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Every IPA symbol is shown. Pick a language to see which sounds it uses.

Learn by listening

122 local recordings mappedAudio is loaded only when you choose a symbol. Starting a new symbol stops the previous sample.

Vowels

Where symbols appear in pairs, the one to the right represents a rounded vowel.

FrontCentralBackCloseClose-midOpen-midOpeniyɨʉɯuɪʏʊeøɘɵɤoəɛœɜɞʌɔæɐaɶɑɒ

Pulmonic consonants

Where symbols appear in pairs, the one to the right represents a voiced consonant. Gray cells mark articulations judged impossible.

Places and manners of articulation

Places of articulation

Where in the vocal tract the airflow is obstructed. Hover or focus a term to find it in the chart.

Both lips come together. / The lower lip touches the upper teeth.
The tongue touches the ridge just behind the upper teeth (alveolar ridge).
The tongue touches or approaches the hard palate.
The back of the tongue touches or approaches the soft palate (velum).
The sound is made at the glottis (vocal folds).

Manners of articulation

How the airflow is modified. Rhotic cuts across several rows rather than naming one.

Complete closure of the vocal tract followed by a burst of air.
Narrow constriction creates turbulent airflow.
Articulators approach each other but without creating friction.
Air flows through the nose due to a lowered velum.
A type of approximant or trill characterized by a “r-like” quality.
MannerBilabialLabiodentalDentalAlveolarPostalveolarRetroflexPalatalVelarUvularPharyngealGlottal
Plosive
Nasal
Trill
Tap or flap
Fricative
Lateral fricative
Approximant
Lateral approximant

Non-pulmonic consonants

Clicks, implosives, and ejectives use airflow mechanisms outside the pulmonic airstream used by most consonants.

ClicksVoiced implosivesEjectives

Other symbols

Affricates

Sources and licences

Recordings are sourced from individual Wikimedia Commons file pages and remain subject to the licence specified for each file. The asset script refreshes creator and licence metadata per file.

