P (letter)

P is the sixteenth letter of the English alphabet. Its name is pronounced like the vegetable pea.

Use in English

P is an unvoiced bilabilal stop, an unvoiced b (compare pén and Bén), a popping sound with the lips in the same position as b and m (as in mén). Examples (the accents show pronunciation: see English phonemes): póp, pâper, plûral, pêople, pét, pépper, pénsion, ápt, flípped, câper, apàrt, stoôp, recoûp, groûp, bürp, hàrp, stóp, cóp, rôpe, hype, type.

P begins consonant clusters: ápfelstrudel, Dáphnê (-fn), aphrodísiac (-fr-), plús, apnoêa, présent, Épsom, ápt.

P is silent at the beginning of a word before n, s, t: pterodáctyl, pneumátic, pneumônia, pseûdonym, ptàrmigan, Ptómely and in recêipt, which rhymes with decêit.

It doubles only in the middle, to shorten the preceding vowel: hópping (cf. hópped, hôped), flóppy (cf. flóp), snápped, háppy, háppen, náppy, rípper, cúpped, stépping, and after an initial vowel as in appŏrtion, appŏointment, apprôach, applŷ, opportûnity, úpper.

Ph = f: Phílip, trôphy, phenómenon, grāph, apóstrophê, Philadélphia, phãraoh (-rô) but Stêphen = Stêven.

Before p, n becomes m: impŏrtant, cómpost, cf. -nf- in informâtion, confŏrm (which are often pronounced *ímformâtion, *comfŏrm).

See also

• Letter (alphabet)
• Alphabet
• Writing system
• Orthography
• Written language
• Writing