Common problems
Below are details of significant pronunciation problems encountered by speakers of major languages .
Use this to guide your learning and prioritise your practice. Select your language from the list below.
Arabic
Vowels
Schwa/ə/ NURSE/ɜː/ KIT/ɪ/ DRESS/e/ STRUT/ʌ/ FOOT/ʊ/ LOT/ɒ/ GOAT/əʊ/ FACE/eɪ/
Consonants
Voiceless TH/θ/ Voiced TH/ð/ V/v/ ZH/ʒ/ P/p/ CH/tʃ/ G/ɡ/ DG/dʒ/ NG/ŋ/ R/r/
Other features
Consonant clusters, stress & intonation, aspiration of P/p/ T/t/ K/k/
French
Vowels
NURSE/ɜː/ TRAP/æ/ STRUT/ʌ/ KIT/ɪ/ FOOT/ʊ/ THOUGHT/ɔː/ GOAT/əʊ/ FACE/eɪ/
Consonants
Voiceless TH/θ/ Voiced TH/ð/ CH/tʃ/ DG/dʒ/ NG/ŋ/ H/h/ R/r/
Other features
Stress & intonation, aspiration of P/p/ T/t/ K/k/
German
Vowels
NURSE/ɜː/ TRAP/æ/ STRUT/ʌ/ GOAT/əʊ/ FACE/eɪ/
Consonants
Voiceless TH/θ/ Voiced TH/ð/ R/r/ W/w/
Other features
Word-final voiced/voiceless consonant contrasts
Hindi
Vowels
NURSE/ɜː/ Dress/e/ TRAP/æ/ STRUT/ʌ/ LOT/ɒ/ GOAT/əʊ/
Consonants
Voiceless TH/θ/ Voiced TH/ð/ V/v/ R/r/ W/w/
Other features
Stress & intonation, consonant clusters
Italian
Vowels
Schwa/ə/ NURSE/ɜː/ KIT/ɪ/ FOOT/ʊ/ TRAP/æ/ STRUT/ʌ/ THOUGHT/ɔː/ GOAT/əʊ/
Consonants
Voiceless TH/θ/ Voiced TH/ð/ NG/ŋ/ H/h/ R/r/
Other features
Stress & intonation, aspiration of P/p/ T/t/ K/k/
Japanese
Vowels
Schwa/ə/ NURSE/ɜː/ KIT/ɪ/ FOOT/ʊ/ TRAP/æ/ STRUT/ʌ/ LOT/ɒ/ GOAT/əʊ/
Consonants
Voiceless TH/θ/ Voiced TH/ð/ B/b/ T/t/ D/d/ F/f/ V/v/ S/s/ Z/z/ H/h/ R/r/ L/l/
Other features
Word-final voiced/voiceless consonant contrasts, consonant clusters, stress & intonation
Mandarin
Vowels
NURSE/ɜː/ KIT/ɪ/ TRAP/æ/ STRUT/ʌ/ FOOT/ʊ/ LOT/ɒ/ GOAT/əʊ/
Consonants
Voiceless TH/θ/ Voiced TH/ð/ F/f/ ZH/ʒ/ B/b/ D/d/ DG/dʒ/ G/ɡ/ R/r/
Other features
Stress & intonation, consonant clusters, word-final voiced/voiceless consonant contrasts
Polish
Vowels
Schwa/ə/ NURSE/ɜː/ KIT/ɪ/ FOOT/ʊ/ TRAP/æ/ STRUT/ʌ/ THOUGHT/ɔː/ GOAT/əʊ/
Consonants
Voiceless TH/θ/ Voiced TH/ð/ H/h/ R/r/
Other features
Word-final voiced/voiceless consonant contrasts, stress & intonation, aspiration of P /p/ T /t/ K /k/
Portuguese
Vowels
KIT/ɪ/ FOOT/ʊ/ TRAP/æ/ STRUT/ʌ/ GOAT/əʊ/
Consonants
Voiceless TH/θ/ Voiced TH/ð/ CH/tʃ/ DG/dʒ/ NG/ŋ/ H/h/ R/r/
Other features
Consonant clusters, aspiration of P/p/ T/t/ K/k/
Russian
Vowels
KIT/ɪ/ FOOT/ʊ/ TRAP/æ/ STRUT/ʌ/ THOUGHT/ɔː/ GOAT/əʊ/
Consonants
Voiceless TH/θ/ Voiced TH/ð/ DG/dʒ/ NG/ŋ/ H/h/ R/r/ W/v/
Other features
Word-final voiced/voiceless consonant contrasts, aspiration of P/p/ T/t/ K/k/
Spanish
Vowels
Schwa/ə/ NURSE/ɜː/ KIT/ɪ/ FOOT/ʊ/ TRAP/æ/ STRUT/ʌ/ LOT/ɒ/ THOUGHT/ɔː/ GOAT/əʊ/
Consonants
Voiceless TH/θ/ Voiced TH/ð/ B/b/ DG/dʒ/ V/v/ Z/z/ SH/ʃ/ ZH/ʒ/ NG/ŋ/ H/h/ R/r/
Other features
Consonant clusters, stress & intonation, aspiration of P/p/ T/t/ K/k/
Turkish
Vowels
KIT/ɪ/ FOOT/ʊ/ TRAP/æ/ STRUT/ʌ/ LOT/ɒ/ THOUGHT/ɔː/ GOAT/əʊ/
Consonants
Voiceless TH/θ/ Voiced TH/ð/ V/v/ NG/ŋ/ R/r/ W/w/
Other features
Word-final voiced/voiceless consonant contrasts, consonant clusters