How to Pronounce the /æ/ Sound

Discover the /æ/ sound in English: its articulation, features, and how it contrasts with other vowels for precise pronunciation.

In this lesson, we are going to learn how the sound /æ/ is produced by looking at the articulatory organs.

What Type of Sound Is /æ/?

/æ/ is between /a/ and /ɛ/ sounds.

How to Produce /æ/?

Mouth Configuration for /æ/

To pronounce it, as you see in the picture, open your mouth a bit as if you are smiling and keep your lips unrounded. Produce the short /æ/ sound with your mouth open. Note that our mouths are not as wide as when want to pronounce the /ɑ/ sound and the lips are more stretched than when we are producing the sound /e/.

Which Letters are Pronounced as /æ/?

The sound /æ/ is represented by the following letters:

Pie Chart of the Letters that Make the /æ/ Sound

can /kæn/

as /æz/

/æ/ Around the World

As you see in the table below, most of the common languages around the world do not have this sound; therefore you will a little practice to produce this sound.

	Existence	Example
Mandarin	x	-
Spanish	x	-
Hindi	x	-
Bengali	✔	ত্যাগ
Portuguese	x	-
Russian	✔	пять
Japanese	x	-
Vietnamese	x	-
Turkish	✔	erkek
French	x	-
German	x	-
Italian	x	-
Persian	✔	نَه
Standard Arabic	✔	فَعَلَ
Korean	x	-
Indonesian	x	-
Filipino	x	-
Hungarian	x	-
Dutch	x	-
Polish	x	-
Romanian	x	-
Swedish	✔	värk
Czech	x	-
Greek	x	-
Ukrainian	x	-
Urdu	x	-

Listening

Let's listen to the pronunciation of the /æ/ sound which has been mentioned below:

Down below, there are two other sounds similar to the /æ/ sound. At first, listen to the /e/ sound and then listen to the /ɑ/ sound:

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What Type of Sound Is /æ/?
How to Produce /æ/?
Which Letters are Pronounced as /æ/?
/æ/ Around the World
Listening

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