English Phonemes list
IPA CHART
Learn the Pronunciation of the words, practise and learn the English sounds. Discover what phonemes are and how they form the building blocks of speech. Learn the essential IPA symbols for clear pronunciation.
Vowels
i
Name: "ee" sound
Description: Close front unrounded vowel (like "feet")
ɪ
Name: Small capital I
Description: Near-close near-front unrounded vowel (like "sit")
e
Name: "eh" sound
Description: Close-mid front unrounded vowel (like "dress" in some accents)
ɛ
Name: Epsilon
Description: Open-mid front unrounded vowel (like "bed")
æ
Name: Ash; A-E ligature
Description: Near-open front unrounded vowel (like "cat")
a
Name: "ah" sound
Description: Open front unrounded vowel
ɑ
Name: Script A; "father" A
Description: Open back unrounded vowel (like "father")
ɒ
Name: Turned script A
Description: Open back rounded vowel (like "lot" in British English)
ɔ
Name: Open O
Description: Open-mid back rounded vowel (like "thought")
o
Name: "oh" sound
Description: Close-mid back rounded vowel (like "boat" in some accents)
ʊ
Name: Small capital U
Description: Near-close near-back rounded vowel (like "foot")
u
Name: "oo" sound
Description: Close back rounded vowel (like "boot")
ʌ
Name: Turned V; caret
Description: Open-mid back unrounded vowel (like "strut")
ə
Name: Schwa
Description: Mid-central unrounded vowel (like the "a" in "about")
ɜ
Name: Reversed epsilon
Description: Open-mid central unrounded vowel (like "bird" in non-rhotic accents)
ɚ
Name: Rhotic schwa
Description: Mid-central r-colored vowel (like "bird" in rhotic accents)
y
Name:
Description: Close front rounded vowel (like "lune" in French)
ø
Name: Slashed O
Description: Close-mid front rounded vowel (like "deux" in French)
œ
Name: O-E ligature
Description: Open-mid front rounded vowel (like "neuf" in French)
ɯ
Name: Turned M
Description: Close back unrounded vowel
ʉ
Name: Barred U
Description: Close central rounded vowel
ɨ
Name: Barred I
Description: Close central unrounded vowel
eɪ
Diphthong (like "day")
aɪ
Diphthong (like "my")
ɔɪ
Diphthong (like "boy")
oʊ
Diphthong (like "boat" in American English)
aʊ
Diphthong (like "cow")
Consonants
PLOSIVES (Stops)
p
Description: Voiceless bilabial plosive (like "pat")
b
Description: Voiced bilabial plosive (like "bat")
t
Description: Voiceless alveolar plosive (like "top")
d
Description: Voiced alveolar plosive (like "dog")
k
Description: Voiceless velar plosive (like "cat")
ɡ
Name: Open-tail G
Description: Voiced velar plosive (like "go")
ʔ
Name: Glottal stop
Description: Voiceless glottal plosive (like in "uh-oh")
ʈ
Name: Right-tail T
Description: Voiceless retroflex plosive
ɖ
Name: Right-tail D
Description: Voiced retroflex plosive
c
Description: Voiceless palatal plosive
ɟ
Name: Barred dotless J
Description: Voiced palatal plosive
q
Description: Voiceless uvular plosive
ɢ
Name: Small capital G
Description: Voiced uvular plosive
NASALS
m
Description: Bilabial nasal (like "mat")
n
Description: Alveolar nasal (like "nap")
ŋ
Name: Eng; Engma
Description: Velar nasal (like "sing")
ɲ
Name: Left-tail N
Description: Palatal nasal (like "canyon" or "gn" in French "agnus")
ɱ
Name: Left-tail M
Description: Labiodental nasal
ɳ
Name: Right-tail N
Description: Retroflex nasal
FRICATIVES
f
Description: Voiceless labiodental fricative (like "fan")
v
Description: Voiced labiodental fricative (like "van")
θ
Name: Theta
Description: Voiceless dental fricative (like "thin")
ð
Name: Eth
Description: Voiced dental fricative (like "this")
s
Description: Voiceless alveolar sibilant (like "sip")
z
Description: Voiced alveolar sibilant (like "zip")
ʃ
Name: Esh
Description: Voiceless palato-alveolar sibilant (like "she")
ʒ
Name: Ezh
Description: Voiced palato-alveolar sibilant (like "measure")
h
Description: Voiceless glottal fricative (like "hat")
ç
Name: C cedilla
Description: Voiceless palatal fricative
x
Description: Voiceless velar fricative (like "loch" in Scottish English)
ɣ
Name: Gamma
Description: Voiced velar fricative
ħ
Name: Barred H
Description: Voiceless pharyngeal fricative
ʕ
Name: Ain (or Ayin)
Description: Voiced pharyngeal fricative
ɸ
Name: Phi
Description: Voiceless bilabial fricative
β
Name: Beta
Description: Voiced bilabial fricative
ɬ
Name: Belted L
Description: Voiceless lateral fricative
ɮ
Name: L-Ezh ligature
Description: Voiced lateral fricative
AFFRICATES
tʃ
Name: T-esh ligature
Description: Voiceless palato-alveolar affricate (like "church")
dʒ
Name: D-ezh ligature
Description: Voiced palato-alveolar affricate (like "judge")
ts
Name: T-S ligature
Description: Voiceless alveolar affricate (like "cats")
dz
Name: D-Z ligature
Description: Voiced alveolar affricate (like "beds")
APPROXIMANTS
w
Description: Voiced labial-velar approximant (like "wet")
j
Name: Yod
Descriptions: Voiced palatal approximant (like "yes")
r
Description: Alveolar trill (like the "rr" in Spanish "perro")
ɾ
Name: Fish-hook R
Descriptions: Alveolar tap/flap (like the "tt" in American English "butter")
l
Description: Alveolar lateral approximant (like "lap")
ɹ
Name: Turned R
Descriptions: Alveolar approximant (like "red" in American English)
ɭ
Name: Right-tail L
Descriptions: Retroflex lateral approximant
ʎ
Name: Turned Y
Descriptions: Palatal lateral approximant
TRILLS/TAPS/FLAPS
ʀ
Name: Small capital R
Description: Uvular trill (like the "r" in French)
ɽ
Name: Right-tail R
Description: Retroflex flap
CLICKS
ʘ
Name: Bulls-eye
Description: Bilabial click
ǀ
Name: Pipe
Description: Dental click
ǃ
Name: Exclamation mark
Description: Post-alveolar click
ǂ
Name: Palato-alveolar click
Description: Palato-alveolar click
ǁ
Name: Double pipe
Description: Alveolar lateral click
DIACRITICS
ˈ
Name: Primary stress
Description: Placed before the stressed syllable
ˌ
Name: Secondary stress
Description: Placed before the secondarily stressed syllable
ʰ
Name: Aspirated
Description: Indicates aspiration (a puff of air)
ⁿ
Name: Nasal release
Description: Indicates a nasal release
ʲ
Name: Palatalized
Description: Indicates palatalization
ˠ
Name: Velarized
Description: Indicates velarization
ˤ
Name: Pharyngealized
Description: Indicates pharyngealization
̥<
Name: oiceless
Description: Indicates a voiceless sound (underneath)
̬<
Name: oiced
Description: Indicates a voiced sound (underneath)
̃<
Name: ilde
Description: Indicates nasalization
ˑ
Name: Half-long
Description: Indicates a half-long sound
ː
Name: Long
Description: Indicates a long sound
͡<
Name: ie bar
Description: Connects two symbols to form an affricate or double articulation
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