The sounds of English and the International Phonetic Alphabet

This chart contains all the sounds (phonemes) used in the English language. For each sound, it gives:

·         The symbol from the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA), as used in phonetic transcriptions in modern dictionaries for English learners — that is, in A. C. Gimson’s phonemic system with a few additional symbols.

The chart represents British and American phonemes with one symbol. One symbol can mean two different phonemes in American and British English. See the footnotes for British-only and American-only symbols.

• Two English words which use the sound. The underline shows where the sound is heard.
• The links labeled Amer and Brit play sound recordings (Flash is required) where the words are pronounced in American and British English. The British version is given only where it is very different from the American version.

To print the chart, use the printable PDF version.

vowels IPA examples listen ʌ cup, luck Amer ɑ: arm, father Amer / Brit æ cat, black Amer e met, bed Amer 1 ə away, cinema Amer 2 ɜ:ʳ turn, learn Amer / Brit 2 ɪ hit, sitting Amer i: see, heat Amer ɒ hot, rock Amer / Brit 3 ɔ: call, four Amer / Brit 4 5 ʊ put, could Amer u: blue, food Amer aɪ five, eye Amer aʊ now, out Amer eɪ say, eight Amer oʊ go, home Amer 6 ɔɪ boy, join Amer eəʳ where, air Amer / Brit 1 7 ɪəʳ near, here Amer / Brit 7 ʊəʳ pure, tourist Amer / Brit 7

consonants IPA examples listen b bad, lab Amer d did, lady Amer f find, if Amer g give, flag Amer h how, hello Amer j yes, yellow Amer k cat, back Amer l leg, little Amer m man, lemon Amer n no, ten Amer ŋ sing, finger Amer p pet, map Amer r red, try Amer 8 s sun, miss Amer ʃ she, crash Amer t tea, getting Amer 9 tʃ check, church Amer θ think, both Amer ð this, mother Amer v voice, five Amer w wet, window Amer z zoo, lazy Amer ʒ pleasure, vision Amer dʒ just, large Amer

1. 1. Almost all dictionaries use the e symbol for the vowel in bed. The problem with this convention is that e in the IPA does not stand for the vowel in bed; it stands for a different vowel that is heard, for example, in the German word Seele. The “proper” symbol for the bed vowel is ɛ (do not confuse with ɜ:). The same goes for eə vs. ɛə.
2. 2. In əʳ and ɜ:ʳ, the ʳ is not pronounced in BrE, unless the sound comes before a vowel (as in answering, answer it). In AmE, the ʳ is always pronounced, and the sounds are sometimes written as ɚ and ɝ.
3. 3. In AmE, ɑ: and ɒ are one vowel, so calm and cot have the same vowel. In American transcriptions, hot is written as hɑ:t.
4. 4. About 40% of Americans pronounce ɔ: the same way as ɑ:, so that caught and cot have the same vowel. See cot-caught merger.
5. 5. In American transcriptions, ɔ: is often written as ɒ: (e.g. law = lɒ:), unless it is followed by r, in which case it remains an ɔ:.
6. 6. In British transcriptions, oʊ is usually represented as əʊ. For some BrE speakers, oʊ is more appropriate (they use a rounded vowel) — for others, the proper symbol is əʊ. For American speakers, oʊ is usually more accurate.
7. 7. In eəʳ ɪəʳ ʊəʳ, the r is not pronounced in BrE, unless the sound comes before a vowel (as in dearest, dear Ann). In AmE, the r is always pronounced, and the sounds are often written as er ɪr ʊr.
8. 8. All dictionaries use the r symbol for the first sound in red. The problem with this convention is that r in the IPA does not stand for the British or American r; it stands for the “hard” r that is heard, for example, in the Spanish word rey or Italian vero. The “proper” symbol for the red consonant is ɹ.
9. 9. In American English, t is often pronounced as a flap t, which sounds like d or (more accurately) like the quick, hard r heard e.g. in the Spanish word pero. 

