The International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) is a set of symbols that linguists use to describe the sounds of spoken languages.
This page lets you hear the sounds that the symbols represent, but remember that it is only a rough guide. There is lots of variation in how these sounds are said depending on the language and context. For example, in English voiceless plosives usually end with a puff of air called aspiration, but the voiceless plosives on this page aren't aspirated.
Choose a symbol to hear the sound it represents.
For best results, please use a browser with HTML5 Audio support. The latest version of any popular web browser will do.
Where symbols appear in pairs, the one to the right represents a rounded vowel.
Where symbols appear in pairs, the one to the right represents a voiced consonant.
Areas shaded grey indicate articulations judged impossible.
| Bilabial | Labiodental | Den |
Alve |
Post alveolar | Retro |
Pala |
Ve |
Uvu |
Phary |
Glot |
||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plosive | p | b | t | d | ʈ | ɖ | c | ɟ | k | g | q | ɢ | ʔ | |||||||||
| Nasal | m | ɱ | n | ɳ | ɲ | ŋ | ɴ | |||||||||||||||
| Trill | ʙ | r | ʀ | |||||||||||||||||||
| Tap or Flap | ⱱ | ɾ | ɽ | |||||||||||||||||||
| Fricative | ɸ | β | f | v | θ | ð | s | z | ʃ | ʒ | ʂ | ʐ | ç | ʝ | x | ɣ | χ | ʁ | ħ | ʕ | h | ɦ |
| Lateral Fricative | ɬ | ɮ | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Approximant | ʋ | ɹ | ɻ | j | ɰ | |||||||||||||||||
| Lateral Approximant | l | ɭ | ʎ | ʟ | ||||||||||||||||||
| Clicks | Voiced implosives | Ejectives |
|---|---|---|
| ʘ Bilabial | ɓ Bilabial | pʼ Bilabial |
| ǀ Dental | ɗ Dental/alveolar | tʼ Dental/alveolar |
| ǃ (Post)alveoalar | ʄ Palatal | kʼ Velar |
| ǂ Palatoalveolar | ɠ Velar | sʼ Alveolar fricative |
| ǁ Alveolar lateral | ʛ Uvular | ʼ etc… |
| ʍ Voiceless labial-velar fricative |
| w Voiced labial-velar approximant |
| ɥ Voiced labial-palatal approximant |
| ʜ Voiceless epiglottal fricative |
| ʢ Voiced epiglottal fricative |
| ʡ Epiglottal plosive |
| ɕ Voiceless alveolo-palatal fricative |
| ʑ Voiced alveolo-palatal fricative |
| ɺ Alveolar lateral flap |
| ɧ Simultaneous ʃ and x |
| t͡s Voiceless alveolar affricate |
| t͡ʃ Voiceless palato-alveolar affricate |
| t͡ɕ Voiceless alveolo-palatal affricate |
| ʈ͡ʂ Voiceless retroflex affricate |
| d͡z Voiced alveolar affricate |
| d͡ʒ Voiced post-alveolar affricate |
| d͡ʑ Voiced alveolo-palatal affricate |
| ɖ͡ʐ Voiceless retroflex affricate |
Each audio clip is the work of Peter Isotalo, User:Denelson83, UCLA Phonetics Lab Archive 2003, User:Halibutt, User:Pmx or User:Octane, and made available under a free and/or copyleft licence. For details on the licensing and attribution requirements of a particular clip, browse to it from the general phonetics page at the Wikimedia Commons. Vowel trapezoid background by User:Denelson83; see File:Blank vowel trapezoid.png on Wikimedia Commons for details.
Queries and comments can be directed to [email protected]
