The International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) is a standardized system of symbols—based on Latin and Greek letters—designed to represent every sound in human speech. Unlike English spelling, where one letter can have many sounds and one sound many spellings, each IPA symbol stands for exactly one sound.
/kæt/, you know exactly how to say “cat,” no matter your native language./ʃ/) covers the “sh” sound in shoe, sugar, mission, special.The IPA chart organizes sounds by how and where they’re made in the mouth and throat.
/p/ as in pat (lips closed)/tʃ/ as in church (t + “sh”)/ð/ as in this (voiced “th”)/s/ as in sun (air through narrow opening)/ŋ/ as in sing (velar nasal)/w/ as in we (labial-velar approximant)Vowels are labeled by tongue height (high/low), tongue position (front/back), and lip rounding.
/iː/ as in sheep (high front, unrounded)/æ/ as in cat (low front, unrounded)/uː/ as in moon (high back, rounded)/ɑː/ as in car (low back, unrounded)/e/ as in bed (mid front, unrounded)/ə/ as in about (central, unstressed schwa)Diphthongs glide from one vowel position to another within the same syllable.
/aɪ/ as in my (from /a/ to /ɪ/)/eɪ/ as in face (from /e/ to /ɪ/)/oʊ/ as in boat (from /o/ to /ʊ/)/aʊ/ as in cow (from /a/ to /ʊ/)/ɔɪ/ as in boy (from /ɔ/ to /ɪ/)Pronunciations are often shown in slashes /…/ for broad transcription. You may also see square brackets […] for narrow transcription with extra detail.
/ˌɪnfərˈmeɪʃən//ˈtelɪvɪʒən//ˈbjuːtɪfl̩//θruː//ˈnɒlɪdʒ/