Interactive English IPA chart: hear it, say it, get a score
Every sound of American English in the International Phonetic Alphabet: 12 vowels, 5 diphthongs and 24 consonants. Tap a symbol to hear example words and read how to make the sound, then say the example word: the AI scores the word and shows your score for that one sound.
- IPA symbols with example words and audio
- How to place your tongue and lips for each sound
- Say a word and see the score for the target sound, not just the word
The chart
Tap a symbol. Scores are measured against a standard American English reference.
Vowels
Diphthongs
Consonants
How to read the chart
One symbol is one sound. English has 26 letters but about 40 sounds, which is why dictionaries print the pronunciation in IPA: cat is /kæt/, three letters and three sounds; thought is /θɔt/, seven letters and three sounds.
The vowels are grouped by how they feel: i, ɪ, ɛ and æ are made with the tongue forward; u, ʊ, ɔ and ɑ with the tongue back; ʌ and ə sit in the middle. A diphthong is a glide between two vowel positions inside one syllable (day, time, boy).
Consonants come in voiceless/voiced pairs made in the same place: p/b, t/d, k/ɡ, f/v, θ/ð, s/z, ʃ/ʒ, tʃ/dʒ. Put your fingers on your throat: the second of each pair buzzes.
Vowels
- /i/see, feet, team
Lips spread, tongue high and forward, held a little longer than ɪ. Sheep, not ship. Drill this sound →
- /ɪ/sit, ship, big
Short and relaxed, tongue a little lower and further back than for i. Drill this sound →
- /ɛ/bed, ten, said
Mouth half open, short. British dictionaries often write it /e/.
- /æ/cat, man, bad
Jaw dropped, lips spread, tongue low and forward: between “a” and “e”. Man must not sound like men. Drill this sound →
- /ɑ/hot, father, car
Mouth wide open, tongue low and back, lips unrounded. American hot uses this vowel; British hot uses /ɒ/.
- /ɔ/law, thought, talk
Lips slightly rounded, tongue low and back. Many Americans say it like ɑ (the cot–caught merger); both are heard.
- /ʊ/book, put, could
Short, lips loosely rounded, tongue relaxed. Not the long u of food.
- /u/food, blue, two
Lips rounded and pushed forward, tongue high and back, held longer than ʊ.
- /ʌ/cup, love, but
Short, mouth half open, lips relaxed: a stressed version of the schwa.
- /ə/about, sofa, banana
The schwa: short, neutral, never stressed. The most common vowel in English, written with any letter. Drill this sound →
- /ɝ/bird, work, her
A stressed r-coloured vowel: tongue bunched or tip curled back, lips a little rounded. No separate vowel before the r. Drill this sound →
- /ɚ/teacher, doctor, better
The unstressed partner of ɝ, at the end of teacher, doctor. British English drops the r here: /ə/.
Diphthongs
- /eɪ/day, name, rain
Start at e and glide up towards ɪ: one syllable, two positions.
- /aɪ/time, my, ice
Start with the mouth open at a and glide to ɪ.
- /ɔɪ/boy, coin, noise
Start with rounded lips at ɔ and glide to ɪ.
- /aʊ/house, now, out
Start open at a and glide to rounded ʊ.
- /oʊ/home, go, boat
Start with rounded lips at o and close them further towards ʊ. British dictionaries write /əʊ/.
Consonants
- /p/pen, happy, cup
Lips together, then a puff of air at the start of a stressed syllable (put a hand in front of your mouth).
- /b/bad, baby, job
Lips together, voice on. Keep it voiced at the end of a word: job, not jop.
- /t/ten, stop, cat
Tongue tip on the ridge behind the top teeth, with a puff of air at the start of a word. Between vowels Americans soften it (water, better).
- /d/dog, ladder, red
Same place as t, voice on.
- /k/key, school, back
Back of the tongue against the soft palate, puff of air at the start of a word.
- /ɡ/go, bigger, dog
Same place as k, voice on.
