Alphabet Chart
The Alphabet Chart is a educational reference tool covering alphabet chart, alphabet chart printable, cursive alphabet chart, cursive chart. Use the chart below to look up values instantly. Printable and downloadable versions are available on this page.
Alphabet Flashcard Tool
Select print, cursive, or phonetic mode and flip through letters as flashcards. Enable quiz mode to test yourself.
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Alphabet Chart — A to Z with Uppercase and Lowercase
| Uppercase Letter (Print) | Lowercase Letter (Print) | Letter Name | Letter Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| A | a | Ay | 1st |
| B | b | Bee | 2nd |
| C | c | See | 3rd |
| D | d | Dee | 4th |
| E | e | Ee | 5th |
| F | f | Ef | 6th |
| G | g | Jee | 7th |
| H | h | Aitch | 8th |
| I | i | Eye | 9th |
| J | j | Jay | 10th |
| K | k | Kay | 11th |
| L | l | El | 12th |
| M | m | Em | 13th |
| N | n | En | 14th |
| O | o | Oh | 15th |
| P | p | Pee | 16th |
| Q | q | Cue | 17th |
| R | r | Ar | 18th |
| S | s | Es | 19th |
| T | t | Tee | 20th |
| U | u | You | 21st |
| V | v | Vee | 22nd |
| W | w | Double-you | 23rd |
| X | x | Ex | 24th |
| Y | y | Why | 25th |
| Z | z | Zee (US) or Zed (UK/Canada) | 26th |
Standard English alphabet — 26 letters derived from the Latin alphabet
Alphabet with Example Words
| Letter | Example Word | Sound (Phoneme Description) |
|---|---|---|
| A | Apple | Short A as in cat. Long A as in cake. |
| B | Ball | B as in book — voiced bilabial stop. |
| C | Cat (hard C) / City (soft C) | Hard C sounds like K. Soft C sounds like S before E, I, or Y. |
| D | Dog | D as in door — voiced alveolar stop. |
| E | Egg | Short E as in bed. Long E as in eve. |
| F | Fish | F as in fan — voiceless labiodental fricative. |
| G | Goat (hard G) / Gem (soft G) | Hard G as in go. Soft G sounds like J before E, I, or Y. |
| H | Hat | H as in house — voiceless glottal fricative. |
| I | Igloo | Short I as in sit. Long I as in ice. |
| J | Jar | J as in jump — voiced palato-alveolar affricate. |
| K | King | K as in kite — voiceless velar stop. |
| L | Lion | L as in lamp — voiced alveolar lateral approximant. |
| M | Moon | M as in man — voiced bilabial nasal. |
| N | Nest | N as in nose — voiced alveolar nasal. |
| O | Octopus | Short O as in hot. Long O as in go. |
| P | Pig | P as in pan — voiceless bilabial stop. |
| Q | Queen | Q always followed by U — sounds like KW as in quick. |
| R | Rain | R as in red — voiced alveolar approximant. |
| S | Sun | S as in sit — voiceless alveolar fricative. Also Z sound as in rose. |
| T | Tiger | T as in top — voiceless alveolar stop. |
| U | Umbrella | Short U as in cup. Long U as in use. |
| V | Violin | V as in van — voiced labiodental fricative. |
| W | Water | W as in win — voiced labio-velar approximant. |
| X | X-ray | X sounds like KS (fox) or Z (xylophone). |
| Y | Yellow | Y as consonant in yes. Y as vowel sounds like I (sky) or E (baby). |
| Z | Zebra | Z as in zoo — voiced alveolar fricative. |
Standard English phonics reference — see also Reading Rockets: Phonics and Decoding
Vowels vs Consonants Reference
| Category | Letters |
|---|---|
| Vowels (5 main vowels) | A, E, I, O, U — and sometimes Y and W |
| Consonants (21 main consonants) | B, C, D, F, G, H, J, K, L, M, N, P, Q, R, S, T, V, W, X, Y, Z |
| Sometimes vowels | Y (sky, baby, gym) and W (cwm — Welsh-origin word used in English) |
Y functions as a consonant at the start of a word (yes, yellow) and as a vowel when it produces an I or E sound within a word (sky, happy, gym). W occasionally functions as a vowel in Welsh-derived words.
Alphabet Flashcard Tool
Select print, cursive, or phonetic mode and flip through all 26 letters. Enable quiz mode to test letter names or example words.
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many letters are in the English alphabet?
There are 26 letters in the modern English alphabet — A through Z.
How many vowels are in the English alphabet?
There are 5 vowel letters — A, E, I, O, and U. Y and W sometimes function as vowels in specific contexts.
What letter comes after Q?
R follows Q — Q is the 17th letter and R is the 18th letter of the English alphabet.
Is W a vowel or consonant?
W is classified as a consonant in standard English. However it occasionally functions as a vowel in Welsh-derived words like cwm (a type of circular valley) and in some dialects.
Why does Q almost always come before U?
The combination QU inherited from Latin and French where the letter Q was always paired with U to represent the KW sound. In modern English Q rarely appears without a following U and words with Q but no U (like qoph, qigong, and some transliterated Arabic words) are largely borrowed from other languages.
What is the least used letter in English?
Z is the least frequently used letter in written English — appearing in approximately 0.07 percent of letters in common text. Q is the second least frequent at approximately 0.10 percent.
What is the most used letter in English?
E is the most frequently used letter in English — it appears in approximately 13 percent of letters in common text. The frequency order is approximately E, T, A, O, I, N, S, H, R.
What is a digraph?
A digraph is a pair of letters that together represent a single phoneme (sound). Common English digraphs include CH (chair), SH (ship), TH (the), PH (phone), and WH (when).