Phonemic Chart With Sounds

Learn all of the vowel and consonant sounds in British English (received pronunciation)
with this free, interactive phonemic chart.
Click on any sound to hear the pronunciation.


Monophthongs
/iːsleep
/ɪbit
/ʊgood
/uːfood
/ebed
/əago
/ɜːbird
/ɔːdoor
/æcat
/ʌcup
/ɑːcar
/ɒpot
Diphthongs
/ɪəear
/eəhair
/ʊətour
/eɪsay
/aɪmy
/ɔɪboy
/aʊnow
/əʊgo
Consonants
/ppen
/bbad
/ttea
/dday
/tʃchurch
/dʒjudge
/kcat
/ggo
/ffour
/vvoice
/θthink
/ðthis
/ssee
/zzoo
/ʃshe
/ʒvision
/hhello
/mman
/nno
/ŋsing
/llight
/rred
/jyes
/wwe

What is the IPA?

The International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) is a system of symbols that represent the sounds of spoken language.
It is used by linguists, teachers, and learners of English around the world to understand and pronounce words accurately.
Each symbol in the IPA corresponds to a specific sound, not a letter. For example, the letter “c” in “cat” and “cello”
is pronounced differently, but in the IPA, they are written as /k/ and /ʧ/.

Monophthongs

These are the basic vowel sounds, such as:
/iː/ as in seat
/ɪ/ as in sit
/æ/ as in cat
/ʌ/ as in cup
/ɑː/ as in car

Diphthongs

These are vowel sounds that start in one position and move to another:
/eɪ/ as in day
/aɪ/ as in my
/əʊ/ as in go
/ɔɪ/ as in boy

Consonants

These include sounds like:
/p/ as in pen
/tʃ/ as in chair
/ʃ/ as in she
/ŋ/ as in sing

Final Thought

Mastering the IPA takes time, but it can truly transform your pronunciation and
confidence in English. Whether you're a beginner or an advanced learner, the chart
is a tool you can return to again and again.