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This IPA pronunciation key is a basic guide to the symbols of the International Phonetic Alphabet. For the smaller set of symbols that is sufficient for English, see Help:IPA English pronunciation key.

For each IPA symbol, an English example is given where possible; here "RP" stands for Received Pronunciation. The foreign languages that are used to illustrate additional sounds are primarily the ones most likely to be familiar to English speakers, French, German, and Spanish. For symbols not covered by those, recourse is taken to the populous languages Mandarin Chinese, Hindustani, Arabic, and Russian. For sounds still not covered, other smaller but well known languages are used, such as Swahili, Turkish, and Zulu.

The left-most column displays the symbols like this:  [ a ], with links to both sound files and individual articles on the symbols. Click on the speaker icon to hear the sound; click on the symbol itself for a more complete description, along with examples from multiple languages. For help installing audio software, see media help. For help installing IPA-compatible fonts, see IPA font downloads.

Several rare IPA symbols are not included; for them you need to see the main IPA article.

[edit] Main symbols

The symbols are arranged by similarity to letters of the Latin alphabet. Symbols which do not resemble any letter are placed at the end.

Symbol	Examples	Description
A
[ a ]	Spanish casa, French patte, German Mann	For many English speakers, the first part of the ow sound in cow. Found in some dialects of English in cat or father.
[ aː ]	German Aachen, French gare	Long [a].
[ ɐ ]	RP cut, German Kaiserslautern	(With English, [ɐ] is normally written "[ʌ]".)
[ ɑ ]	Finnish Linna
[ ɑː ]	RP father, French pâte	Long [ɑ].
[ ɑ̃ ]	French Caen, sans	Nasalized [ɑ].
[ ɒ ]	RP cot	Like [ɑ], but with the lips slightly rounded.
[ ʌ ]		Like [ɔ], but without the lips being rounded. (When "[ʌ]" is used for English, it is usually really [ɐ].)
[ æ ]	RP cat
B
[ b ]	English babble
[ ɓ ]	Swahili bwana	Like a [b] said while swallowing.
[ ʙ ]		Like the brrr sound made when cold.
[ β ]	Spanish la Bamba	Like [v], but with the lips nearly touching.
C
[ c ]	Turkish kebap "kebab"	Rather like English tune (RP) or cute. Sometimes used for [tʃ] in languages like Hindi.
[ ç ]	German Ich	More y-like than [x]. Some English speakers have a similar sound in huge.
[ ɕ ]	Mandarin Xi'an	More y-like than [ʃ]; something like English she.
[ ɔ ]	see under O
D
[ d ]	English did
[ ɗ ]	Swahili Dodoma	Like [d] said while swallowing.
[ ɖ ]	Indian English did	Like [d] with the tongue curled or pulled back.
[ ð ]	English the, bathe
[ dz ]	English adze, Italian zero
[ dʑ ]	Polish niedźwiedź "bear"	Like [dʒ], but with more of a y-sound.
[ dʒ ]	English judge
E
[ e ]	Spanish fe; French clé
[ eː ]	German Klee	Long [e]. Similar to English hey, before the y sets in.
[ ə ]	English above, Hindi ठग [ʈʰəɡ] (thug) "thief"	(Only occurs in English when not stressed.)
[ ɚ ]	American English runner
[ ɘ ]	Russian солнце
[ ɛ ]	English bet
[ ɛ̃ ]	French Ain, vin	Nasalized [ɛ].
[ ɜ ]	RP bird (long)
[ ɝ ]	American English bird
F
[ f ]	English fun
[ ɟ ]	see under J
[ ʄ ]	see under J
G
[ ɡ ]	English gig	(no different from the symbol "g")
[ ɠ ]	Swahili Uganda	Like [ɡ] said while swallowing.
[ ɢ ]		Like [ɡ], but further back, in the throat. Found in some Arabic dialects for /q/, as in Gaddafi.
[ ʒ ]	see under Z	English beige.
H
[ h ]	American English house
[ ɦ ]	English ahead, when said quickly.
[ ʰ ]		The extra puff of air in English top [tʰɒp] compared to stop [stɒp], or to French or Spanish [t].
[ ħ ]	Arabic محمد Muhammad	Far down in the throat, like [h], but stronger.
[ ɥ ]	see under U
[ ɮ ]	see under L
I
[ i ]	French ville, Spanish Valladolid
[ iː ]	English sea	Long [i].
[ ɪ ]	English sit
[ ɨ ]	Russian ты (ty) "you"	Often used for unstressed English roses.
J
[ j ]	English yes, German Junge
[ ʲ ]	Russian Ленин (Lenin) [lʲenʲin]	Adds a y-like sound.
[ ʝ ]	Spanish yo (some dialects)	Like [j], but stronger.
[ ɟ ]	Turkish gör "see"	Rather like English dew (RP) or argue. Sometimes used for [dʒ] in languages like Hindi.
[ ʄ ]	Swahili jambo	Like [ɟ] said while swallowing.
K
[ k ]	English kick, skip
L
[ l ]	English leaf
[ ɫ ]	English wool	"Dark" el.
[ ɬ ]	Zulu hlala "sit"	Rather like [l] and [ʃ] or [l] and [θ] said together. Found in Welsh names like Lloyd and Llywelyn and Nelson Mandela's Xhosa name Rolihlahla.
[ ɭ ]		Like [l] with the tongue curled or pulled back.
[ ɺ ]		A flapped [l], like [l] and [ɾ] said together.
[ ɮ ]	Zulu dla "eat"	Rather like [l] and [ʒ], or [l] and [ð], said together.
M
[ m ]	English mime
