How to Read IPA: A Guide to English Pronunciation Symbols
English spelling is an unreliable guide to pronunciation. The letters ough represent different sounds in through, though, tough, and cough. The International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) solves this problem by assigning one symbol to each sound, so a transcription shows exactly how a word is pronounced.
English has roughly 40 to 44 distinct sounds, with the exact number varying by accent. Most consonant symbols match ordinary letters, so there are fewer new symbols to learn than it first appears. This guide covers every symbol used on HowPronounceIt.
The basics
- Slashes indicate sounds. A transcription between slashes, such as /kæt/, describes sounds rather than spelling.
- The mark ˈ indicates primary stress. It appears before the stressed syllable. In /təˈmeɪtoʊ/, the stress falls on may. The lower mark ˌ indicates secondary stress.
- Each symbol represents one sound. The symbol /k/ always represents the k sound, whether the word spells it with c, k, ck, ch, or q.
Consonant symbols
Most consonant symbols are the same as the letters they represent: /p b t d k f v s z h m n l w/. The following symbols are less familiar.
| Symbol | Sound | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| ɡ | hard g | game, ghost |
| ʃ | sh | ship, nation |
| ʒ | zh, as in measure | measure, beige |
| tʃ | ch | chair, nature |
| dʒ | j | judge, giant |
| θ | voiceless th | think, bath |
| ð | voiced th | this, mother |
| ŋ | ng | sing, think |
| j | y, as in yes | yes, music |
| r | English r | red, carry |
Note that the IPA symbol /j/ represents the y sound in yes, not the j sound in jam. Strict IPA writes the English r as /ɹ/. Like most dictionaries, this site uses /r/.
Vowel symbols
Vowels are where English spelling is least consistent, which is why IPA is most useful here. The table lists the vowels used in our American transcriptions, with the British symbol where it differs.
| US | UK | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| i | iː | see, machine |
| ɪ | ɪ | sit, busy |
| eɪ | eɪ | day, great |
| ɛ | ɛ | bed, said |
| æ | æ | cat, plaid |
| ɑ | ɑː or ɒ | father, hot |
| ɔ | ɔː | law, thought |
| oʊ | əʊ | home, though |
| ʊ | ʊ | book, could |
| u | uː | food, blue |
| ʌ | ʌ | cup, love |
| ə | ə | about, sofa |
| ɝ / ɚ | ɜː / ə | nurse, butter |
| aɪ | aɪ | time, eye |
| aʊ | aʊ | now, loud |
| ɔɪ | ɔɪ | boy, choice |
British transcriptions also include three vowels that American English pronounces as a vowel followed by r: ɪə in near, ɛə in hair, and ʊə in poor.
The schwa: ə
The symbol ə, called schwa, represents the short, unstressed "uh" sound. It is the most common vowel sound in English and appears in words such as about, lemon, and support. Transcriptions often contain several schwas, which is expected. For more detail, see our guide to the schwa sound.
How to practice
Start with a word you already know well. Open its page, read the IPA, and listen to the audio. Then repeat the process with a word you have never heard spoken. Once you can read a transcription and predict how the word will sound before playing the audio, you can use IPA with confidence.
Common questions
Is IPA necessary for improving pronunciation?
No. The phonetic respellings on this site, such as tuh-MAY-toh, are enough for most words. IPA is useful when you need to know the exact vowel sound or when a respelling could be read in more than one way.
Why does IPA look different from one source to another?
Publishers use slightly different conventions. One dictionary may write the American r as /r/ and another as /ɹ/, for example. Some sources also describe different accents. The underlying sounds are usually the same.
What does the symbol ː mean?
It marks a long vowel. It appears mostly in British transcriptions, as in /kɑː/ for car.