Vowel digraphs are vowels written with two letters. Some are a single sound. Others, like ‘au’ or ‘oi,’ are 'diphthongs'. (Diphthongs contain the basic sounds of both vowels, but they glide together.) This page has some suggestions for sounding digraphs out in unfamiliar words.
Learning how to pronounce and spell English vowel digraphs can also improve your reading.
(Note: These are standard American pronunciations. They may have different pronunciations in some areas.)
AI or AY are almost always pronounced as long A -- /eɪ/ in the International Phonetic Alphabet. (For exceptions see AIR below the Es):
AU or AW are usually pronounced /ɔː/:
One common exception is 'because.' At least in my California dialect, we pronounce it with a simple short 'u' sound: be-cuz. (It's the same sound as the 'ou' in cousin.)
EA is often pronounced /iː/ like long E (as in the long vowel rule on the English Vowels page):
However, EA is also commonly pronounced like a short E (/ɛ/):
There is no certain way to
predict which pronunciation a word will use.
EE is pronounced with a long E (/iː/ ) :
EI is usually pronounced with a long A (/eɪ/):
EU and EW are usually long U (/juː/):
As pointed out on the English Vowels page with link above, vowels and vowel digraphs followed by 'R' change their sounds. AIR, EAR, EER, and EIR can be pronounced three ways:
IE is usually pronounced with a long E sound (/iː/ ):
An old spelling rhyme goes: “I before E except after C, or when pronounced A as in neighbor and weigh.”)
OA is pronounced with a long O (/oʊ/):
OI and OY make the /ɔɪ/ sound:
OO is pronounced /uː/ as in:
or /ʊ/ as in
OU may be the most difficult digraph to guess.
Its most common sound is /aʊ/:
It can also make the sound of /ɔː/ :
long O (/oʊ/):
short U (/ʌ/):
or (followed by an R) /ɔr/:
is pronounced /aʊ/:
or with a long O (/oʊ/):
UE is pronounced /uː/:
UI/UY can be pronounced /uː/:
or sometimes /ɪ/:
A good way to learn how these digraphs sound in spoken English is to listen to a speech or podcast with a transcript you can read while you listen. Check out English Listening Practice.
Try Carol Dweck's short TED talk on that page: "The Power of Yet (Believing that you can improve)." She talks about the importance of a growth mindset. That means believing that practicing difficult skills can make you smarter, not prove that you are a failure.
I found 22 vowel digraphs in the first two minutes, or nearly 60 in all. They're almost all mentioned in the list above.
For a more detailed explanation of digraphs and other English vowel sounds, (with practice activities), see this course on English Vowel Sounds and Spellings.
They all can help you pronounce what you read-- or spell what you can say.