning or of (a topic)
like
US / laɪk /
•UK / laɪk /
- adjecitve
- Being equal in status or kind to something else
- Similar; the same
- adverb
- For example
- preposition
- Used as a filler; used to ad emphasis
- In a way similar to the way something is done
- Such as; for example
- verb
- To want to
- To find something pleasing; to prefer something
that
US / ðæt /
•UK / ðæt, ðət /
- adjecitve
- The person or thing being talked about
- Used to identify something both the speakers know
- adverb
- Used to reinforce adjectives and adverbs
- To such a degree
- conjunction
- Used to connect a noun clause
- Used to introduce an adverbial clause
- Used to introduce a noun clause
- determiner
- Used as a noun to refer to something
- pronoun
- Referring an object far away
- Used to refer to the relative pronoun ‘which’
what
US / wɒt /
•UK / hwɑt, hwʌt, wɔt, wʌt,hwət, wət /
- pronoun
- Thing or things that; the same kind as
- Used to emphasize something you are about to say
- adjecitve
- Used to refer to a particular amount, or number
- Used to place emphasis on a particular quality
- adverb
- To a certain degree
- determiner
- Question words used for asking for information
- exclamation
- Used to express excitement, shock, or surprise
- Used to ask people to repeat something they said
catch
US / kætʃ /
•UK / kætʃ, kɛtʃ /
- noun
- Amount of something that has been caught
- Trick or something trying to deceive
- verb
- To stop something flying and hold it
- To stop something and not let it go, e.g. animals
- To get sick or get a disease from someone else
- To find someone to do something, a task
- To get stuck on or in something
- To be trapped so you can’t escape
- To be able to understand what someone is saying
alphabet
US / ˈælfəbet /
•UK / ˈælfəˌbɛt, -bɪt /
- noun
- Letters, symbols, characters of a written language
example
US / ɪgˈzɑ:mpl /
•UK / ɪɡˈzæmpəl /
- noun
- Thing, person which represents a category
each
US / i:tʃ /
•UK / itʃ /
- determiner
- Every one of two or more things
- pronoun
- Per one person or thing
language
US / ˈlæŋgwɪdʒ /
•UK / ˈlæŋɡwɪdʒ /
- noun
- Words or signs used to communicate messages
receive
US / rɪ'si:v /
•UK / rɪˈsiv /
- verb
- To get something someone has given or sent to you
- To allow someone to become a member (of a club)
- To welcome someone as a guest into your home
- To respond to (e.g. news) in a particular way
the
US / ðə /
•UK / ðə /
- article
- Used to refer to something already mentioned
- Used to show there is only one of something
- determiner
- Used to describe all of a family
bad
US / bæd /
•UK / bæd /
- adjecitve
- Not good; wrong
- Lacking in good morals; evil
- No longer fresh; spoiled
this
US / ðɪs /
•UK / ðɪs /
- adjecitve
- Used to indicate something already been discussed
- Used to indicate something happening around now
- adverb
- An indication by a physical motion or gesture
- A specific amount of
- determiner
- Person, thing, or idea near you
- pronoun
- Person, thing that has already been discussed
word
US / wɜ:d /
•UK / wɚd /
- noun
- Unit of language that has a meaning
- Promise
- Short remark or piece of information
- verb
- To express something by choosing particular words
also
US / 'ɔ:lsəʊ /
•UK / ˈɔlso /
- adverb
- In addition; too; in a similar way
woman
US / ˈwʊmən /
•UK / ˈwʊmən /
- noun
- Adult female human being
you
US / jʊ /
•UK / ju /
- pronoun
- Person someone is speaking or writing to
- Person or people in general
boo
US / bu: /
•UK / bu /
- verb
- To shout out 'boo', to express your disapproval
love
US / lʌv /
•UK / lʌv /
- noun
- Person's name
- A very strong feeling of affection
- The person you care very deeply about
- Strong, deep emotional and sexual attraction
- verb
- To care for and like someone very strongly, deeply
- To like doing very much; enjoy greatly
- To feel a strong emotional and romantic attraction
pull
US / pʊl /
•UK / pʊl /
- noun
- Act of breathing in smoke, as from a pipe
- Force something has that draws other things to it
- Using your hands to move something to you
- verb
- To breathe in smoke, as from a pipe
- To hold something and move it toward you
- To remove something by force
butter
US / ˈbʌt.ə /
•UK / ˈbʌt̬.ɚ /
- noun
- Yellow substance made of cream, spread on bread
- verb
- To spread butter on bread
teach
US / ti:tʃ /
•UK / titʃ /
- verb
- To help someone learn or do something
body
US / ˈbɒd.i /
•UK / ˈbɑdi /
- noun
- An object distinct from other objects
- A group of people involved in an activity together
- Main part of something
- A person's physical self
make
US / meɪk /
•UK / mek /
- noun
- Product made by a particular company; brand
- verb
- To arrange or prepare something e.g. dinner
- To get to (a place) on time
- To gain the status of (teacher, lawyer, etc.)
- To create something by putting things together
- To earn a certain amount of money at a job
- To cause or force a person to do something
- To cause something to happen or be formed