special symbols
IPA	what it means
ˈ	The vertical line (ˈ) is used to show word stress. It is placed before the stressed syllable in a word. For example, /ˈkɒntrækt/ is pronounced like this, and /kənˈtrækt/ like that. Word stress is explained in our article about phonetic transcription.
ʳ	ʳ is not a sound — it is a short way of saying that an r is pronounced only in American English. For example, if you write that the pronunciation of bar is /bɑ:ʳ/, you mean that it is /bɑ:r/ in American English, and /bɑ:/ in British English. However, in BrE, r will be heard if ʳ is followed by a vowel. For example, far gone is pronounced /ˈfɑ: ˈgɒn/ in BrE, but far out is pronounced /ˈfɑ: ˈraʊt/.
i	i is usually pronounced like a shorter version of i:, but sometimes (especially in an old-fashioned British accent) it can sound like ɪ. Examples: very /ˈveri/, create /kriˈeɪt/, previous /ˈpri:viəs/, ability /əˈbɪlɪti/.
əl	əl means that the consonant l is pronounced as a separate syllable (the syllabic l, which sounds like a vowel), or that there is a short ə sound before it. Examples: little /ˈlɪtəl/, uncle /ˈʌŋkəl/. Instead of the əl symbol, some dictionaries use an l with a small vertical line underneath, or simply l, as in /ˈlɪtl/.
ən	ən means that the consonant n is pronounced as a separate syllable (the syllabic n, which sounds like a vowel), or that there is a short ə sound before it. Examples: written /ˈrɪtən/, listen /ˈlɪsən/. Instead of the ən symbol, some dictionaries use an n with a small vertical line underneath, or simply n, as in /ˈrɪtn/.

Does this chart list all the sounds that you can hear in British and American English?

No. This page contains symbols used in phonetic transcriptions in modern dictionaries for English learners. It does not list all the possible sounds in American or British English.
For example, this page does not list the regular t (heard in this pronunciation of letter) and the flap t (heard in this one) with separate symbols. It groups them under a single symbol: t. (In other words, it groups a number of similar sounds under a single phoneme, for simplicity. To understand how sounds are grouped into phonemes, read the article on phonemic transcription.)
So this page actually lists phonemes (groups of sounds), not individual sounds. Each symbol in the chart can correspond to many different (but similar) sounds, depending on the word and the speaker’s accent.
Take the phoneme p in the above chart. It occurs in the phonemic transcriptions of pin /pɪn/ and spin /spɪn/. In pin, this phoneme is pronounced with aspiration (breathing). This “aspirated p” sound has its own special symbol in the IPA: pʰ. In spin, the phoneme is pronounced “normally”; this “normal p” sound is represented by p in the IPA. So the p phoneme represents two sounds: p and pʰ. (This can be confusing, because p can mean both the p phoneme and the p sound.)

Learning to pronounce the sounds

I have developed English pronunciation software called PerfectPronunciation which teaches learners to pronounce the most frequently used English words. It lets you listen to examples of English sounds, practice your pronunciation, and review your knowledge. PerfectPronunciation uses the ASCII Phonetic Alphabet.

Consonants

Main article: Consonant

v t e IPA pulmonic consonantschart image • audio

Place →

Labial

Coronal

Dorsal

Radical

Glot­tal

↓ Manner

Bi­la­bi­al

La­bi­o­den­tal

Den­tal

Al­ve­o­lar

Post­al­ve­o­lar

Ret­ro­flex

Al­ve­o­lo­pal­a­tal

Pal­a­tal

Ve­lar

U­vu­lar

Phar­yn­ge­al

Ep­i­glot­tal

Nasal

m̥

m

ɱ

n̥

n

ɳ̊

ɳ

ɲ̊

ɲ

ŋ̊

ŋ

ɴ

Stop

p

b

p̪

b̪

t̪

d̪

t

d

ʈ

ɖ

c

ɟ

k

ɡ

q

ɢ

ʡ

ʔ

Sibilant fricative

s

z

ʃ

ʒ

ʂ

ʐ

ɕ

ʑ

Non-sibilant fricative

ɸ

β

f

v

θ

ð

θ̱

ð̠

ɹ̠̊˔

ɹ̠˔

ç

ʝ

x

ɣ

χ

ʁ

ħ

ʕ

ʜ

ʢ

h

ɦ

Approximant

ʋ

ɹ

ɻ̊

ɻ

j̊

j

ɰ̊

ɰ

Flap or tap

ⱱ̟

ⱱ

ɾ̥

ɾ

ɽ̊

ɽ

ɢ̆

ʡ̯

Trill

ʙ

r̥

r

ɽ͡r̥

ɽ͡r

ʀ̥

ʀ

ᴙ *

Lateral fricative

ɬ

ɮ

ꞎ *

ʎ̝̊

ʎ̝

ʟ̝̊

ʟ̝

Lateral approximant

l̥

l

ɭ̊

ɭ

ʎ̥

ʎ

ʟ

ʟ̠

Lateral flap

ɺ

ɺ̢ *

ʎ̯

ʟ̆

Non-pulmonic consonants
Clicks	ʘ	ǀ		ǃ		ǂ		ǁ
	ʘ̃	ʘ̃ˀ		ʘ͡q		ʘ͡qʼ		‼
Implosives	ɓ̥	ɓ	ɗ̥	ɗ	ᶑ	ʄ̊	ʄ	ɠ	ʛ
Ejectives	pʼ	t̪ʼ	tʼ	ʈʼ	cʼ	kʼ	qʼ	fʼ	θʼ
	sʼ	ɬʼ	ʃʼ	ʂʼ	ɕʼ	xʼ	χʼ	tsʼ	tɬʼ
	cʎ̝̥ʼ	tʃʼ	ʈʂʼ	kxʼ	kʟ̝̊ʼ	qχʼ