- /f/fine, coffee, laugh
Top teeth lightly on the lower lip, air through the gap, no voice.
- /v/very, seven, love
Same as f with voice on: you should feel a buzz on the lip. Not w. Drill this sound →
- /θ/think, three, bath
Tongue tip lightly between the teeth, air out, no voice. Not s, not t, not f. Drill this sound →
- /ð/mother, this, breathe
Same tongue position as θ with voice on. Not d, not z. Drill this sound →
- /s/sun, city, bus
Tongue tip close to the ridge behind the teeth, a thin hiss, no voice.
- /z/zoo, busy, dogs
Same as s with voice: also in is, has, dogs, where the spelling says s.
- /ʃ/she, nation, fish
Tongue further back than for s, lips pushed slightly forward.
- /ʒ/measure, vision, usual
The voiced partner of ʃ. Rare at the start of English words.
- /tʃ/chair, teacher, much
A t released straight into ʃ, one sound.
- /dʒ/job, age, bridge
A d released straight into ʒ, voice on.
- /h/hat, home, behind
Just breath through an open throat, no scraping. Silent in hour, honest.
- /m/man, summer, room
Lips closed, sound through the nose.
- /n/no, dinner, ten
Tongue tip on the ridge behind the teeth, sound through the nose.
- /ŋ/sing, long, thinking
Back of the tongue against the soft palate, sound through the nose. In sing there is no g after it. Drill this sound →
- /l/leg, yellow, ball
Tongue tip on the ridge. Before a vowel it is clear; at the end of a word (ball, feel) the back of the tongue rises: the “dark” l. Drill this sound →
- /ɹ/red, very, car
Tongue tip raised or bunched, touching nothing, lips a little rounded. Never tapped or trilled. Dictionaries usually print it /r/. Drill this sound →
- /w/we, window, quick
Lips rounded tight, then open into the vowel. Teeth never touch the lip (that is v). Drill this sound →
- /j/yes, you, music
The y of yes: tongue high and forward, gliding into the vowel. IPA j is never the j of job.
American and British symbols
This chart uses the American symbols, because the scorer listens for American English. British dictionaries (Cambridge, Oxford) print some vowels differently:
| American (this chart) | British dictionaries | Example |
|---|---|---|
| /i/ | /iː/ | see |
| /u/ | /uː/ | food |
| /ɛ/ | /e/ | bed |
| /ɑ/ | /ɒ/ | hot |
| /ɔ/ | /ɔː/ | law |
| /ɝ/ | /ɜː/ | bird |
| /ɚ/ | /ə/ | teacher |
| /oʊ/ | /əʊ/ | home |
| /ɪr, ɛr, ʊr/ | /ɪə, eə, ʊə/ | near, hair, tour |
The British set also has three centring diphthongs (ɪə, eə, ʊə), which is how British charts reach 44 sounds. American English says them as a vowel plus r.
Keep going
- English to IPA converter — type any word or sentence and get its transcription, British and American.
- English sound chart — a practice page of words for each of the hardest sounds.
- English pronunciation test — five words, scored, with your weakest sound named at the end.
FAQ
How many sounds are in the English IPA chart?+
American English uses about 41: 12 vowels (counting the r-coloured ɝ and ɚ), 5 diphthongs and 24 consonants. British charts usually list 44, adding the diphthongs ɪə, eə and ʊə, which Americans say as a vowel plus r.
How does the scoring work?+
You say the example word. The AI compares your recording with a standard American English reference and returns a score for the word and for each sound in it. The chart shows the score of the sound you picked, with the other sounds of the word underneath.
Why can’t I say the sound on its own?+
Isolated sounds are hard to score reliably — a lone /p/ or /ə/ is barely audible. Sounds are scored inside a short word, which is also how you will use them.
Does it score British English?+
No. The reference is American, so a correct British vowel (hot with /ɒ/, or car without the r) can score lower. The British symbols are listed for reading dictionaries only.
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