Consonants are all the letters of the alphabet except for A, E, I, O, U. In IPA, they are represented by symbols, some of which look similar to the normal alphabets. However, some symbols look totally different from the alphabets. Consonants can be categorised as:

• Voiced – ‘voiced’ sounds are produced with the vocal chords vibrating.
  
  
• Voiceless – ‘Voiceless’ sounds are produced without the vocal chords vibrating.