ජාත්‍යන්තර ධ්වනි අකාරාදිය

සැකිල්ල:IPAhelp

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Below is a basic key to the symbols of the International Phonetic Alphabet. For the smaller set of symbols that is sufficient for English, see Help:IPA for English. Several rare IPA symbols are not included; these are found on the main IPA article. For the Manual of Style guideline for pronunciation, see Wikipedia:Manual of Style (pronunciation).

For each IPA symbol, an English example is given where possible; here "RP" stands for Received Pronunciation. The foreign languages that are used to illustrate additional sounds are primarily the ones most likely to be familiar to English speakers, French, German, and Spanish. For symbols not covered by those, recourse is taken to the populous languages Mandarin Chinese, Hindustani, Arabic, and Russian. For sounds still not covered, other smaller but well-known languages are used, such as Swahili, Turkish, and Zulu.

The left-hand column displays the symbols like this: සැකිල්ල:Audio-pipe. Click on the speaker icon to hear the sound; click on the symbol itself for a dedicated article with a more complete description and examples from multiple languages. All the sounds are spoken more than once, and the consonant sounds are spoken once followed by a vowel and once between vowels.

Main symbols

The symbols are arranged by similarity to letters of the Latin alphabet. Symbols which do not resemble any letter are placed at the end.

Symbol	Examples	Description
^ top A
සැකිල්ල:Audio-pipe	Spanish casa, French patte, German Mann	For many English speakers, the first part of the ow sound in cow. Found in some dialects of English in cat or father.
සැකිල්ල:Audio-pipe	German Aachen, French gare	Long [a].
[ ɐ ]	RP cut, German Kaiserslautern	(With English, [ɐ] is normally written "[ʌ]".)
සැකිල්ල:Audio-pipe	Finnish Linna, Dutch bad
සැකිල්ල:Audio-pipe	RP father, French pâte	Long [ɑ].
[ ɑ̃ ]	French Caen, sans, temps	Nasalized [ɑ].
සැකිල්ල:Audio-pipe	RP cot	Like [ɑ], but with the lips slightly rounded.
සැකිල්ල:Audio-pipe		Like [ɔ], but without the lips being rounded. (When "[ʌ]" is used for English, it may really be [ɐ] or [ɜ].)
සැකිල්ල:Audio-pipe	RP cat
^ top B
සැකිල්ල:Audio-pipe	English babble
සැකිල්ල:Audio-pipe	Swahili bwana	Like a [b] said with a gulp.
සැකිල්ල:Audio-pipe		Like the brrr sound made when cold.
සැකිල්ල:Audio-pipe	Spanish la Bamba	Like [b], but with the lips not quite touching.
^ top C
සැකිල්ල:Audio-pipe	Turkish kebap "kebab", Czech stín "shadow"	Between English tune (RP) and cute. Sometimes used instead for [tʃ] in languages like Hindi.
සැකිල්ල:Audio-pipe	German Ich	More y-like than [x]. Some English speakers have a similar sound in huge. To produce this sound, try whispering loudly the word "ye" as in "Hear ye!".
සැකිල්ල:Audio-pipe	Mandarin Xi'an, Polish ściana	More y-like than [ʃ]; something like English she.
සැකිල්ල:Audio-pipe	see under O
^ top D
සැකිල්ල:Audio-pipe	English did
