How to Read IPA: A Beginner's Guide to Phonetic Symbols

You look up a word in the dictionary and next to it there's a line of strange symbols, like /bəˈnænə/. Most people skip right past it. That's a shame, because those symbols tell you exactly how to say the word, without any guessing. That line is written in IPA, the International Phonetic Alphabet. Once you know how to read IPA, you can look up any English word and say it correctly, even if you've never heard it. It sounds like a lot, but you only need a handful of symbols to get started. Let's go through them.

What is IPA, and why bother? Learn How to Read IPA.

IPA is a set of symbols where each symbol stands for one sound. It was developed in the late 1800s by language teachers who were tired of how messy spelling can be.

English spelling really is messy. Look at these four words:

• though /ðoʊ/
• through /θruː/
• tough /tʌf/
• cough /kɔːf/

They all end in "ough," but each one sounds different. Or take "read," which is /riːd/ in the present and /red/ in the past. The spelling can't tell you which is which. IPA can.

The idea is simple: one symbol, one sound, every time. That's why dictionaries, teachers and apps like ours use it.

The first thing to know: slashes and stress marks

Before the symbols, a few small marks that you'll see everywhere.

Slashes / /. IPA is usually written between two slashes, like /kæt/. They just tell you "this is a pronunciation, not a spelling." You don't say them.

The stress mark ˈ. A small vertical line before a syllable means that syllable is stressed. In /bəˈnænə/, the line comes right before the second syllable, so you say ba-NA-na. If you want a refresher, see our guide to word stress in English.

The lower mark ˌ. This one marks a weaker, secondary stress in longer words, like /ˌedʒuˈkeɪʃn/ ("education").

The length mark ː. Two dots after a vowel mean it's a longer sound. That's the difference between /ɪ/ in "ship" and /iː/ in "sheep."

That's all the punctuation you need.

Good news: many symbols are just letters you know

A lot of IPA symbols look exactly like the English letter that makes that sound. These ones are safe to read the way you'd expect:

p, b, t, d, k, g, f, v, s, z, m, n, l, h, w

So /pen/ is "pen," /tæk/ is "tack," and /mæp/ is "map." You can already read a surprising amount.

A couple of notes. In IPA, "r" stands for the English R sound, so /red/ is "red." And "j" is the sound of the letter Y, not J. This catches nearly everyone out: /jes/ is "yes."

The new consonant symbols

Now the ones that don't look like English letters. There are only a few, and each one is a sound you already say.

The two TH symbols trip people up at first. θ has no voice, ð does. We explain how to make each one in our guide on how to pronounce th.

The vowel symbols

Vowels are where IPA earns its keep, because English spelling is so unreliable here. These are the ones you'll see most (American English):

And the sounds that glide from one vowel to another, called diphthongs:

The upside-down e, ə, is the schwa. It's the most common vowel sound in English, and we have a full post on it: the schwa sound.

A heads-up: British dictionaries use a few different symbols, such as /ɒ/ in "hot" and /əʊ/ in "go." Don't let that scare you. It just reflects the accent, which we explain in American vs British pronunciation.

Let's read some words together

The best way to learn is to try it. Take it one symbol at a time, left to right.

knife /naɪf/
n + aɪ + f. So it's "nife." The K isn't in the IPA at all, because it's silent. That's the whole point of IPA: it only shows sounds that are really said.

photograph /ˈfoʊtəɡræf/
The line comes before the first syllable, so stress "PHO." Then: f + oʊ + t + ə + ɡ + r + æ + f. Notice that "ph" is just /f/, and the third syllable "to" shrinks to a schwa.

comfortable /ˈkʌmftərbl/
Stress on "KUMF." Then f, t, ə, r, b, l. There are only three syllables here, even though the spelling suggests four. The IPA shows you the truth.

Wednesday /ˈwenzdeɪ/
w + e + n + z + d + eɪ. No "d" in the middle sound, and no "nes" syllable. If you've ever said "Wed-nes-day," now you know why it sounds different.

Try a few more yourself. Pick any word from our post on commonly mispronounced words, look at the IPA, and sound it out symbol by symbol.

Mistakes beginners make

A few common ones:

• Reading "j" as the English J. In IPA, /j/ is the Y sound and /dʒ/ is the J sound.
• Mixing up /ɪ/ and /iː/. One is short, one is long. "Ship" and "sheep" are the classic pair, and our minimal pairs in English post has more.
• Mixing up /e/ and /eɪ/. "Bed" is /bed/, and "bay" is /beɪ/.
• Treating the slashes as part of the word. They're just brackets.
• Trying to learn all the symbols in one go. You don't need to.

How many symbols do you actually need?

English has around 44 sounds, depending on the accent and who's counting. But about half of the symbols are letters you already know, so you only have to learn roughly twenty new ones.

A realistic plan is five new symbols a day for four days. By the end of the week, you'll be reading most dictionary entries with no trouble.

A 10-minute way to learn

1. Start with the new consonants. Learn ʃ, θ, ð, ŋ and tʃ first. Say each one out loud with an example word.
2. Add vowels slowly. Do iː and ɪ, then e and æ, then ʌ and ə.
3. Use the tool. Type a word into the pronunciation tool, click it to see the IPA, and listen to the audio while you read each symbol.
4. Read a dictionary entry every day. Pick a new word, look at its IPA in Cambridge Dictionary, and say it aloud.
5. Write your own name in IPA. It's a fun test, and it sticks.

If you want to see the complete chart, the International Phonetic Association publishes the official one. It covers every language, so it looks huge, but you only need the English part.

Questions people ask

What does IPA stand for?

International Phonetic Alphabet. It's a system of symbols for writing down the sounds of speech.

Do I really need to learn IPA?

No, you can speak English well without it. But it's a very handy shortcut. It lets you check any word's pronunciation on your own, without waiting to hear someone say it.

Is IPA the same in American and British English?

The system is the same, but the symbols for some vowels differ because the accents are different. Dictionaries usually show both.

Which dictionaries use IPA?

Cambridge Dictionary and Oxford Learner's Dictionaries both show it. Some dictionaries, such as Merriam-Webster, use their own respelling system for pronunciation, so check which one you're looking at.

How long does it take to learn IPA?

Most learners get comfortable with the basics in a week or two of short practice. Being fluent with every symbol takes longer, but you don't need that to benefit.

What's the difference between IPA and spelling?

Spelling shows how a word is written. IPA shows how it sounds. They often don't match in English.

Start with five symbols

Don't try to learn the whole chart tonight. Pick five symbols from the tables above, say each one out loud, and find two words for each. Tomorrow, add five more.

Give it a week and those strange symbols next to every dictionary word will start to look like plain English.