Affricates
p̪f	b̪v	ts	dz	t̪s̪	d̪z̪	tθ	dð	tʃ	dʒ
tɕ	dʑ	ʈʂ	ɖʐ	tɬ	dɮ	cç	ɟʝ	cʎ̝̥
kx		kʟ̝̊	ɡʟ̝	qχ

Co-articulated consonants
Continuants	ʍ	w	ɥ	ɧ
Occlusives	k͡p	ɡ͡b	ŋ͡m

— These tables contain phonetic symbols, which may not display correctly in some browsers. [Help]

— Where symbols appear in pairs, left–right represent the voiceless–voiced consonants.

— Shaded areas denote pulmonic articulations judged to be impossible.

— Symbols marked with an asterisk (*) are not defined in the IPA.

Notes

• Asterisks (*) indicate unofficial IPA symbols for attested sounds. See the respective articles for ad hoc symbols found in the literature.
• In rows where some letters appear in pairs (the obstruents), the letter to the right represents a voiced consonant (except breathy-voiced [ɦ]). However, [ʔ] cannot be voiced, and the voicing of [ʡ] is ambiguous.^[39] In the other rows (the sonorants), the single letter represents a voiced consonant.
• Although there is a single letter for the coronal places of articulation for all consonants but fricatives, when dealing with a particular language, the letters may be treated as specifically dental, alveolar, or post-alveolar, as appropriate for that language, without diacritics.
• Shaded areas indicate articulations judged to be impossible.
• The letters [ʁ, ʕ, ʢ] represent either voiced fricatives or approximants.
• In many languages, such as English, [h] and [ɦ] are not actually glottal, fricatives, or approximants. Rather, they are bare phonation.^[40]
• It is primarily the shape of the tongue rather than its position that distinguishes the fricatives [ʃ ʒ], [ɕ ʑ], and [ʂ ʐ].
• The labiodental nasal [ɱ] is not known to exist as a phoneme in any language.^[41]

Pulmonic consonants

A pulmonic consonant is a consonant made by obstructing the glottis (the space between the vocal cords) or oral cavity (the mouth) and either simultaneously or subsequently letting out air from the lungs. Pulmonic consonants make up the majority of consonants in the IPA, as well as in human language. All consonants in the English language fall into this category.^[42]

The pulmonic consonant table, which includes most consonants, is arranged in rows that designate manner of articulation, meaning how the consonant is produced, and columns that designate place of articulation, meaning where in the vocal tract the consonant is produced. The main chart includes only consonants with a single place of articulation.

Co-articulated consonants

Co-articulated consonants are sounds that involve two simultaneous places of articulation (are pronounced using two parts of the vocal tract). In English, the [w] in "went" is a coarticulated consonant, because it is pronounced by rounding the lips and raising the back of the tongue. Other languages, such as French and Swedish, have different coarticulated consonants.

Note

• [ɧ] is described as a "simultaneous [ʃ] and [x]".^[43] However, this analysis is disputed. (See voiceless palatal-velar fricative for discussion.)

Affricates and double articulated consonants

Affricates and doubly articulated stops are represented by two letters joined by a tie bar, either above or below the letters.^[44] The six most common affricates are optionally represented by ligatures, though this is no longer official IPA usage,^[1] because a great number of ligatures would be required to represent all affricates this way. Alternatively, a superscript notation for a consonant release is sometimes used to transcribe affricates, for example tˢ for t͡s, paralleling kˣ ~ k͡x. The letters for the palatal plosives c and ɟ, are often used as a convenience for t͡ʃ and d͡ʒ or similar affricates, even in official IPA publications, so they must be interpreted with care.

View this table as an image
Tie bar	Ligature	Description
t͡s	ʦ	voiceless alveolar affricate
d͡z	ʣ	voiced alveolar affricate
t͡ʃ	ʧ	voiceless postalveolar affricate
d͡ʒ	ʤ	voiced postalveolar affricate
t͡ɕ	ʨ	voiceless alveolo-palatal affricate
d͡ʑ	ʥ	voiced alveolo-palatal affricate
t͡ɬ	–	voiceless alveolar lateral affricate
k͡p	–	voiceless labial-velar plosive
ɡ͡b	–	voiced labial-velar plosive
ŋ͡m	–	labial-velar nasal stop
ɡ͡ɣ	–	voiced velar affricate

Note

• On browsers that use Arial Unicode MS to display IPA characters, the following incorrectly formed sequences may look better due to a bug in that font: ts͡, tʃ͡, tɕ͡, dz͡, dʒ͡, dʑ͡, tɬ͡, kp͡, ɡb͡, ŋm͡.