[ ɱ ]	English symfony	Like [m], but lips touch teeth as they do in [f].
[ ɯ ]	see under W
[ ʍ ]	see under W
N
[ n ]	English nun
[ ŋ ]	English sing
[ ɲ ]	Spanish Peña, French champagne	Rather like English canyon.
[ ɳ ]	Hindi वरुण [ʋəruɳ] "Varuna"	Like [n] with the tongue curled or pulled back .
[ ɴ ]		Like [ŋ], but further back, in the throat.
O
[ o ]	Spanish no, French eau
[ oː ]	German Boden, French Vosges	Long [o]. Somewhat reminiscent of English no.
[ ɔ ]	German Oldenburg, French Garonne
[ ɔː ]	RP law, French Limoges	Long [ɔ].
[ ɔ̃ ]	French Lyon, son	Nasalized [ɔ].
[ ø ]	French feu, bœufs	Like [e], but with the lips rounded like [o].
[ øː ]	German Goethe, French Deûle, neutre	Long [ø].
[ œ ]	French bœuf, seul, German Göttingen	Like [ɛ], but with the lips rounded like [ɔ].
[ œː ]	French œuvre, heure	Long [œ].
[ œ̃ ]	French brun	Nasalized [œ].
[ θ ]	English thigh, bath
[ ɸ ]		Like [f], but with the lips nearly touching.
P
[ p ]	English pip, spit
Q
[ q ]	Arabic Qur’ān	Like [k], but further back, in the throat.
R
[ r ]	Spanish perro, Scots borrow	"Rolled R". (Generally used for English [ɹ] when there's no need to be precise.)
[ ɾ ]	Spanish pero, American English kitty/kiddie	"Flapped R".
[ ʀ ]		A trill in the back of the throat.
[ ɽ ]	Hindi बडा [bəɽɑː] "big", American English butter	Like flapped [ɾ], but with the tongue curled back.
[ ɹ ]	RP borrow
[ ɻ ]	regional English borrow, butter	Like [ɹ], but with the tongue curled or pulled back, as pronounced by many English speakers.
[ ʁ ]	French Paris, German Riemann	Said back in the throat, but not trilled.
S
[ s ]	English sass
[ ʂ ]	Mandarin Shàolín, Hindi , Russian Пушкин (Pushkin)	Like [s], but with the tongue curled or pulled back. (The exact pronunciation varies between these languages.)
[ ʃ ]	English shish kebab
T
[ t ]	English tot, stop
[ ʈ ]	Hindi ठग [ʈʰəɡ] (thug) "thief"	Like [t], but with the tongue curled or pulled back.
[ ts ]	English cats, Russian цар czar
[ tʃ ]	English church
[ tɕ ]	Mandarin 北京  Běijīng	Like [tʃ], but with more of a y-sound.
U
[ u ]	French vous "you"
[ uː ]	RP food, French Rocquencourt, German Schumacher	Long [u]. (The exact pronunciation varies between these languages.)
[ ʊ ]	English foot, German Bundesrepublik	(The exact pronunciation varies between these languages.)
[ ʉ ]	Australian English food (long)	Like [ɨ], but with the lips rounded as for [u].
[ ɥ ]	French lui	Like [j] and [w] said together.
[ ɯ ]	see under W
V
[ v ]	English verve
[ ʋ ]	Hindi वरुण [ʋəruɳə] "Varuna"	Between [v] and [w]. Used by some Germans and Russians for v/w, and by some speakers of British English for r.
[ ɣ ]	Arabic / Swahili ghali "expensive"	Sounds rather like French [ʁ].
[ ɤ ]	Mandarin Hénán	Like [o] but without the lips rounded, something like a cross of [ʊ] and [ʌ].
[ ʌ ]	see under A
W
[ w ]	English wow
[ ʷ ]	English wren [ɹʷɛn]	Adds a w-like sound, rather like English quick.
[ ʍ ]	RP what	(Substituted with [w] by most English speakers.)
[ ɯ ]	Turkish kayık "caïque"	Like [u], but with the lips flat; something like [ʊ].
[ ɰ ]	Spanish agua
X
[ x ]	Scottish English loch, German Bach, Russian хлеб [xlʲep] "bread"
[ χ ]	Dutch Scheveningen	Like [x], but further back , in the throat. Some German and Arabic speakers have [χ] for [x].
Y
[ y ]	French rue	Like [i], but with the lips rounded as for [u].
[ yː ]	German Bülow, French sûr	Long [y].
[ ʏ ]	German Eisenhüttenstadt	Like [ɪ], but with the lips rounded as for [ʊ].
[ ʎ ]	Spanish llama (Castilian)	More y-like than [l]. Rather like English million.
[ ɥ ]	see under U
[ ɤ ]	see under V
[ ɣ ]	See under V
Z
[ z ]	English zoos
[ ʑ ]	formal Russian жжёшь [ʑːoʂ] "you burn"	More y-like than [ʒ], something like beigey.
[ ʐ ]	Mandarin 人民日报 Rénmín Rìbào "People's Daily", Russian	Like [z] with the tongue curled or pulled back . (The exact pronunciation varies considerably between these languages.)
[ ʒ ]	English azure, French Jacques
[ ɮ ]	see under L
other
[ ʔ ]	English uh-oh, Hawai‘i, German	The 'glottal stop', a catch in the breath. For some people, found in button [ˈbʌʔn̩], or between vowels across words: Deus ex machina [ˌdeɪəsˌʔɛksˈmɑːɨnə]; for some Americans, in a apple [ʌˈʔæpl̩].
[ ʕ ]	Arabic عربي (carabī) "Arabic"	A subtle sound deep in the throat. (The Arabic sound frequently transcribed as this is actually a kind of glottal stop.)
[ ǀ ]	English tsk-tsk! or tut-tut!, Zulu icici "earring"	(The English click used for disapproval.) The Zimbabwean MP Ncube has this click in his name.
[ ǁ ]	English tchick! tchick!, Zulu ixoxo "frog"	(The English click used to urge on a horse.) Found in the name of the Xhosa.
[ ǃ ]	Zulu iqaqa "polecat"	A hollow popping sound, like a cork pulled from a bottle.

