


Adult learners use this page to explore the sounds each alphabet letter can make. Using IPA symbols helps prepare learners for using a dictionary. Word drills provide structured reading practice using lists of words grouped by sound and take learners on the next step in their reading journey.
Goal: recognize and name the letter C; learn all the sounds of letter C. Goodness gracious! Forget cat. C for chocolate icecream!
| Name | IPA Symbol | Examples |
| Hard C c sounds like k |
as in cat: - |
, , .
Try drill 1. |
| Soft C c sounds like s |
as in cell: - |
, , .
Try drill 18. |
| Hard ck c really sounds like k at the end |
as in kick: - |
, , .
Try drill 36. |
| c sounds like sh |
as in machine: - |
, . |
| ch sounds like tsh |
as in chin: - |
, , .
Try drill 31. |
| Ch sounds like k | as in chorus: - | . |
Did you notice the letter c does not have a sound of its own?
C has a soft sound like S before vowels e, i and y as in cell, city, cycle. It has a hard sound like k before a, o, and u as in cat, cot, cup.
Try our popup letter combo tool: or
C at the end of a word is almost always a hard C. But just so you don't forget, a convention developed to add a k. Such words end in CK as in puck, duck, click.
Try our popup letter combo tool:
C, when followed by e or i before another vowel, unites with e or i to form the sound of sh. So gracious is pronounced gra'shus.
Try our popup letter combo tool:
H can join with several consonants to form new consonant sounds as in Ch, Sh, Th, Gh, and Ph. Learn the power of H.
Try our popup letter combo tool:
Try these C words;
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
.