Non-pulmonic consonants

Non-pulmonic consonants are sounds whose airflow is not dependent on the lungs. These include clicks (found in the Khoisan languages of Africa), implosives (found in languages such as Sindhi, Saraiki, Swahili and Vietnamese), and ejectives (found in many Amerindian and Caucasian languages).

View this table as an image
Clicks		Implosives		Ejectives
ʘ	Bilabial	ɓ	Bilabial	ʼ	For example:
ǀ	Laminal alveolar ("dental")	ɗ	Alveolar	pʼ	Bilabial
ǃ	Apical (post-)alveolar ("retroflex")	ʄ	Palatal	tʼ	Alveolar
ǂ	Laminal postalveolar ("palatal")	ɠ	Velar	kʼ	Velar
ǁ	Lateral coronal ("lateral")	ʛ	Uvular	sʼ	Alveolar fricative

Notes

• Clicks are double articulated and have traditionally been described as having a forward 'release' and a rear 'accompaniment', with the click letters representing the release. Therefore all clicks would require two letters for proper notation: ⟨k͡ǂ, ɡ͡ǂ, ŋ͡ǂ, q͡ǂ, ɢ͡ǂ, ɴ͡ǂ⟩ etc., or ⟨ǂ͡k, ǂ͡ɡ, ǂ͡ŋ, ǂ͡q, ǂ͡ɢ, ǂ͡ɴ⟩. When the dorsal articulation is omitted, a [k] may usually be assumed. However, recent research disputes the concept of 'accompaniment'.^[45] In these approaches, the click letter represents both articulations, with the different letters representing different click 'types', there is no velar-uvular distinction, and the accompanying letter represents the manner, phonation, or airstream contour of the click: ⟨ǂ, ᶢǂ, ᵑǂ⟩ etc.
• Letters for the voiceless implosives ⟨ƥ, ƭ, ƈ, ƙ, ʠ⟩ are no longer supported by the IPA, though they remain in Unicode. Instead, the IPA typically uses the voiced equivalent with a voiceless diacritic: ⟨ɓ̥, ʛ̥⟩, etc..
• Although not confirmed as contrastive in any language, and therefore not explicitly recognized by the IPA, a letter for the retroflex implosive, ⟨ᶑ⟩, is supported in the Unicode Phonetic Extensions Supplement, added in version 4.1 of the Unicode Standard, or can be created as a composite ⟨ɗ̢⟩.
• The ejective diacritic often stands in for a superscript glottal stop in glottalized but pulmonic sonorants, such as [mˀ], [lˀ], [wˀ], [aˀ]. These may also be transcribed as creaky [m̰], [l̰], [w̰], [a̰].

Consonants

Representations of consonant sounds outside of the core set are created by adding diacritics to letters with similar sound values. The Spanish bilabial and dental approximants are commonly written as lowered fricatives, [β̞] and [ð̞] respectively. Similarly, voiced lateral fricatives would be written as raised lateral approximants, [ɭ˔ ʎ̝ ʟ̝]. A few languages such as Banda have a bilabial flap as the preferred allophone of what is elsewhere a labiodental flap. It has been suggested that this be written with the labiodental flap letter and the advanced diacritic, [ⱱ̟].^[55]

Similarly, a labiodental trill would be written [ʙ̪] (bilabial trill and the dental sign), and labiodental stops [p̪ b̪] rather than with the ad hoc letters sometimes found in the literature. Other taps can be written as extra-short plosives or laterals, e.g. [ɟ̆ ɢ̆/ʀ̆ ʟ̆], though in some cases the diacritic would need to be written below the letter. A retroflex trill can be written as a retracted [r̠], just as retroflex fricatives sometimes are. The remaining consonants, the uvular laterals (ʟ̠ etc.) and the palatal trill, while not strictly impossible, are very difficult to pronounce and are unlikely to occur even as allophones in the world's languages.

Vowels

The vowels are similarly manageable by using diacritics for raising, lowering, fronting, backing, centering, and mid-centering.^[56] For example, the unrounded equivalent of [ʊ] can be transcribed as mid-centered [ɯ̽], and the rounded equivalent of [æ] as raised [ɶ̝]. True mid vowels are lowered [e̞ ø̞ ɘ̞ ɵ̞ ɤ̞ o̞], while centered [ɪ̈ ʊ̈] and [ä] are near-close and open central vowels, respectively. The only known vowels that cannot be represented in this scheme are vowels with unexpected roundedness, which would require a dedicated diacritic, such as ⟨ʏʷ⟩ and ⟨uᵝ⟩ (or ⟨ɪʷ⟩ and ⟨ɯᵝ⟩).