Consonant Stop: p sound /p/

Listen to the p sound

How to pronounce the p sound

The p sound is unvoiced (the vocal cords do not vibrate while producing it), and is the counterpart to the voiced b sound.

To create the p sound, air is briefly prevented from leaving the vocal tract by closing the lips. The sound is aspirated when the air is released. The aspiration for a p sound is greater than the aspiration for a b sound.

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Common p sound spellings

spelling	example		other pronunciations for spelling
p/pp[1]	pet happy hope		none

[1]: p spelling
In words that begin with the letters ps-, the p is silent and only the s sound is pronounced (examples include the words psychology, psalm and psychic). This spelling pattern is uncommon.

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The p sound in suffixes

none

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Non-phonetic p sound words

none

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Pronuncian Lessons

  

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