This is a concise version of the International Phonetic Alphabet for English sounds .
See International Phonetic Alphabet for English for a more complete version. Note that the parentheses indicate optionality; the IPA code does not actually contain parentheses.
IPA: English Consonants
IPA Examples
p
p en, sp in, tip
b
b ut, web
t
t wo, st ing, bet
d
d o, odd
tʃ
ch air, nat ure, teach
dʒ
g in, j oy, edge
k
c at, k ill, sk in, q ueen, thick
g
g o, g et, beg
f
f ool, enough , leaf
v
v oice, have
θ
th ing, breath
ð
th is, breathe
s
s ee, c ity, pass
z
z oo, ros e
ʃ
sh e, s ure, emoti on, leash
ʒ
pleas ure, beige
h
h am
m
m an, ham
n
n o, tin
ŋ
sing er, ring
l
l eft
ɫ
mil k, bell (dark l )
ɹ
r un, ver y
ɾ
bett er (AmE, AuE)
w
w e
j
y es
ʔ
kitt en (many accents), bott le (Cockney)
ʍ
wh at (some accents, such as Scottish)
x
loch (Scottish)
IPA: English Vowels
IPA Examples
RP AmE AuE
ɑː ɑ aː
fa ther
iː i iː
see
ɪ ɪ ɪ
ci ty
ɛ ɛ e
be d
ɜː ɝ ɜː
bir d
æ æ æ
la d, ca t
ɑː ɑɹ aː
ar m
ʌ ʌ (or ɐ ) a
ru n, enou gh
ɒ ɑ ɔ
no t, wa sp
ɔː ɒ oː
law , cau ght
ʊ ʊ ʊ
pu t
uː u ʉː
soo n, throu gh
ə ə ə
a bout
ə ɚ ə
winner
IPA: English Diphthongs
IPA Examples
RP AmE AuE
eɪ e(ɪ) æɪ
day
aɪ aɪ ɑe
my
ɔɪ ɔɪ oɪ
boy
əʊ o(ʊ) əʉ
no
aʊ aʊ æɔ
now
ɪə iɹ ɪə
near , here
ɛə ɛɹ eː
hair , there
ʊə ʊɹ ʊə
tour
juː ju jʉː
pu pil
IPA: Other symbols used in transcription of English pronunciation
IPA Explanation
ˈ
Primary stress (placed before the stressed syllable), for example happy /ˈhæpi/
ˌ
Secondary stress, for example battleship /ˈbætl̩ˌʃɪp/
.
Syllable separator
̩
Syllabic consonant, for example /ˈɹɪdn̩/ for ridden
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