Sound Right

/d/ — the D sound as in day, good, around

Main spellings (~99%)

⟨d⟩ ~98%

The letter ⟨d⟩ covers most words with the /d/ sound.

day good around do old would find head need down
Doubled consonants: When ⟨dd⟩ appears in the middle of a word, it still makes just one /d/ sound. Examples: middle, sudden, ladder.

⟨ed⟩ ~1%

The past tense ending ⟨-ed⟩ is pronounced /d/ after voiced consonants and vowels.

called played lived seemed followed turned opened stayed
-ed pronunciation rule: Say /d/ after voiced sounds (called, played), say /t/ after voiceless sounds (walked, stopped), and say /ɪd/ after /t/ or /d/ (wanted, needed).

Unusual spellings (<1%)

⟨dh⟩

From Indian languages (Hindi, Sanskrit).

dharma gandhi

⟨ddh⟩

Also from Sanskrit — doubled version.

buddha buddhist