How To Read IPA
The International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) gives every sound one symbol, so you can read how a word is said even when its spelling does not help. English has about 44 sounds in British English. This chart lists each one with real words from the Transcription dictionary, so you can tap a word and hear it.
A transcription between slashes, like /ˈwɔː.tə/, is phonemic. It shows the sounds that change meaning. A transcription in square brackets, like [ˈwɔː.tə], is phonetic and shows more detail.
The Sounds Of English
| Symbol | Sound | Examples From The Dictionary |
|---|---|---|
| Short Vowels | ||
| /ɪ/ | Short i, as in sit | ill /ɪl/ ink /ɪŋk/ its /ɪts/ emit /ɪˈmɪt/ |
| /e/ | Short e, as in bed | any /ˈen.i/ ate /et/ ebb /eb/ egg /eɡ/ |
| /æ/ | Short a, as in cat | act /ækt/ add /æd/ and /ænd/ ant /ænt/ |
| /ʌ/ | Short u, as in cup | ugh /ʌɡ/ oven /ˈʌv.ən/ ugly /ˈʌɡ.li/ unto /ˈʌn.tuː/ |
| /ɒ/ | Short o, as in hot (UK) | odd /ɒd/ off /ɒf/ onto /ˈɒn.tuː/ offer /ˈɒf.ə/ |
| /ʊ/ | Short oo, as in book | oops /ʊps/ put /pʊt/ book /bʊk/ bull /bʊl/ |
| /ə/ | Schwa, the weak vowel in about and teacher | ago /əˈɡəʊ/ amid /əˈmɪd/ away /əˈweɪ/ awry /əˈraɪ/ |
| Long Vowels | ||
| /iː/ | Long ee, as in see | eat /iːt/ eel /iːl/ ego /ˈiː.ɡəʊ/ eid /iːd/ |
| /ɑː/ | Long ah, as in father | aha /ɑːˈhɑː/ are /ɑː/ arm /ɑːm/ art /ɑːt/ |
| /ɔː/ | Long aw, as in law | all /ɔːl/ awe /ɔː/ oar /ɔː/ ore /ɔː/ |
| /uː/ | Long oo, as in food | ooze /uːz/ coo /kuː/ dew /djuː/ due /djuː/ |
| /ɜː/ | Long er, as in bird (UK) | urn /ɜːn/ earn /ɜːn/ urge /ɜːdʒ/ early /ˈɜː.li/ |
| Diphthongs | ||
| /eɪ/ | As in day | age /eɪdʒ/ aid /eɪd/ aim /eɪm/ able /ˈeɪ.bəl/ |
| /aɪ/ | As in my | eye /aɪ/ ice /aɪs/ icy /ˈaɪ.si/ icon /ˈaɪ.kɒn/ |
| /ɔɪ/ | As in boy | oil /ɔɪl/ oily /ˈɔɪ.li/ oink /ɔɪŋk/ oyster /ˈɔɪ.stə/ |
| /əʊ/ | As in go (UK) | oak /əʊk/ oat /əʊt/ oba /ˈəʊ.bɑː/ obi /ˈəʊ.bi/ |
| /aʊ/ | As in now | out /aʊt/ owl /aʊl/ ouch /aʊtʃ/ oust /aʊst/ |
| /ɪə/ | As in near (UK) | ear /ɪə/ era /ˈɪə.rə/ earlobe /ˈɪə.ləʊb/ earring /ˈɪə.rɪŋ/ |
| /eə/ | As in hair (UK) | air /eə/ area /ˈeə.ri.ə/ heir /eə/ aerial /ˈeə.ri.əl/ |
| /ʊə/ | As in pure (UK) | cure /kjʊə/ fury /ˈfjʊə.ri/ jury /ˈdʒʊə.ri/ lure /lʊə/ |
| Consonants | ||
| /p/ | As in pen | pad /pæd/ pan /pæn/ paw /pɔː/ pay /peɪ/ |
| /b/ | As in bad | bad /bæd/ bag /bæɡ/ bar /bɑː/ bat /bæt/ |
| /t/ | As in tea | tap /tæp/ tax /tæks/ tea /tiː/ ten /ten/ |
| /d/ | As in did | dad /dæd/ day /deɪ/ dew /djuː/ did /dɪd/ |
