Which letters are vowels?
In the English alphabet the vowel letters are A, E, I, O and U. Y acts like a vowel in words such as gym and rhythm, so this picker has a Y counts as a vowel option, off by default. With it on, the pool grows to six letters.
Why pick a random vowel?
- Phonics and spelling: practise one vowel at a time by asking learners for words that contain it.
- Word games: set a rule that each word must contain the vowel you draw.
- Hangman and puzzles: reveal a random vowel as a hint.
- Writing practice: write a sentence using the chosen vowel as often as you can.
Letters and sounds
English has only five vowel letters but around twenty vowel sounds, depending on the accent. That is why one vowel letter can sound very different in different words, such as the letter A in cat, cake and father. A random vowel makes a good starting point for exploring those differences.
Picking more than one
Set the count above 1 to draw several vowels. With No repeats ticked you can draw up to five, or six with Y.
For any letter use the random letter picker, or the random consonant picker for the other half of the alphabet. To make a long list, use the random letter list generator.