"L" is the twelfth letter of the English alphabet. It is a consonant too.

Consonants are the letters that are produced by stopping the letter from flowing easily.

Uppercase Form L
Lowercase l
Name el (pronounced /ˈɛl/)
Main Sounds /l/, /Ø/

Pie Chart of "l" Pronunciation in American English

The Letter L: Sounds

The letter "l" has two sounds:

Sound 1: /l/

"l" mainly sounds /l/:

lip /lɪp/

law /lɔː/

look /lʊk/

camel /ˈkæml/

Sound 2: /Ø/

"l" before consonants like "k," "m," "f," and "d" is silent:

  • lk

walk /wɔːk/

talk /tɔːk/

  • lm

salmon /ˈsæmən/

calm /kɑːm/

palm /pɑːm/

  • lf

half /hæf/

calf /kæf/

  • ld

should /ʃʊd/

could /kʊd/

would /wʊd/

The Letter L: Multigraphs

The letter "l" can also appear in combinations with other letters (mainly consonants).

ll

"ll" commonly has two sounds:

  • /l/
  • /ɫ/

1. "ll" sounds /l/ if it is followed by other letters:

llama /ˈlɑːmə/

balloon /bəˈluːn/

smaller /smɑːlɜːr/

2. But "ll" sounds /ɫ/ if it is not followed by other letters and placed at the last syllable:

shell /ʃeɫ/

Dell /deɫ/

bell /beɫ/

Tip!

The difference between /l/ and /ɫ/ is that the latter is pronounced with more emphasis.

le

"le" sounds /əl/:

puddle /ˈpʌdəl/

pebble /ˈpɛb.əl/

puzzle /ˈpʌzəl/

The Letter L: Uses

"L" is also used as:

  • An internet meme, respectively standing for "loss" (L) and "win" (W)
  • An abbreviation for the size "large"

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