Improve your English: consonants

A consonant is a speech sound that is made by stopping the flow of air in the breath channel or mouth.

A consonant is:

1. a speech sound that is made by stopping the flow of air in the breath channel or mouth with the tongue, teeth, or lips.

2. a letter of the alphabet that represents any of these speech sounds

There are 24 consonant sounds in most English accents, and 21 consonant letters.

The 21 consonant letters are:

B b   Cc   Dd   Ff   Gg   Hh   Jj   Kk   Ll   Mm

Nn   Pp   Qq   Rr   Ss   Tt   Vv   Ww   Xx   Yy   Zz

The letter Y is traditionally counted as a consonant, but can be classed as both a consonant and a vowel.

For example:

In ‘hymn’ the letter Y is a vowel sound with the breath channel open.

In ‘yellow’ the letter Y is a consonant sound with the flow of air stopped in the mouth.

howjsay.com is a free online talking dictionary of English pronunciation where you can listen to the consonant and vowel sounds of English words. Pronunciation is in Standard British English.