| /k/ | As in cat | can /kæn/ cap /kæp/ car /kɑː/ cat /kæt/ |
| /ɡ/ | As in get | gag /ɡæɡ/ gap /ɡæp/ gas /ɡæs/ get /ɡet/ |
| /tʃ/ | Ch, as in chain | chew /tʃuː/ chin /tʃɪn/ chip /tʃɪp/ chop /tʃɒp/ |
| /dʒ/ | J, as in jam | gem /dʒem/ gym /dʒɪm/ jam /dʒæm/ jar /dʒɑː/ |
| /f/ | As in fall | fan /fæn/ far /fɑː/ fat /fæt/ fax /fæks/ |
| /v/ | As in van | van /væn/ vet /vet/ vex /veks/ via /ˈvaɪ.ə/ |
| /θ/ | Voiceless th, as in thin | thaw /θɔː/ thin /θɪn/ thank /θæŋk/ theft /θeft/ |
| /ð/ | Voiced th, as in this | the /ðiː/ thy /ðaɪ/ than /ðæn/ that /ðæt/ |
| /s/ | As in see | sad /sæd/ sag /sæɡ/ sat /sæt/ saw /sɔː/ |
| /z/ | As in zoo | zip /zɪp/ zoo /zuː/ zeal /ziːl/ zero /ˈzɪə.rəʊ/ |
| /ʃ/ | Sh, as in shoe | she /ʃiː/ shy /ʃaɪ/ chef /ʃef/ chic /ʃiːk/ |
| /ʒ/ | As in vision | genre /ˈʒɒn.rə/ gigolo /ˈʒɪɡ.ə.ləʊ/ azure /ˈæʒ.ə/ beige /beɪʒ/ |
| /h/ | As in hat | had /hæd/ ham /hæm/ has /hæz/ hat /hæt/ |
| /m/ | As in man | mad /mæd/ man /mæn/ map /mæp/ mat /mæt/ |
| /n/ | As in no | gnu /nuː/ net /net/ new /njuː/ nod /nɒd/ |
| /ŋ/ | Ng, as in sing | ink /ɪŋk/ bank /bæŋk/ bunk /bʌŋk/ dunk /dʌŋk/ |
| /l/ | As in leg | lag /læɡ/ lap /læp/ law /lɔː/ lax /læks/ |
| /r/ | As in red | rag /ræɡ/ ram /ræm/ ran /ræn/ rat /ræt/ |
| /j/ | Y, as in yes | ewe /juː/ use /juːs/ yam /jæm/ yay /jeɪ/ |
| /w/ | As in wet | one /wʌn/ wag /wæɡ/ war /wɔː/ was /wɒz/ |
| American English | ||
| /oʊ/ | As in go (US) | oak /oʊk/ oat /oʊt/ oba /ˈoʊ.bɑː/ obi /ˈoʊ.bi/ |
| /ɚ/ | Unstressed er, as in teacher (US) | acre /ˈeɪ.kɚ/ ever /ˈev.ɚ/ iron /ˈaɪ.ɚn/ ogre /ˈoʊ.ɡɚ/ |
| /ɝː/ | Stressed er, as in bird (US) | urn /ɝːn/ earn /ɝːn/ herb /ɝːb/ urge /ɝːdʒ/ |
| /t̯/ | The quick tapped t in water and city (US) | auto /ˈɔː.t̯oʊ/ data /ˈdeɪ.t̯ə/ duty /ˈduː.t̯i/ into /ˈɪn.t̯uː/ |
Stress And Other Marks
| ˈ | Primary stress. The syllable after it is the strongest, as in /ˈwɔː.tə/. | |
| ˌ | Secondary stress. A lighter stress, as in /ˌʌn.dəˈstænd/. | |
| . | A syllable boundary. | |
| ː | A long vowel. | |
| / / | Phonemic transcription, the sounds that change meaning. | |
| [ ] | Phonetic transcription, with finer detail of how the sounds are made. | |
| ◌̃ | A nasalised vowel, made with air through the nose, usually before /m/ or /n/. | |
| ◌̩ | A syllabic consonant, a consonant that makes a syllable on its own, as in button [ˈbʌt.n̩]. | |
| ʔ | A glottal stop, a catch in the throat often heard for /t/. | |
| ɫ | A dark l, the l at the end of words like feel. | |
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