Diphthongs are two vowel sounds glided together in one syllable. There are 8 in standard English.
/eɪ/ — face
Spellings: ai, ay, a-e, ati, eigh.
- faint, sails, waist, bay, made, cave, eight, weight, stage
/əʊ/ — go
Spellings: o, oa, ow, ou, o-e.
- stroke, telescope, lonely, hold, load, owe, low, know, pole, shoulder
/aɪ/ — my
Spellings: i, y, ie, igh, i-e.
- blind, pipes, pirate, trial, biology, midnight, pie chart, time, like
/aʊ/ — house
Spellings: ou, ow.
- scoundrel, account, lounge, mouse, mound, about, eyebrows, powder, down
/ɔɪ/ — boy
Spellings: oi, oy.
- avoid, coin, point out, soil, cabin-boy, voyage
/ɪə/ — ear
Spellings: ear, eer, ie, period-like words.
- volunteer, nearby, fear, fierce, audience, period, medium, senior, twentieth
/eə/ — air
Spellings: air, are, ear, ere.
- air, carelessly, care, hardware, square, swearing, bear, there, mayor, pharaoh
/ʊə/ — sure
Spellings: ure, ur, ual.
- cure, rural, security, unusual