TheInternational Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)is a system where each symbol is associated with a particular English sound. By using IPA you can know exactly how to pronounce a certain word in English. This helps in improving English pronunciation and feeling more confident speaking in English, whether you learn English on you own or with a specialist teacher in an individualEnglish Accent Trainingclass. We also run onlineEnglish courses in virtual groups, and immersion courses in London.
Here are examples of IPA use in common English words. You can practice various vowel and consonant sounds by pronouncing the words. This is one way how you can improve English pronunciation.
Download examples of IPA sounds (PDF)
International Phonetic Alphabet Sounds In Everyday Speech
Short Vowels
| IPA Symbol | Word examples |
| e | Went, intend, send, letter. |
| æ | Cat, hand, nap, flat, have. |
| ʌ | Fun, love, money, one, London, come. |
| ʊ | Put, look, should, cook, book, look. |
| ɒ | Rob, top, watch, squat, sausage. |
| ə | Alive, again, mother. |
Long Vowels
| IPA Symbol | Word examples |
| i: | Need, beat, team. |
| ɜ: | Nurse, heard,third, turn. |
| ɔ: | Talk, law, bored, yawn, jaw. |
| u: | Few, boot, lose, gloomy, fruit, chew. |
| ɑ: | Fast, car, hard, bath. |
Diphthong Vowels
| IPASymbol | Wordexamples |
| ɪə | Near, ear, clear, tear, beer, fear |
| eə | Hair, there, care, stairs, pear |
| eɪ | Face, space, rain , case, eight |
| ɔɪ | Joy, employ, toy, coil, oyster. |
| aɪ | My, sight, pride, kind, flight |
| əʊ | No, don’t, stones, alone, hole |
| aʊ | Mouth, house, brown, cow, out |
Consonants Sounds: Fricatives
IPASymbol | Wordexamples |
f | Full, Friday,fish,knife. |
v | Vest,village, view,cave. |
θ | Thought, think, Bath. |
ð | There,those,brothers,others. |
z | Zoo, crazy,lazy, zigzag,nose. |
ʃ | Shirt, rush, shop, cash. |
ʒ | Television,delusion, casual |
h | High, help, hello. |
Consonants Sounds: Plosives
| IPA Symbol | Word examples |
| p | Pin, cap, purpose, pause. |
| b | Bag, bubble, build, robe. |
| t | Time, train, tow, late. |
| d | Door, day, drive, down, feed. |
| k | Cash, quick, cricket, sock. |
| g | Girl, green, grass, flag. |
Consonants Sounds: Affricates
| IPA Symbol | Word examples |
| ʈʃ | Choose, cheese, church, watch. |
| dʒ | Joy, juggle, juice, stage. |
Consonants Sounds: Nasals
| IPA Symbol | Word examples |
| m | Room, mother, mad, more. |
| n | Now, nobody, knew, turn. |
| ŋ | King, thing, song, swimming. |
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Consonants Sounds: Approximants
| IPA Symbol | Word examples |
| r | Road, roses, river, ring, ride. |
| j | Yellow, usual, tune, yesterday, yard. |
| w | Wall, walk, wine, world. |
| l and ɫ | Law, lots, leap, long, pill, cold, chill, melt. |
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International Phonetic Alphabet Explained
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Posted: 16 August 2017
Categories: Communication skills