Further reading

SymbolRecordingCreatorLicenceLocal fileModified
iClose front unrounded vowel.oggNo machine-readable author provided. Denelson83 assumed (based on copyright claims).CC BY-SA 3.0/audio/close-front-unrounded-vowel.oggno
yClose front rounded vowel.oggNo machine-readable author provided. Denelson83 assumed (based on copyright claims).CC BY-SA 3.0/audio/close-front-rounded-vowel.oggno
ɨClose central unrounded vowel.oggNo machine-readable author provided. Denelson83 assumed (based on copyright claims).CC BY-SA 3.0/audio/close-central-unrounded-vowel.oggno
ʉClose central rounded vowel.oggNo machine-readable author provided. Denelson83 assumed (based on copyright claims).CC BY-SA 3.0/audio/close-central-rounded-vowel.oggno
ɯClose back unrounded vowel.oggNo machine-readable author provided. Denelson83 assumed (based on copyright claims).CC BY-SA 3.0/audio/close-back-unrounded-vowel.oggno
uClose back rounded vowel.oggNo machine-readable author provided. Denelson83 assumed (based on copyright claims).CC BY-SA 3.0/audio/close-back-rounded-vowel.oggno
ɪNear-close near-front unrounded vowel.oggNo machine-readable author provided. Denelson83 assumed (based on copyright claims).CC BY-SA 3.0/audio/near-close-near-front-unrounded-vowel.oggno
ʏNear-close near-front rounded vowel.oggNo machine-readable author provided. Denelson83 assumed (based on copyright claims).CC BY-SA 3.0/audio/near-close-near-front-rounded-vowel.oggno
ʊNear-close near-back rounded vowel.oggNo machine-readable author provided. Denelson83 assumed (based on copyright claims).CC BY-SA 3.0/audio/near-close-near-back-rounded-vowel.oggno
eClose-mid front unrounded vowel.oggNo machine-readable author provided. Denelson83 assumed (based on copyright claims).CC BY-SA 3.0/audio/close-mid-front-unrounded-vowel.oggno
øClose-mid front rounded vowel.oggDenelson83CC BY-SA 3.0/audio/close-mid-front-rounded-vowel.oggno
ɘClose-mid central unrounded vowel.oggDenelson83CC BY-SA 3.0/audio/close-mid-central-unrounded-vowel.oggno
ɵClose-mid central rounded vowel.oggNo machine-readable author provided. Denelson83 assumed (based on copyright claims).CC BY-SA 3.0/audio/close-mid-central-rounded-vowel.oggno
ɤClose-mid back unrounded vowel.oggNo machine-readable author provided. Denelson83 assumed (based on copyright claims).CC BY-SA 3.0/audio/close-mid-back-unrounded-vowel.oggno
oClose-mid back rounded vowel.oggNo machine-readable author provided. Denelson83 assumed (based on copyright claims).CC BY-SA 3.0/audio/close-mid-back-rounded-vowel.oggno
əMid central vowel.oggRecorded by the creator listed on the linked Wikimedia Commons file pageSee individual Wikimedia Commons file page/audio/mid-central-vowel.oggno
ɛOpen-mid front unrounded vowel.oggNo machine-readable author provided. Denelson83 assumed (based on copyright claims).CC BY-SA 3.0/audio/open-mid-front-unrounded-vowel.oggno
œOpen-mid front rounded vowel.oggNo machine-readable author provided. JøMa assumed (based on copyright claims).CC BY-SA 3.0/audio/open-mid-front-rounded-vowel.oggno
ɜOpen-mid central unrounded vowel.oggNo machine-readable author provided. Denelson83 assumed (based on copyright claims).CC BY-SA 3.0/audio/open-mid-central-unrounded-vowel.oggno
ɞOpen-mid central rounded vowel.oggNo machine-readable author provided. Denelson83 assumed (based on copyright claims).CC BY-SA 3.0/audio/open-mid-central-rounded-vowel.oggno
ʌOpen-mid back unrounded vowel.oggNo machine-readable author provided. Denelson83 assumed (based on copyright claims).CC BY-SA 3.0/audio/open-mid-back-unrounded-vowel.oggno
ɔOpen-mid back rounded vowel.oggNo machine-readable author provided. Denelson83 assumed (based on copyright claims).CC BY-SA 3.0/audio/open-mid-back-rounded-vowel.oggno
æNear-open front unrounded vowel.oggNo machine-readable author provided. Denelson83 assumed (based on copyright claims).CC BY-SA 3.0/audio/near-open-front-unrounded-vowel.oggno
ɐNear-open central unrounded vowel.oggNo machine-readable author provided. Denelson83 assumed (based on copyright claims).CC BY-SA 3.0/audio/near-open-central-unrounded-vowel.oggno
