ShortAll ten sounds at a glance
Long and Short Vowel Sounds
Compare every vowel sound side by side
Each of the five vowel letters makes a short sound and a long sound. A short vowel keeps its quick, relaxed sound, as in cat. A long vowel says the letter's own name, as in cake. Tap any word to hear it.
Read the chart accurately
Symbol, IPA, and anchor word
The breve and macron symbols, ă and ā, are teaching labels often used in phonics programs. IPA symbols such as /æ/ and /eɪ/ describe the speech sound more precisely. The anchor word is the most useful part for a beginning reader.
Tap every word
Short vs. long, vowel by vowel
Short A vs. Long A
ă /æ/ in cat · ā /eɪ/ in cake. Add a silent e or the ay vowel team.
Short E vs. Long E
ĕ /ɛ/ in bed · ē /iː/ in see. Almost always a vowel team such as ee or ea.
Short I vs. Long I
ĭ /ɪ/ in pig · ī /aɪ/ in bike. Add a silent e or the igh/ight vowel team.
Short O vs. Long O
ŏ /ɑ/ in hot · ō /oʊ/ in hope. Add a silent e or the oa/ow vowel team.
Short U vs. Long U
ŭ /ʌ/ in sun · ū /juː/ in cute. Add a silent e or the ue/ew vowel team.
Why does the vowel sound change?
A short vowel word such as cap keeps its quick sound. English spells the long version two main ways: a silent e at the end, as in cape, or a vowel team of two letters, as in day. Both spellings can produce the exact same long vowel sound.
A fun edge case
What about words with no vowels at all?
A handful of real English words, such as my, sky, and rhythm, have no a, e, i, o, or u. They still have a vowel sound, supplied by the letter Y.
Quick practice
Listen and choose the word
Question 1 of 10
You matched short and long vowel sounds across all five letters.
Review the Short Vowel ChartFree resources
More vowel sound practice
Open the dedicated short vowel chart for accent notes and easily confused short-vowel pairs, or browse every printable worksheet.