IPA Chart for English: International Phonetic Alphabet

The International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) is the gold standard for representing the sounds of any spoken language. Developed by the International Phonetic Association in the late 19th century, the IPA provides a one-to-one correspondence between symbols and sounds—each symbol represents exactly one sound, and each sound is represented by exactly one symbol. For English learners, the IPA is an invaluable tool that eliminates the ambiguity of English spelling and provides a reliable guide to pronunciation.

What Is the IPA?

The International Phonetic Alphabet is a standardized system of phonetic notation devised in the 1880s by French and British linguists, primarily under the leadership of Paul Passy. The fundamental principle is simple: one symbol per sound, one sound per symbol. This stands in stark contrast to English spelling, where the letter "c" can represent /k/ (cat) or /s/ (city), and the sound /iː/ can be spelled "ee" (see), "ea" (sea), "ie" (field), "ei" (receive), or "e" (me).

The IPA covers the sounds of all human languages, but for English you only need a subset of about 44 symbols (depending on the dialect). These symbols are enclosed in forward slashes /.../ for phonemic (broad) transcription or square brackets [...] for phonetic (narrow) transcription.

Learning the IPA for English typically takes only a few hours of focused study, and the investment pays enormous dividends. Once you know the symbols, you can look up any word in a dictionary and know exactly how to pronounce it, even if you've never heard it spoken. This independence from audio resources is particularly valuable for self-directed learners.

Why Use the IPA for English?

English has the most chaotic spelling-to-sound relationship of any major language. Consider these examples:

The IPA cuts through this confusion by providing one unambiguous representation for each pronunciation. When a dictionary shows that "colonel" is pronounced /ˈkɜːrnəl/, there is no guesswork involved—every symbol maps to exactly one sound.

English Consonant IPA Chart

English uses 24 consonant phonemes. Here is the complete chart with IPA symbols, descriptions, and key examples:

IPA	Description	Examples
/p/	Voiceless bilabial plosive	pat, stop, spin
/b/	Voiced bilabial plosive	bat, cab, big
/t/	Voiceless alveolar plosive	top, cat, still
/d/	Voiced alveolar plosive	dog, sad, did
/k/	Voiceless velar plosive	cat, back, skill
/g/	Voiced velar plosive	go, bag, get
/f/	Voiceless labiodental fricative	fan, life, phone
/v/	Voiced labiodental fricative	van, love, of
/θ/	Voiceless dental fricative	thin, bath, thought
/ð/	Voiced dental fricative	this, bathe, the
/s/	Voiceless alveolar fricative	sit, miss, city
/z/	Voiced alveolar fricative	zoo, buzz, is
/ʃ/	Voiceless post-alveolar fricative	ship, nation, sure
/ʒ/	Voiced post-alveolar fricative	vision, pleasure, beige
/h/	Voiceless glottal fricative	hat, behind, who
/tʃ/	Voiceless post-alveolar affricate	church, match, nature
/dʒ/	Voiced post-alveolar affricate	judge, bridge, age
/m/	Bilabial nasal	man, come, swim
/n/	Alveolar nasal	no, sun, funny
/ŋ/	Velar nasal	sing, think, finger
/l/	Alveolar lateral approximant	light, fell, ball
/r/	Post-alveolar approximant	red, very, try
/w/	Bilabial-velar approximant	water, swim, queen
/j/	Palatal approximant	yes, you, music

English Vowel IPA Chart

English monophthong vowels (General American):

IPA	Key Word	Description
/iː/	fleece, see	Close front unrounded
/ɪ/	kit, sit	Near-close near-front unrounded
/ɛ/	dress, bed	Open-mid front unrounded
/æ/	trap, cat	Near-open front unrounded
/ɑː/	father, palm	Open back unrounded
/ɒ/	lot (British)	Open back rounded
/ɔː/	thought, law	Open-mid back rounded
/ʊ/	foot, put	Near-close near-back rounded
/uː/	goose, too	Close back rounded
/ʌ/	strut, cup	Open-mid back unrounded
/ɜːr/	nurse, bird	Open-mid central (r-colored)
/ə/	about, comma	Mid central (schwa)

English Diphthong IPA Chart

IPA	Key Word	Glide Direction
/eɪ/	face, day	Mid-front → close-front
/aɪ/	price, my	Open-central → close-front
/ɔɪ/	choice, boy	Open-mid-back → close-front
/aʊ/	mouth, how	Open-central → close-back
/oʊ/	goat, show	Mid-back → close-back
/ɪə/	near, here (RP)	Close-front → central
/eə/	square, fair (RP)	Mid-front → central
/ʊə/	cure, tour (RP)	Close-back → central

Other IPA Symbols and Diacritics

Stress Marks

Primary stress is marked with a vertical line before the stressed syllable: /ˈ/. Secondary stress uses a low vertical line: /ˌ/. For example, "communication" is transcribed /kəˌmjuːnɪˈkeɪʃən/.

Syllable Boundaries

A period /. / marks syllable boundaries when needed: "happy" = /ˈhæp.i/.

Length Mark

The triangular colon /ː/ indicates a long vowel: /iː/ vs. /ɪ/.

Common Diacritics

Aspiration is marked with a superscript h: [pʰ]. Nasalization with a tilde over the vowel: [ã]. Dentalization with a subscript bridge: [t̪]. These are used in narrow transcription for detailed phonetic analysis.

Reading Dictionary Pronunciations

Different dictionaries use slightly different conventions. British dictionaries (Oxford, Cambridge, Longman) typically show British RP transcription with centering diphthongs. American dictionaries may use their own respelling systems alongside or instead of IPA. Merriam-Webster uses a proprietary notation that requires its own key.

Becoming comfortable with IPA means you can use any dictionary in the world, not just those from your country or language background.

Broad vs. Narrow Transcription

Broad (phonemic) transcription, enclosed in /.../, shows only the distinctive sounds—the phonemes—without showing predictable variations. Narrow (phonetic) transcription, in [...], includes details like aspiration, vowel length before voiced consonants, and other allophonic variations.

For most practical purposes, broad transcription is sufficient. Narrow transcription is primarily used in phonetics courses and dialectology research.

Practice Exercises

Exercise 1: Transcribe These Words

Try writing the IPA transcription for: cat, sheep, thought, church, singer, through, enough, knight.

Exercise 2: Read These Transcriptions

What words do these transcriptions represent?

Resources for Learning IPA

Start with the symbols for your problem sounds—the ones you consistently mispronounce or confuse. Then gradually learn the complete set. Interactive IPA charts online allow you to click each symbol and hear its sound. Dictionary apps with audio playback let you verify your IPA reading against spoken models.

Practice transcribing a few words each day. Start with simple one-syllable words and work up to longer words. Within a few weeks of regular practice, reading IPA will become second nature, and you will have gained a superpower for independent pronunciation learning.