How to read English IPA
The symbols between slashes in a dictionary entry, such as /ˈwɔːtə/, are the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA). Once you know a handful of them you can pronounce a new word correctly without ever having heard it.
Slashes and brackets
- / / marks a phonemic transcription: only the sounds that tell words apart in that language. Dictionaries use this.
- [ ] marks a phonetic transcription: the sounds as actually spoken, in more detail.
Stress and length
| Symbol | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| ˈ | Primary stress on the syllable that follows | about /əˈbaʊt/ |
| ˌ | Secondary stress | education /ˌedʒuˈkeɪʃn/ |
| ː | The vowel before it is long | see /siː/ |
Vowels
| Symbol | As in | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| iː | see | long, tense |
| ɪ | sit | short, lax |
| e / ɛ | bed | dictionaries use one or the other |
| æ | cat | |
| ʌ | cup | |
| ə | about | schwa: the weak vowel of unstressed syllables |
| ɑː | father | |
| ɒ | lot (British) | American English uses ɑː here |
| ɔː | thought, law | |
| ʊ | put | |
| uː | food | |
| ɜː | bird (British) | |
| ɝ / ɚ | bird / butter (American) | r-coloured vowels: stressed ɝ, unstressed ɚ |
Diphthongs
Two vowel qualities gliding into each other within one syllable.
| Symbol | As in |
|---|---|
| eɪ | day |
| aɪ | my |
| ɔɪ | boy |
| aʊ | now |
| əʊ / oʊ | go (British / American) |
| ɪə, eə, ʊə | near, hair, pure (mostly British dictionaries) |
Consonants that don't look like their spelling
Most consonant symbols (b, d, f, k, m, p, s, t, v, z…) sound just like the letter. These are the ones to learn:
| Symbol | As in | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| θ | thin | voiceless "th" |
| ð | this | voiced "th" |
| ʃ | ship | |
| ʒ | vision | |
| tʃ | chair | |
| dʒ | jam | |
| ŋ | sing | |
| j | yes | the "y" sound, not the letter j |
| r / ɹ | red | ɹ is the precise symbol for English r |
| ɾ | water (American) | the quick "flap" t or d between vowels |
| ʔ | uh-oh | glottal stop |
British and American
Many dictionaries give both pronunciations. The three differences you will meet most:
- r after a vowel: car is British /kɑː/, American /kɑːr/.
- The vowel in lot: British /lɒt/, American /lɑːt/.
- The diphthong in go: British /ɡəʊ/, American /ɡoʊ/.
Typing IPA yourself
The IPA (English) keyboard has every symbol used in English dictionaries as a button. Click to insert, then press Copy all and paste into your document or e-mail.
- On a computer you can also use shortcuts: each press of Ctrl+A steps through æ → ɑ → ʌ.
- Point at a button to see the symbol's name and shortcut.
- For sounds beyond English, use the full IPA keyboard.