සැකිල්ල:Audio-pipe	Swahili Dodoma	Like [d] said with a gulp.
සැකිල්ල:Audio-pipe	American English harder	Like [d] with the tongue curled or pulled back.
සැකිල්ල:Audio-pipe	English the, bathe
සැකිල්ල:Audio-pipe	English adze, Italian zero
සැකිල්ල:Audio-pipe	English judge
[ dʑ ]	Polish niedźwiedź "bear"	Like [dʒ], but with more of a y-sound.
[ dʐ ]	Polish dżem "jam"	Like [dʒ] with the tongue curled or pulled back.
^ top E
සැකිල්ල:Audio-pipe	Spanish fe; French clé
සැකිල්ල:Audio-pipe	German Klee	Long [e]. Similar to English hey, before the y sets in.
සැකිල්ල:Audio-pipe	English above, Hindi ठग [ʈʰəɡ] (thug) "thief"	(Only occurs in English when not stressed.)
[ ɚ ]	American English runner
සැකිල්ල:Audio-pipe	English bet
[ ɛ̃ ]	French Agen, vin, main	Nasalized [ɛ].
සැකිල්ල:Audio-pipe	RP bird (long)
[ ɝ ]	American English bird
^ top F
සැකිල්ල:Audio-pipe	English fun
සැකිල්ල:Audio-pipe	see under J
සැකිල්ල:Audio-pipe	see under J
^ top G
සැකිල්ල:Audio-pipe	English gig	(no different from the symbol "g")
සැකිල්ල:Audio-pipe	Swahili Uganda	Like [ɡ] said with a gulp.
සැකිල්ල:Audio-pipe		Like [ɡ], but further back, in the throat. Found in some Arabic dialects for /q/, as in Gaddafi.
සැකිල්ල:Audio-pipe	see under Z	English beige.
^ top H
සැකිල්ල:Audio-pipe	American English house
සැකිල්ල:Audio-pipe	English ahead, when said quickly.
[ ʰ ]		The extra puff of air in English top [tʰɒp] compared to stop [stɒp], or to French or Spanish [t].
සැකිල්ල:Audio-pipe	Arabic محمد Muhammad	Far down in the throat, like [h], but stronger.
සැකිල්ල:Audio-pipe	see under U
[ ɮ ]	see under L
^ top I
සැකිල්ල:Audio-pipe	French ville, Spanish Valladolid
සැකිල්ල:Audio-pipe	English sea	Long [i].
සැකිල්ල:Audio-pipe	English sit
සැකිල්ල:Audio-pipe	Russian ты "you"	Often used for unstressed English roses.
^ top J
සැකිල්ල:Audio-pipe	English yes, German Junge
[ ʲ ]	Russian Ленин [lʲeˈnʲɪn]	Indicates a sound is more y-like.
සැකිල්ල:Audio-pipe	Spanish cayo (some dialects)	Like [j], but stronger.
සැකිල්ල:Audio-pipe	Turkish gör "see", Czech díra "hole"	Between English dew (RP) and argue. Sometimes used instead for [dʒ] in languages like Hindi.
සැකිල්ල:Audio-pipe	Swahili jambo	Like [ɟ] said with a gulp.
^ top K
සැකිල්ල:Audio-pipe	English kick, skip
^ top L
සැකිල්ල:Audio-pipe	English leaf
සැකිල්ල:Audio-pipe	English wool Russian малый [ˈmɑɫɨj] "small"	"Dark" el.
සැකිල්ල:Audio-pipe	Welsh llwyd [ɬʊɪd] "grey" Zulu hlala [ɬaːla] "sit"	Rather like [l] and [ʃ] or [l] and [θ] said together. Found in Welsh names like Lloyd and Llywelyn and Nelson Mandela's Xhosa name Rolihlahla.
සැකිල්ල:Audio-pipe		Like [l] with the tongue curled or pulled back.
සැකිල්ල:Audio-pipe		A flapped [l], like [l] and [ɾ] said together.
සැකිල්ල:Audio-pipe	Zulu dla "eat"	Rather like [l] and [ʒ], or [l] and [ð], said together.
^ top M
සැකිල්ල:Audio-pipe	English mime
සැකිල්ල:Audio-pipe	English symphony	Like [m], but lips touch teeth as they do in [f].
[ ɯ ]	see under W
සැකිල්ල:Audio-pipe	see under W
^ top N
