Practical chart for English learners

English IPA Chart with Audio

Explore English IPA vowels and consonants with audio, example words, mouth-position tips, and American and British pronunciation notes.

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Vowels and consonants

Each symbol keeps audio and a simple spelling hint beside the IPA symbol.

Short vowels

sit

short i

Voicing: voiced vowel
Mouth position: Tongue high and front, lips relaxed.

Practice english

Short vowels

bed

short e

Voicing: voiced vowel
Mouth position: Tongue mid-front, jaw slightly open.

Practice hello

Short vowels

cat

wide a

Voicing: voiced vowel
Mouth position: Open the jaw and keep the tongue front.

Practice chamomile

Short vowels

cup

short uh

Voicing: voiced vowel
Mouth position: Relax the jaw and keep the sound central.

Practice comfortable

Short vowels

book / good / put

short oo

Voicing: voiced vowel
Mouth position: Round the lips lightly and keep the vowel short, not as long as /uː/.
US usage: General American uses /ʊ/ in words such as book and good.
UK usage: British English also uses /ʊ/ in many of these words, though vowel quality can vary by region.
Contrast: Compare book /bʊk/ with boot /buːt/.

Practice would

Short vowels

lot

UK short o

Voicing: voiced vowel
Mouth position: Open back vowel, common in British English.

Practice water

Short vowels

about

schwa

Voicing: voiced weak vowel
Mouth position: Relax everything; keep the syllable light.

Practice pronunciation

Long vowels

see

long ee

Voicing: voiced vowel
Mouth position: Tongue high and front, smile lightly.

Practice queue

Long vowels

father

open ah

Voicing: voiced vowel
Mouth position: Open jaw, tongue low and back.

Practice are

Long vowels

thought

long aw

Voicing: voiced vowel
Mouth position: Rounded lips, back of tongue raised.

Practice water

Long vowels

through

long oo

Voicing: voiced vowel
Mouth position: Round the lips and keep the tongue high.

Practice through

Long vowels

bird

er sound

Voicing: voiced vowel
Mouth position: Central vowel; rhotic in American English.

Practice world

Diphthongs

day

Voicing: voiced glide
Mouth position: Start mid-front and glide upward.

Practice today

Diphthongs

my

eye

Voicing: voiced glide
Mouth position: Start open and glide to high front.

Practice either

Diphthongs

choice

Voicing: voiced glide
Mouth position: Start rounded, glide toward /ɪ/.

Practice voice

Diphthongs

now

Voicing: voiced glide
Mouth position: Start open, glide to rounded lips.

Practice how

Diphthongs

go

Voicing: voiced glide
Mouth position: Round lips as the sound closes.

Practice hello

Voiceless consonants

pen

Voicing: voiceless
Mouth position: Close both lips, then release air.

Practice pronunciation

Voiceless consonants

tea

Voicing: voiceless
Mouth position: Tongue touches behind top teeth.

Practice water

Voiceless consonants

cat

Voicing: voiceless
Mouth position: Back of tongue touches soft palate.

Practice queue

Voiceless consonants

fan

Voicing: voiceless
Mouth position: Top teeth touch lower lip; blow air.

Practice comfortable

Voiceless consonants

think

unvoiced th

Voicing: voiceless
Mouth position: Place tongue lightly between teeth.

Practice through

Voiceless consonants

see

Voicing: voiceless
Mouth position: Air passes through a narrow tongue groove.

Practice schedule

Voiceless consonants

ship

Voicing: voiceless
Mouth position: Round lips slightly and raise the tongue.

Practice schedule

Voiceless consonants

hello / home / ahead

light h breath

Voicing: voiceless
Mouth position: Let air pass through an open throat before the vowel; do not add a hard stop.
US usage: American English usually keeps /h/ at the beginning of stressed words.
UK usage: Most standard British teaching models keep /h/, though some regional accents may drop it.
Contrast: Compare hello with yellow: /h/ vs /j/.

Practice hello

Voiced consonants

bed

Voicing: voiced
Mouth position: Close both lips and use voice.

Practice beautiful

Voiced consonants

day

Voicing: voiced
Mouth position: Tongue touches behind top teeth with voice.

Practice data

Voiced consonants

go

Voicing: voiced
Mouth position: Back of tongue releases with voice.

Practice generator

Voiced consonants

voice

Voicing: voiced
Mouth position: Top teeth touch lower lip; use voice.

Practice very

Voiced consonants

this

voiced th

Voicing: voiced
Mouth position: Tongue between teeth with vocal vibration.