aOpen front unrounded vowel.oggNo machine-readable author provided. Denelson83 assumed (based on copyright claims).CC BY-SA 3.0/audio/open-front-unrounded-vowel.oggno
ɶOpen front rounded vowel.oggNo machine-readable author provided. Denelson83 assumed (based on copyright claims).CC BY-SA 3.0/audio/open-front-rounded-vowel.oggno
ɑOpen back unrounded vowel.oggNo machine-readable author provided. Denelson83 assumed (based on copyright claims).CC BY-SA 3.0/audio/open-back-unrounded-vowel.oggno
ɒOpen back rounded vowel.oggNo machine-readable author provided. Denelson83 assumed (based on copyright claims).CC BY-SA 3.0/audio/open-back-rounded-vowel.oggno
pVoiceless bilabial plosive.oggUnknown Wikimedia Commons contributorCC BY-SA 3.0/audio/voiceless-bilabial-plosive.oggno
bVoiced bilabial plosive.oggUnknown Wikimedia Commons contributorCC BY-SA 3.0/audio/voiced-bilabial-plosive.oggno
tVoiceless alveolar plosive.oggUnknown Wikimedia Commons contributorCC BY-SA 3.0/audio/voiceless-alveolar-plosive.oggno
dVoiced alveolar plosive.oggUnknown Wikimedia Commons contributorCC BY-SA 3.0/audio/voiced-alveolar-plosive.oggno
ʈVoiceless retroflex plosive.oggRecorded by the creator listed on the linked Wikimedia Commons file pageSee individual Wikimedia Commons file page/audio/voiceless-retroflex-plosive.oggno
ɖVoiced retroflex plosive.oggRecorded by the creator listed on the linked Wikimedia Commons file pageSee individual Wikimedia Commons file page/audio/voiced-retroflex-plosive.oggno
cVoiceless palatal plosive.oggPeter IsotaloCC BY-SA 3.0/audio/voiceless-palatal-plosive.oggno
ɟVoiced palatal plosive.oggUnknown Wikimedia Commons contributorCC BY-SA 3.0/audio/voiced-palatal-plosive.oggno
kVoiceless velar plosive.oggUnknown Wikimedia Commons contributorCC BY-SA 3.0/audio/voiceless-velar-plosive.oggno
gVoiced velar plosive.oggUnknown Wikimedia Commons contributorCC BY-SA 3.0/audio/voiced-velar-plosive.oggno
qVoiceless uvular plosive.oggUnknown Wikimedia Commons contributorCC BY-SA 3.0/audio/voiceless-uvular-plosive.oggno
ɢVoiced uvular plosive.oggRecorded by the creator listed on the linked Wikimedia Commons file pageSee individual Wikimedia Commons file page/audio/voiced-uvular-plosive.oggno
ʔGlottal stop.oggNo machine-readable author provided. Peter Isotalo assumed (based on copyright claims).CC BY-SA 3.0/audio/glottal-stop.oggno
mBilabial nasal.oggUnknown Wikimedia Commons contributorCC BY-SA 3.0/audio/bilabial-nasal.oggno
ɱLabiodental nasal.oggUnknown Wikimedia Commons contributorCC BY-SA 3.0/audio/labiodental-nasal.oggno
nAlveolar nasal.oggUnknown Wikimedia Commons contributorCC BY-SA 3.0/audio/alveolar-nasal.oggno
ɳRetroflex nasal.oggUnknown Wikimedia Commons contributorCC BY-SA 3.0/audio/retroflex-nasal.oggno
ɲPalatal nasal.oggUnknown Wikimedia Commons contributorCC BY-SA 3.0/audio/palatal-nasal.oggno
ŋVelar nasal.oggUnknown Wikimedia Commons contributorCC BY-SA 3.0/audio/velar-nasal.oggno
ɴUvular nasal.oggUnknown Wikimedia Commons contributorCC BY-SA 3.0/audio/uvular-nasal.oggno
ʙBilabial trill.oggUnknown Wikimedia Commons contributorCC BY-SA 3.0/audio/bilabial-trill.oggno
rAlveolar trill.oggUnknown Wikimedia Commons contributorCC BY-SA 3.0/audio/alveolar-trill.oggno
ʀUvular trill.oggUnknown Wikimedia Commons contributorCC BY-SA 3.0/audio/uvular-trill.oggno
Labiodental flap.oggUnknown Wikimedia Commons contributorCC BY-SA 3.0/audio/labiodental-flap.oggno
ɾAlveolar tap.oggUnknown Wikimedia Commons contributorCC BY-SA 3.0/audio/alveolar-tap.oggno
ɽRetroflex flap.oggUnknown Wikimedia Commons contributorCC BY-SA 3.0/audio/retroflex-flap.oggno
ɸVoiceless bilabial fricative.oggUnknown Wikimedia Commons contributorCC BY-SA 3.0/audio/voiceless-bilabial-fricative.oggno
βVoiced bilabial fricative.oggUnknown Wikimedia Commons contributorCC BY-SA 3.0/audio/voiced-bilabial-fricative.oggno
fVoiceless labiodental fricative.oggUnknown Wikimedia Commons contributorCC BY-SA 3.0/audio/voiceless-labiodental-fricative.oggno
vVoiced labiodental fricative.oggUnknown Wikimedia Commons contributorCC BY-SA 3.0/audio/voiced-labiodental-fricative.oggno
θVoiceless dental fricative.oggUnknown Wikimedia Commons contributorCC BY-SA 3.0/audio/voiceless-dental-fricative.oggno
