/æ/

short vowel

The Short A Sound

as in cat

How to make the /æ/ sound

Voiced — vocal cords vibrate
voiced voiceless
  1. 1Open your mouth wide — wider than feels natural.
  2. 2Push the tongue low and forward.
  3. 3The jaw drops: "aaa" as in "apple".

⚠ The most common mistake

Not opening the jaw enough, producing short E instead — "bad" sounds like "bed".

Especially tricky for speakers of: Spanish, French, German, Russian.

Train your ear: /æ/ vs /e/

These two words differ by exactly one sound. Tap both — can you hear it?

Practice: Record & Compare

Record yourself saying cat, then compare with the target. Your audio stays on this device — nothing is uploaded.

Practice words with /æ/

Tap the speaker to hear each word; tap the word for its full pronunciation page.

More short vowels

See all 44 sounds of English →