🟡 Intermediate · Week 1 · Lesson 4

English Pronunciation

Master the sounds that are most challenging for Ethiopian speakers — TH, V vs W and silent letters. የእንግሊዝኛ አጠራር።

⏱ 20–25 minutes 📖 3 sound topics 🧠 Quiz included 🆓 Free

Sound 1

👅 The TH Sound — Most Tricky for Ethiopians!

The TH sound does not exist in Amharic or most Ethiopian languages — so many learners replace it with T, D or S. There are actually two different TH sounds in English!

🌬️

Soft TH /θ/

think · three · thank · through · teeth · bath · month

No voice — just air through the teeth

🔊

Hard TH /ð/

the · this · that · there · mother · father · breathe

Use your voice — feel the vibration!

📌 How to make the TH sound — step by step:

1️⃣ Put the tip of your tongue lightly between your top and bottom teeth

2️⃣ For soft TH — blow air out gently without using your voice

3️⃣ For hard TH — do the same but add your voice (make a sound)

🇪🇹 Tip: Put your finger in front of your mouth — for soft TH you should feel air. For hard TH you should feel a small vibration in your throat!

❌ "tink" — wrong! ✅ "think" — correct! ❌ "dis" — wrong! ✅ "this" — correct! ❌ "sree" — wrong! ✅ "three" — correct!

🗣️ Practise these TH sentences out loud!

"Thank you for thinking of three things."

"This is the path through the mountains."

"My mother and father are both from Ethiopia."

"I think that thirty-three is the answer."

Sound 2

🦷 V vs W — Two Very Different Sounds!

Many Ethiopian learners confuse V and W — or replace both with B. These are three completely different sounds!

Sound	How to make it	Example words
V /v/	Touch your upper teeth to your lower lip and push air through with voice	very · visit · voice · village · live · love
W /w/	Round your lips as if you are going to whistle, then open your mouth	water · welcome · word · week · woman · always
B /b/	Press both lips together then release with a pop	big · boy · book · bring · back · both

❌ "bery good" ✅ "very good" ❌ "wideo" ✅ "video" ❌ "wery" ✅ "very"

🗣️ Practise these V and W pairs out loud!

very — wary vine — wine vet — wet

vest — west veil — whale van — wan

"Visit the village every Wednesday."

"Very well — welcome to the world of English!"

Sound 3

🤫 Silent Letters — Words That Trick Everyone!

Many English words have letters that are written but not pronounced. These surprise even advanced learners!

Word	Silent letter	How to say it	Tip
know	k	/nəʊ/	Sounds like "no"
write	w	/raɪt/	Sounds like "right"
knife	k	/naɪf/	The K is silent
hour	h	/aʊə/	Sounds like "our"
honest	h	/ˈɒnɪst/	Start with "on"
island	s	/ˈaɪlənd/	The S is silent
Wednesday	d	/ˈwenzdeɪ/	Say "Wenz-day"
February	first r	/ˈfebjuəri/	Say "Feb-yoo-ary"
castle	t	/ˈkɑːsəl/	Say "Caa-sul"
listen	t	/ˈlɪsən/	Say "Lis-en"

🗣️ Practise these silent letter sentences!

"I know how to write with a knife." (k · w · k silent)

"The honest man waited an hour." (h · h silent)

"Listen carefully every Wednesday in February." (t · d · r silent)

Exercise

✏️ Pronunciation Practice Exercise

Choose the correct pronunciation for each word.

The word "think" — does it start with a T sound or a TH sound? ___
The word "very" — does it start with V, W or B? ___
The word "know" — is the K pronounced? ___
The word "this" — which TH sound does it use — soft /θ/ or hard /ð/? ___
The word "Wednesday" — how many syllables do you say? ___

1. TH sound (not T) | 2. V | 3. No — the K is silent | 4. Hard TH /ð/ | 5. Two syllables — "Wenz-day"

🧠 Lesson 4 Quiz — Pronunciation

Test your knowledge of English sounds — 8 questions!

1. Which word uses the SOFT TH sound /θ/ — air only, no voice?

2. To make the V sound correctly, you should:

3. The word "know" — which letter is silent?

4. How do you correctly say the word "Wednesday"?

5. Which of these is the CORRECT pronunciation?

6. The word "honest" — which letter is silent?

7. "The" uses which TH sound?

8. To make the W sound correctly, you should:

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