ðVoiced dental fricative.oggUnknown Wikimedia Commons contributorCC BY-SA 3.0/audio/voiced-dental-fricative.oggno
sVoiceless alveolar fricative.oggRecorded by the creator listed on the linked Wikimedia Commons file pageSee individual Wikimedia Commons file page/audio/voiceless-alveolar-fricative.oggno
zVoiced alveolar fricative.oggRecorded by the creator listed on the linked Wikimedia Commons file pageSee individual Wikimedia Commons file page/audio/voiced-alveolar-fricative.oggno
ʃVoiceless postalveolar fricative.oggRecorded by the creator listed on the linked Wikimedia Commons file pageSee individual Wikimedia Commons file page/audio/voiceless-postalveolar-fricative.oggno
ʒVoiced postalveolar fricative.oggRecorded by the creator listed on the linked Wikimedia Commons file pageSee individual Wikimedia Commons file page/audio/voiced-postalveolar-fricative.oggno
ʂVoiceless retroflex fricative.oggRecorded by the creator listed on the linked Wikimedia Commons file pageSee individual Wikimedia Commons file page/audio/voiceless-retroflex-fricative.oggno
ʐVoiced retroflex fricative.oggRecorded by the creator listed on the linked Wikimedia Commons file pageSee individual Wikimedia Commons file page/audio/voiced-retroflex-fricative.oggno
çVoiceless palatal fricative.oggUnknown Wikimedia Commons contributorCC BY-SA 3.0/audio/voiceless-palatal-fricative.oggno
ʝVoiced palatal fricative.oggUnknown Wikimedia Commons contributorCC BY-SA 3.0/audio/voiced-palatal-fricative.oggno
xVoiceless velar fricative.oggUnknown Wikimedia Commons contributorCC BY-SA 3.0/audio/voiceless-velar-fricative.oggno
ɣVoiced velar fricative.oggUnknown Wikimedia Commons contributorCC BY-SA 3.0/audio/voiced-velar-fricative.oggno
χVoiceless uvular fricative.oggUnknown Wikimedia Commons contributorCC BY-SA 3.0/audio/voiceless-uvular-fricative.oggno
ʁVoiced uvular fricative.oggUnknown Wikimedia Commons contributorCC BY-SA 3.0/audio/voiced-uvular-fricative.oggno
ħVoiceless pharyngeal fricative.oggUnknown Wikimedia Commons contributorCC BY-SA 3.0/audio/voiceless-pharyngeal-fricative.oggno
ʕVoiced pharyngeal fricative.oggPeter IsotaloCC BY-SA 3.0/audio/voiced-pharyngeal-fricative.oggno
hVoiceless glottal fricative.oggUnknown Wikimedia Commons contributorCC BY-SA 3.0/audio/voiceless-glottal-fricative.oggno
ɦVoiced glottal fricative.oggKarmosinCC BY-SA 3.0/audio/voiced-glottal-fricative.oggno
ɬVoiceless alveolar lateral fricative.oggRecorded by tFighterPilotCC BY-SA 3.0/audio/voiceless-alveolar-lateral-fricative.oggno
ɮVoiced alveolar lateral fricative.oggAdamsa123CC BY-SA 3.0/audio/voiced-alveolar-lateral-fricative.oggno
ʋLabiodental approximant.oggUnknown Wikimedia Commons contributorCC BY-SA 3.0/audio/labiodental-approximant.oggno
ɹAlveolar approximant.oggErutuonCC BY-SA 3.0/audio/alveolar-approximant.oggno
ɻRetroflex approximant.oggKarmosinCC BY-SA 3.0/audio/retroflex-approximant.oggno
jPalatal approximant.oggUnknown Wikimedia Commons contributorCC BY-SA 3.0/audio/palatal-approximant.oggno
ɰVoiced velar approximant.oggUnknown Wikimedia Commons contributorCC BY-SA 3.0/audio/voiced-velar-approximant.oggno
lAlveolar lateral approximant.oggUnknown Wikimedia Commons contributorCC BY-SA 3.0/audio/alveolar-lateral-approximant.oggno
ɭRetroflex lateral approximant.oggUnknown Wikimedia Commons contributorCC BY-SA 3.0/audio/retroflex-lateral-approximant.oggno
ʎPalatal lateral approximant.oggUnknown Wikimedia Commons contributorCC BY-SA 3.0/audio/palatal-lateral-approximant.oggno
ʟVelar lateral approximant.oggUnknown Wikimedia Commons contributorCC BY-SA 3.0/audio/velar-lateral-approximant.oggno
ʘBilabial click.oggUnknown Wikimedia Commons contributorCC BY-SA 3.0/audio/bilabial-click.oggno
ǀDental click.oggUnknown Wikimedia Commons contributorCC BY-SA 3.0/audio/dental-click.oggno
ǃPostalveolar click.oggUnknown Wikimedia Commons contributorCC BY-SA 3.0/audio/postalveolar-click.oggno
ǂPalatoalveolar click.oggUnknown Wikimedia Commons contributorCC BY-SA 3.0/audio/palatoalveolar-click.oggno
ǁAlveolar lateral click.oggUnknown Wikimedia Commons contributorCC BY-SA 3.0/audio/alveolar-lateral-click.oggno
ɓVoiced bilabial implosive.oggPeter IsotaloCC BY-SA 3.0/audio/voiced-bilabial-implosive.oggno
