Long Vowels
Related Pages
Long U
Long O
Phonic Sounds
English for Kids
Videos and songs to help Kindergarten kids learn how to pronounce words with the long vowels a, e, i, o, and u.
Long vowels are vowel sounds that are pronounced the same way as the letter’s name. Each of the vowels A, E, I, O, U has a long vowel sound, and these sounds are found in various spelling patterns.
The Five Long Vowels
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Long A (/eɪ/)
Sound: Like the “a” in cake or day.
Common Spelling Patterns:
A_E: cake, name, late
AI: rain, wait, train
AY: day, play, stay
EI/EA: vein, break
Learn about long vowel A -
Long E (/iː/)
Sound: Like the “e” in me or tree.
Common Spelling Patterns:
E_E: these, Pete
EE: tree, see, bee
EA: sea, eat, beach
Y (at the end): happy, funny
IE/EI: piece, receive
Learn about long vowel E -
Long I (/aɪ/)
Sound: Like the “i” in time or light.
Common Spelling Patterns:
I_E: time, kite, line
IGH: light, right, fight
Y (at the end): my, sky, cry
IE: pie, tie
Learn about long vowel I -
Long O (/oʊ/ or /əʊ/)
Sound: Like the “o” in go or home.
Common Spelling Patterns:
O_E: home, note, rope
OA: boat, coat, road
OW: snow, grow, bow
OE: toe, foe
Learn about long vowel O -
Long U (/juː/ or /uː/)
Sound: Like the “u” in use or blue.
Common Spelling Patterns:
U_E: use, cube, tune
UE: blue, glue, clue
EW: few, new, grew
OO: food, mood, moon
Learn about long vowel U
The following diagram shows the long vowels a, e, i, o, u. Scroll down the page for more examples and songs to help you learn how to pronounce the long vowels and read long vowel words.
Songs to learn the Long Vowels
Learn Long Vowels with Silent e
Silent e can change the way a vowel sounds. Silent e makes another vowel say its name.
When 2 Vowels Go Walking
Phonics Song for Kids
When two vowels go walking sometimes the first one does the talking by having the long vowel sound and the second vowel is silent.
Phonics - Learn to Read Long Vowels
Learn the sound of the letters
Learning Short Vowels
| Short Vowels | ||
|---|---|---|
| Short A | Short E | Short I |
| Short O | Short U | Short Vowels |
Learning Long Vowels
| Long Vowels | ||
|---|---|---|
| Long A | Long E | Long I |
| Long O | Long U | Y (vowel) |
| Long Vowels | Short & Long Vowels | |
Compare Short & Long Vowels
| Short & Long Vowels | ||
|---|---|---|
| Short & Long A | Short & Long E | Short & Long I |
| Short & Long O | Short & Long U | |
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