The pronunciation of
the letter A in English

How is the letter A pronounced in English?

The letter A has two main pronunciations in English: a short pronunciation and a long pronunciation. When a vowel has a "long" sound, it is pronounced the same as the letter's name. Listen to the difference between the short and long sounds of the letter A with the words in the table below. Click the link to hear the pronunciation.

Note: I am from the United States, and my pronunciation is North American.

The pronunciation of the letter A in English
Long A sound	Short A sound
► /eI/	► /æ/
► cane	► can
► pain	► pan
► sale	► Sal
► laid	► lad
► bait	► bat
► Dane	► Dan
► mane	► man
► cape	► cap
► sake	► sack
► bane	► ban
► rain	► ran
► Kate	► cat

Note that in the column of long-sounding words, all of them end with a silent E or have a vowel combination. When a word ends with a silent E, it causes the other vowel in the word to be pronounced as the letter's name. Similarly, if a word contains a vowel combined with another vowel, the first vowel is pronounced as its name. These pronunciation rules are explained in more detail on the Pronunciation Rules page.