ɗVoiced alveolar implosive.oggPeter IsotaloCC BY-SA 3.0/audio/voiced-alveolar-implosive.oggno
ʄVoiced palatal implosive.oggUnknown Wikimedia Commons contributorCC BY-SA 3.0/audio/voiced-palatal-implosive.oggno
ɠVoiced velar implosive.oggUnknown Wikimedia Commons contributorCC BY-SA 3.0/audio/voiced-velar-implosive.oggno
ʛVoiced uvular implosive.oggUnknown Wikimedia Commons contributorCC BY-SA 3.0/audio/voiced-uvular-implosive.oggno
Bilabial ejective plosive.oggUnknown Wikimedia Commons contributorCC BY-SA 3.0/audio/bilabial-ejective-plosive.oggno
Alveolar ejective plosive.oggUnknown Wikimedia Commons contributorCC BY-SA 3.0/audio/alveolar-ejective-plosive.oggno
ʈʼRetroflex ejective plosive.oggUnknown Wikimedia Commons contributorCC BY-SA 3.0/audio/retroflex-ejective-plosive.oggno
Velar ejective plosive.oggUnknown Wikimedia Commons contributorCC BY-SA 3.0/audio/velar-ejective-plosive.oggno
Uvular ejective plosive.oggUnknown Wikimedia Commons contributorCC BY-SA 3.0/audio/uvular-ejective-plosive.oggno
Alveolar ejective fricative.oggUnknown Wikimedia Commons contributorCC BY-SA 3.0/audio/alveolar-ejective-fricative.oggno
ʍVoiceless labio-velar fricative.oggUnknown Wikimedia Commons contributorCC BY-SA 3.0/audio/voiceless-labio-velar-fricative.oggno
wVoiced labio-velar approximant.oggUnknown Wikimedia Commons contributorCC BY-SA 3.0/audio/voiced-labio-velar-approximant.oggno
ɥLabial-palatal approximant.oggRecorded by the creator listed on the linked Wikimedia Commons file pageSee individual Wikimedia Commons file page/audio/labial-palatal-approximant.oggno
ɫVelarized alveolar lateral approximant.oggUnknown Wikimedia Commons contributorCC BY-SA 3.0/audio/velarized-alveolar-lateral-approximant.oggno
ʜVoiceless epiglottal fricative.oggRecorded by the creator listed on the linked Wikimedia Commons file pageSee individual Wikimedia Commons file page/audio/voiceless-epiglottal-fricative.oggno
ʢVoiced epiglottal fricative.oggRecorded by the creator listed on the linked Wikimedia Commons file pageSee individual Wikimedia Commons file page/audio/voiced-epiglottal-fricative.oggno
ʡVoiceless epiglottal plosive.oggRecorded by the creator listed on the linked Wikimedia Commons file pageSee individual Wikimedia Commons file page/audio/voiceless-epiglottal-plosive.oggno
ɕVoiceless alveolo-palatal fricative.oggRecorded by the creator listed on the linked Wikimedia Commons file pageSee individual Wikimedia Commons file page/audio/voiceless-alveolo-palatal-fricative.oggno
ʑVoiced alveolo-palatal fricative.oggRecorded by the creator listed on the linked Wikimedia Commons file pageSee individual Wikimedia Commons file page/audio/voiced-alveolo-palatal-fricative.oggno
ɺAlveolar lateral flap.oggRecorded by the creator listed on the linked Wikimedia Commons file pageSee individual Wikimedia Commons file page/audio/alveolar-lateral-flap.oggno
ɧVoiceless dorso-palatal velar fricative.oggPeter IsotaloCC BY-SA 3.0/audio/voiceless-dorso-palatal-velar-fricative.oggno
t͡sVoiceless alveolar affricate.oggRecorded by the creator listed on the linked Wikimedia Commons file pageSee individual Wikimedia Commons file page/audio/voiceless-alveolar-affricate.oggno
t͡ʃVoiceless palato-alveolar affricate.oggPeter IsotaloCC BY-SA 3.0/audio/voiceless-palato-alveolar-affricate.oggno
t͡ɕVoiceless alveolo-palatal affricate.oggHalibuttCC BY-SA 3.0/audio/voiceless-alveolo-palatal-affricate.oggno
ʈ͡ʂVoiceless retroflex affricate.oggHalibuttCC BY-SA 3.0/audio/voiceless-retroflex-affricate.oggno
d͡zVoiced alveolar affricate.oggRecorded by the creator listed on the linked Wikimedia Commons file pageSee individual Wikimedia Commons file page/audio/voiced-alveolar-affricate.oggno
d͡ʒVoiced postalveolar affricate.oggRecorded by the creator listed on the linked Wikimedia Commons file pageSee individual Wikimedia Commons file page/audio/voiced-postalveolar-affricate.oggno
d͡ʑVoiced alveolo-palatal affricate.oggHalibuttCC BY-SA 3.0/audio/voiced-alveolo-palatal-affricate.oggno
ɖ͡ʐVoiced retroflex affricate.oggHalibuttCC BY-SA 3.0/audio/voiced-retroflex-affricate.oggno
vowel trapezoidBlank vowel trapezoid.svgWikimedia Commons contributorsPublic domaininline SVG geometryno