[edit] Diacritic marks

All diacritics are here shown on a carrier letter such as the vowel a.

Symbol	Example	Description
[ ˈa ]	pronunciation [pʰɹɜʊ̯ˌnɐnsiˈeɪʃn̩]	Main stress. Note the syllable following the mark is stressed.
[ ˌa ]		Weaker stress. Note the syllable following the mark is stressed.
[ aː ]	English shh! [ʃː]	Long. Often used with English vowels or diphthongs: Mayo /ˈmeːoː/ for [ˈmeɪ̯ɜʊ̯], etc.
[ aˑ ]	RP caught [ˈkʰɔˑt]	Semi-long. (Although the vowel is different, this is also longer than cot [ˈkʰɒt].)
[ a̯ ]	English cow [kʰaʊ̯], koi [kʰɔɪ̯]	This vowel runs into the vowel next to it. (In English, the diacritic is generally left off: [kaʊ].)
[ ã ]	French vin blanc [vɛ̃blɑ̃] "white wine"	A nasal vowel, as with a Texas twang.
[ n̥ ]		Sounds like a loud whisper; [n̥] is like a whispered breath through the nose. [l̥] is found in Tibetan Lhasa.
[ n̩ ]	English button	A consonant without a vowel. (English [n̩] is often transcribed /ən/.)
[ d̪ ]	Spanish dos, French deux	The tongue touches the teeth more than it does in English.
[ k’ ]	Zulu ukuza "come"	Like a popped [k], pushed from the throat. Similarly [t’ p’ q’ tʃ’ ts’ tɬ’].
[ á ]	Mandarin 妈妈 [mámā] "mother"	High tone.	Careful! The Pinyin Romanization used for Mandarin has these same diacritics, but with different values. (However, Thai Romanization uses them the way the IPA does.)
[ ā ]	Mandarin 妈妈 [mámā] "mother"	Mid tone.
[ à ]	Mandarin 马的 [màdɤ] "horse's"	Low tone.
[ â ]	Mandarin 骂 [mâ] "scold"	Falling tone.
[ ǎ ]	Mandarin 麻 [mǎ] "hemp"	Rising tone.
[ . ]	English London [ˌlɐn.dən]	Syllable break. (This can be ambiguous in English, and so is often left off.)