IPA Pronunciation Guide
The International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) is a system of symbols that represents the sounds of spoken language. Lingden uses IPA on every flashcard so you know exactly how to pronounce each word.
Tap the ▶ button to hear each sound.
Vowels
SymbolSoundExampleIPA
/iː/
Long "ee"
eat/iːt/eat /iːt/
/ɪ/
Short "i"
in/ɪn/in /ɪn/
/e/
Short "e"
egg/eɡ/egg /eɡ/
/æ/
Short "a"
cat/kæt/cat /kæt/
/ʌ/
Short "u"
up/ʌp/up /ʌp/
/ɑː/
Long "a"
father/ˈfɑːðər/father /ˈfɑːðər/
/ɒ/
Short "o"
hot/hɒt/hot /hɒt/
/ɔː/
Long "or"
door/dɔːr/door /dɔːr/
/ʊ/
Short "oo"
book/bʊk/book /bʊk/
/uː/
Long "oo"
moon/muːn/moon /muːn/
/ɜː/
"Ur" sound
bird/bɜːrd/bird /bɜːrd/
/ə/
Schwa
about/əˈbaʊt/about /əˈbaʊt/
Diphthongs (combined vowels)
SymbolSoundExampleIPA
/eɪ/
"ay"
day/deɪ/day /deɪ/
/aɪ/
"eye"
ice/aɪs/ice /aɪs/
/ɔɪ/
"oy"
boy/bɔɪ/boy /bɔɪ/
/aʊ/
"ow"
now/naʊ/now /naʊ/
/əʊ/
"oh"
go/ɡəʊ/go /ɡəʊ/
/ɪə/
"ear"
near/nɪər/near /nɪər/
/eə/
"air"
care/keə/care /keə/
/ʊə/
"pure"
pure/pjʊər/pure /pjʊər/
Consonants
SymbolSoundExampleIPA
/p/
Voiceless "p"
pen/pɛn/pen /pɛn/
/b/
Voiced "b"
bat/bæt/bat /bæt/
/t/
Voiceless "t"
top/tɒp/top /tɒp/
/d/
Voiced "d"
dog/dɒɡ/dog /dɒɡ/
/k/
Voiceless "k"
cat/kæt/cat /kæt/
/ɡ/
Voiced "g"
go/ɡəʊ/go /ɡəʊ/
/f/
Voiceless "f"
fat/fæt/fat /fæt/
/v/
Voiced "v"
van/væn/van /væn/
/θ/
Voiceless "th"
think/θɪŋk/think /θɪŋk/
/ð/
Voiced "th"
this/ðɪs/this /ðɪs/
/s/
Voiceless "s"
sit/sɪt/sit /sɪt/
/z/
Voiced "z"
zoo/zuː/zoo /zuː/
/ʃ/
"sh"
ship/ʃɪp/ship /ʃɪp/
/ʒ/
"zh"
vision/ˈvɪʒən/vision /ˈvɪʒən/
/tʃ/
"ch"
chip/tʃɪp/chip /tʃɪp/
/dʒ/
"j"
jam/dʒæm/jam /dʒæm/
/m/
"m"
man/mæn/man /mæn/
/n/
"n"
no/nəʊ/no /nəʊ/
/ŋ/
"ng"
sing/sɪŋ/sing /sɪŋ/
/l/
"l"
let/lɛt/let /lɛt/
/r/
"r"
red/rɛd/red /rɛd/
/j/
"y"
yes/jɛs/yes /jɛs/
/w/
"w"
wet/wɛt/wet /wɛt/
/h/
"h"
hat/hæt/hat /hæt/
Non-English vowels (European & other languages)
SymbolSoundExampleIPA
/ɛ/
Open "e"
bet/bɛt/bet /bɛt/
/ɑ/
Open "a"
spa/spɑ/spa /spɑ/
/ɔ/
Open "o"
thought/θɔːt/thought /θɔːt/
/ø/
Rounded "e"
