English IPA chart

IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is the set of symbols every dictionary uses to show pronunciation. English has 44 sounds: 20 vowels and 24 consonants. The chart below follows British English as in the Oxford and Cambridge dictionaries. Click an example word to listen. The mark ˈ comes before the stressed syllable; ː means the sound is long.

Short monophthongs 7 sounds

/ɪ/ short i, crisp, mouth slightly open sit /sɪt/ big /bɪɡ/ ship /ʃɪp/

/e/ e (like "e" in Vietnamese "em") bed /bed/ red /red/ pen /pen/

/æ/ between a and e, mouth wide open cat /kæt/ bad /bæd/ apple /ˈæpl/

/ʌ/ â (like a short "ă/â") cup /kʌp/ bus /bʌs/ love /lʌv/

/ʊ/ short u, lips slightly rounded book /bʊk/ good /ɡʊd/ put /pʊt/

/ɒ/ short o, rounded mouth (British English) hot /hɒt/ dog /dɒɡ/ stop /stɒp/

/ə/ light unstressed ơ (schwa) about /əˈbaʊt/ teacher /ˈtiːtʃə(r)/ banana /bəˈnɑːnə/

Long monophthongs 5 sounds

/iː/ long i, lips spread see /siː/ tree /triː/ eat /iːt/

/ɑː/ long a, mouth wide open car /kɑː(r)/ father /ˈfɑːðə(r)/ start /stɑːt/

/ɔː/ long o, rounded lips door /dɔː(r)/ four /fɔː(r)/ walk /wɔːk/

/uː/ long u, lips pushed forward blue /bluː/ food /fuːd/ school /skuːl/

/ɜː/ long ơ bird /bɜːd/ work /wɜːk/ learn /lɜːn/

Diphthongs 8 sounds

/eɪ/ ây day /deɪ/ name /neɪm/ rain /reɪn/

/aɪ/ ai my ˈmɑɪ time /taɪm/ night /naɪt/

/ɔɪ/ oi boy /bɔɪ/ toy /tɔɪ/ voice /vɔɪs/

/aʊ/ ao now /naʊ/ house /haʊs/ cow /kaʊ/

/əʊ/ âu (British English), ô-u go /ɡəʊ/ home /həʊm/ phone /ˈfoʊn/

/ɪə/ ia ear /ɪə(r)/ here /hɪə(r)/ near /niːr/

/eə/ e-ơ hair /heə(r)/ where /weə(r)/ care /keə(r)/

/ʊə/ u-ơ tour /tʊə(r)/ pure /pjʊə(r)/ cure /kjʊə(r)/

Consonants (voiceless – voiced pairs) 16 sounds

/p/ aspirated p pen /pen/ happy /ˈhæpi/ stop /stɒp/

/b/ b bad /bæd/ baby /ˈbeɪbi/ job /dʒəʊb/

/t/ aspirated t (unlike Vietnamese "t") tea /tiː/ water /ˈwɔːtə(r)/ cat /kæt/

/d/ light đ, tongue touching the upper gum ridge dog /dɒɡ/ idea /aɪˈdɪə/ bed /bed/

/k/ light aspirated kh key /kiː/ school /skuːl/ book /bʊk/

/ɡ/ g go /ɡəʊ/ bigger /ˈbɪɡə/ dog /dɒɡ/

/f/ ph five /faɪv/ coffee /ˈkɒfi/ leaf /liːf/

/v/ v, upper teeth touching lower lip very /ˈveri/ seven /ˈsevn/ love /lʌv/

/θ/ tongue between teeth, blow air (not "th") think /θɪŋk/ birthday /ˈbɜːθdeɪ/ math /mæθ/

/ð/ tongue between teeth, voiced this /ðɪs/ mother /ˈmʌðə(r)/ with /wɪð/

/s/ x sun /sʌn/ class /klɑːs/ bus /bʌs/

/z/ z (voiced) zoo /zuː/ busy /ˈbɪzi/ nose /nəʊz/

/ʃ/ heavy s, rounded lips (like "sh") she /ʃi/ fish /fɪʃ/ nation /ˈneɪʃn/

/ʒ/ light voiced gi vision /ˈvɪʒn/ television /ˈtɛlɪˌvɪʒən/ usually /ˈjuːʒ(ʊə)li/

/tʃ/ aspirated ch chair /tʃeə(r)/ teacher /ˈtiːtʃə(r)/ watch /wɒtʃ/

/dʒ/ strong gi (like "j") job /dʒəʊb/ age /eɪdʒ/ bridge /brɪdʒ/

Other consonants 8 sounds

/h/ h hat /hæt/ hello /həˈləʊ/ behind /bɪˈhaɪnd/

/m/ m man /mæn/ summer /ˈsʌmə(r)/ time /taɪm/

/n/ n no /nəʊ/ dinner /ˈdɪnə(r)/ sun /sʌn/

/ŋ/ ng sing /sɪŋ/ thinking /ˈθɪŋkɪŋ/ long /lɒŋ/

/l/ l (at word end: curled tongue, close to "âu") leg /leɡ/ hello /həˈləʊ/ feel /fiːl/

/r/ r, tongue curled without touching the palate red /red/ sorry /ˈsɒri/ very /ˈveri/

/w/ qu / oa, rounded lips we /wi/ window /ˈwɪndəʊ/ quick /ˈkwɪk/

/j/ i / Southern Vietnamese d (like "y") yes /jes/ you /ju/ yellow /ˈjeləʊ/

Common pronunciation mistakes of Vietnamese speakers

Dropped final sounds: like /laɪk/ ends with a /k/. Vietnamese speakers often say "lai".
/θ/ and /ð/ are not the Vietnamese "th": place your tongue between your teeth (think, this).
Final /s/ (plurals, third person) must be pronounced clearly: books /bʊks/.
Stress changes meaning: ˈrecord (noun) – reˈcord (verb).
Every English word page on Tanro Dictionary has an IPA transcription and a listen button.