Practice the

Voiced consonants

zoo

Voicing: voiced
Mouth position: Use the same tongue shape as /s/ with voice.

Practice is

Voiced consonants

vision

Voicing: voiced
Mouth position: Like /ʃ/ but with vocal vibration.

Practice decision

Affricates

chair

Voicing: voiceless
Mouth position: Start with /t/, release into /ʃ/.

Practice chamomile

Affricates

judge

Voicing: voiced
Mouth position: Start with /d/, release into /ʒ/.

Practice schedule

Nasals

me

Voicing: voiced nasal
Mouth position: Close lips and let sound pass through nose.

Practice meeting

Nasals

no

Voicing: voiced nasal
Mouth position: Tongue touches ridge; air passes through nose.

Practice name

Nasals

sing

Voicing: voiced nasal
Mouth position: Back of tongue touches soft palate.

Practice doing

Approximants

light

Voicing: voiced
Mouth position: Tongue touches ridge; release around the sides.

Practice hello

Approximants

red

Voicing: voiced
Mouth position: Curl or bunch the tongue without touching.

Practice rural

Approximants

water

Voicing: voiced
Mouth position: Round lips, then open into the vowel.

Practice water

Approximants

yes

Voicing: voiced
Mouth position: Tongue high and front, glide into the vowel.

Practice you

Stress marks

pronunciation / comfortable / schedule

primary stress before the strongest syllable

Voicing: not a sound
Mouth position: Make the following syllable longer, clearer, and slightly louder.
US usage: American dictionaries place /ˈ/ before the primary stressed syllable.
UK usage: British learner dictionaries also use /ˈ/ for primary stress.
Contrast: Compare PREsent as a noun with preSENT as a verb.

Practice pronunciation

Stress marks

pronunciation / understand / information

secondary stress before a weaker stressed syllable

Voicing: not a sound
Mouth position: Give the following syllable some weight, but less than the primary stress.
US usage: Secondary stress helps long words keep rhythm without making every syllable equal.
UK usage: British transcriptions also use secondary stress in many long words.
Contrast: In pronunciation, /ˌnʌn/ is lighter than /ˈeɪ/.

Practice pronunciation

Other IPA marks

through / see / father

length mark

Voicing: not a sound by itself
Mouth position: Hold the vowel longer than a short vowel, while keeping the same vowel quality.
US usage: Some American dictionaries use length marks less often, but the long sound contrast is still useful for learners.
UK usage: British IPA commonly uses /ː/ to mark long vowels.
Contrast: Compare /ʊ/ in book with /uː/ in boot.

Practice through

Other IPA marks

comfortable / pronunciation / beautiful

syllable break

Voicing: not a sound
Mouth position: Use it as a pacing mark between syllables, not as a pronounced pause.
US usage: Syllable boundaries can vary by dictionary, but they help learners pace long words.
UK usage: British references may divide syllables slightly differently in some words.
Contrast: Compare syllable breaks with stress marks: a break separates parts; stress marks show strength.

Practice comfortable

How to use this English IPA chart

Start with the example word, not the symbol name. Play the US or UK audio, repeat the word, then look at the IPA symbol and mouth note. Vowels need special attention because English spelling often uses the same letter for different sounds. Consonants are easier to compare when you notice voicing: /s/ and /z/ use a similar mouth shape, but /z/ vibrates; /θ/ and /ð/ both use the tongue between the teeth, but only /ð/ is voiced.

Vowels, consonants, and stress marks

English IPA is most useful when it stays connected to real pronunciation. Long vowels, short vowels, diphthongs, consonant clusters, and weak vowels such as schwa all affect how understandable a word sounds. Stress marks show which syllable is strongest, while syllable breaks show how to pace the word. Use this chart with the English to IPA converter when you need transcription, and use the syllable stress finder when rhythm is the main problem.

American and British IPA notes

Some symbols and example words vary by accent. American English often keeps /r/ in words like world, while many British accents do not pronounce final /r/ before a pause. Words such as schedule, water, route, data, and either may also change vowel quality or consonant sound. Choose the accent that matches your class, workplace, exam, or audience, then compare the other accent only when the difference matters.

Scope of this learner chart

This page is a practical English IPA chart for learners, not a complete encyclopedia of every IPA symbol used in linguistics. General American and British English may use different symbol conventions for /r/, vowel length, /ɒ/, /ɑː/, and other sounds. Treat the chart as a bridge between audio, IPA, simple spelling, and word pages, then confirm regional or personal pronunciations when the exact accent matters.