søster (NO)/søstər/søster (NO) /søstər/
/œ/
Open rounded "e"
sœur (FR)/sœʁ/sœur (FR) /sœʁ/
/y/
Rounded "i"
über (DE)/ˈyːbɐ/über (DE) /ˈyːbɐ/
/ʏ/
Short rounded "i"
hütte (DE)/ˈhʏtə/hütte (DE) /ˈhʏtə/
/ɐ/
Near-open "a"
besser (DE)/ˈbɛsɐ/besser (DE) /ˈbɛsɐ/
/ɨ/
Central "i"
kısmet (TR)/kɨsˈmet/kısmet (TR) /kɨsˈmet/
/ʉ/
Central "u"
hus (NO)/hʉːs/hus (NO) /hʉːs/
/ɵ/
Central rounded
hund (NO)/hɵnː/hund (NO) /hɵnː/
/ɯ/
Unrounded "u"
gitmek (TR)/ɡɪtˈmɛk/gitmek (TR) /ɡɪtˈmɛk/
/å/
Rounded "o"
gå (NO)/ɡoː/gå (NO) /ɡoː/
/æ/
Near-open "a"
bær (NO)/bæːr/bær (NO) /bæːr/
Non-English consonants
SymbolSoundExampleIPA
/ɾ/
Flap "r"
pero (ES)/ˈpeɾo/pero (ES) /ˈpeɾo/
/ʁ/
Uvular "r"
rouge (FR)/ʁuːʒ/rouge (FR) /ʁuːʒ/
/ʀ/
Trill uvular "r"
rot (DE)/ʀoːt/rot (DE) /ʀoːt/
/ɹ/
English "r"
red/ɹɛd/red /ɹɛd/
/ç/
Soft "ch"
ich (DE)/ɪç/ich (DE) /ɪç/
/x/
Hard "ch"
Bach (DE)/bɑːx/Bach (DE) /bɑːx/
/ɣ/
Voiced "ch"
lago (ES)/ˈlaɣo/lago (ES) /ˈlaɣo/
/ɲ/
"ny"
España (ES)/esˈpaɲa/España (ES) /esˈpaɲa/
/ʎ/
"ly"
figlio (IT)/ˈfiʎːo/figlio (IT) /ˈfiʎːo/
/ɕ/
Soft "sh"
sjö (SV)/ɕøː/sjö (SV) /ɕøː/
/ʋ/
Soft "v"
vel (NO)/ʋeːl/vel (NO) /ʋeːl/
/ʔ/
Glottal stop
uh-oh/ˈʔʌʔoʊ/uh-oh /ˈʔʌʔoʊ/
/ɖ/
Retroflex "d"
bord (NO)/buːɖ/bord (NO) /buːɖ/
/ʈ/
Retroflex "t"
kart (NO)/kɑːʈ/kart (NO) /kɑːʈ/
/ɭ/
Retroflex "l"
perle (NO)/pæɭə/perle (NO) /pæɭə/
/ɳ/
Retroflex "n"
barn (NO)/bɑːɳ/barn (NO) /bɑːɳ/
/ɸ/
Bilabial "f"
fuji (JA)/ɸɯdʑi/fuji (JA) /ɸɯdʑi/
/β/
Bilabial "v"
lobo (ES)/ˈloβo/lobo (ES) /ˈloβo/
/ħ/
Pharyngeal "h"
حب (AR)/ħub/حب (AR) /ħub/
/ʕ/
Pharyngeal voiced
عين (AR)/ʕajn/عين (AR) /ʕajn/
Tips for reading IPA
- Stress marks: The symbol
ˈbefore a syllable means it's stressed. E.g. /ˈfɑːðər/ — stress on "fa". - Length marks: The symbol
ːafter a vowel means it's held longer. E.g. /iː/ vs /ɪ/. - Slashes vs brackets: /slashes/ show broad pronunciation (what you need). [brackets] show precise phonetic detail.
- Don't memorize everything: Start with the vowels — they vary most between languages. Consonants are often similar to English.