Vowels: A, E, I, O, U

Meet the vowels

Some letters are special. We call them vowels. There are five of them:

A E I O U

Say them out loud! A, E, I, O, U. Almost every word has a vowel in it.

The short vowel sounds

Each vowel has a short sound. Listen for it at the start of these words:

• A says "a" like in Ant 🐜
• E says "e" like in Egg 🥚
• I says "i" like in Igloo 🧊
• O says "o" like in Octopus 🐙
• U says "u" like in Umbrella ☂️

Say the sound. Then say the word. Can you hear it?

Vowels are everywhere

Look how vowels hide inside words:

• cat 🐱 — the vowel is a
• bed 🛏️ — the vowel is e
• pig 🐷 — the vowel is i
• dog 🐶 — the vowel is o
• sun ☀️ — the vowel is u

Without a vowel, most words can not be said. Vowels help us read!

A little vowel song

A, E, I, O, U, Five small vowels just for you!

Clap your hands for each one. A — E — I — O — U. 👏

Now play!

Flip the Vowel word cards above. Each card shows a vowel and a fun word. Then play Match the vowel to a word to put A with Ant and more.

Keep reading with these pages:

• The Alphabet: Letters A to Z
• Consonant Sounds

Wonderful! You know all 5 vowels now. 🎈