සැකිල්ල:Audio-pipe	English nun
සැකිල්ල:Audio-pipe	English sing
සැකිල්ල:Audio-pipe	Spanish Peña, French champagne	Rather like English canyon.
සැකිල්ල:Audio-pipe	Hindi वरुण [ʋəruɳ] "Varuna"	Like [n] with the tongue curled or pulled back.
සැකිල්ල:Audio-pipe	Castilian Spanish Don Juan [doɴˈχwan]	Like [ŋ], but further back, in the throat.
^ top O
සැකිල්ල:Audio-pipe	Spanish no, French eau
සැකිල්ල:Audio-pipe	German Boden, French Vosges	Long [o]. Somewhat reminiscent of English no.
සැකිල්ල:Audio-pipe	German Oldenburg, French Garonne
සැකිල්ල:Audio-pipe	RP law, French Limoges	Long [ɔ].
[ ɔ̃ ]	French Lyon, son	Nasalized [ɔ].
සැකිල්ල:Audio-pipe	French feu, bœufs	Like [e], but with the lips rounded like [o].
සැකිල්ල:Audio-pipe	German Goethe, French Deûle, neutre	Long [ø].
සැකිල්ල:Audio-pipe	Swedish dum	Halfway between [o] and [ø]. Similar to [ʊ] but with the tongue slightly more down and front.
සැකිල්ල:Audio-pipe	French bœuf, seul, German Göttingen	Like [ɛ], but with the lips rounded like [ɔ].
සැකිල්ල:Audio-pipe	French œuvre, heure	Long [œ].
[ œ̃ ]	French brun, parfum	Nasalized [œ].
සැකිල්ල:Audio-pipe	English thigh, bath
සැකිල්ල:Audio-pipe	Japanese 富士 [ɸɯdʑi] Fuji	Like [p], but with the lips not quite touching
^ top P
සැකිල්ල:Audio-pipe	English pip, spit
^ top Q
සැකිල්ල:Audio-pipe	Arabic Qur’ān	Like [k], but further back, in the throat.
^ top R
සැකිල්ල:Audio-pipe	Spanish perro, Scots borrow	"Rolled R". (Generally used for English [ɹ] when there's no need to be precise.)
සැකිල්ල:Audio-pipe	Spanish pero, American English kitty/kiddie	"Flapped R".
සැකිල්ල:Audio-pipe		A trill in the back of the throat. Found for /r/ in some conservative registers of French.
සැකිල්ල:Audio-pipe	Hindi साड़ी [sɑːɽiː] "sari"	Like flapped [ɾ], but with the tongue curled back.
සැකිල්ල:Audio-pipe	RP borrow
සැකිල්ල:Audio-pipe	American English borrow, butter	Like [ɹ], but with the tongue curled or pulled back, as pronounced by many English speakers.
සැකිල්ල:Audio-pipe	French Paris, German Riemann	Said back in the throat, but not trilled.
^ top S
සැකිල්ල:Audio-pipe	English sass
සැකිල්ල:Audio-pipe	English she
සැකිල්ල:Audio-pipe	Mandarin Shàolín, Russian Пушкин (Pushkin)	Acoustically similar to [ʃ], but with the tongue curled or pulled back.
^ top T
සැකිල්ල:Audio-pipe	English tot, stop
සැකිල්ල:Audio-pipe	Hindi ठग [ʈʰəɡ] (thug) "thief"	Like [t], but with the tongue curled or pulled back.
සැකිල්ල:Audio-pipe	English cats, Russian царь tsar
[ tʃ ]	English church
[ tɕ ]	Mandarin 北京 සැකිල්ල:Audio-pipe, Polish ciebie "you"	Like [tʃ], but with more of a y-sound.
[ tʂ ]	Mandarin zh, Polish cz	Like [tʃ] with the tongue curled or pulled back .
^ top U
සැකිල්ල:Audio-pipe	French vous "you"
සැකිල්ල:Audio-pipe	French Rocquencourt, German Schumacher, close to RP food	Long [u].
සැකිල්ල:Audio-pipe	English foot, German Bundesrepublik
සැකිල්ල:Audio-pipe	Australian English food (long)	Like [ɨ], but with the lips rounded as for [u].
සැකිල්ල:Audio-pipe	French lui	Like [j] and [w] said together.
සැකිල්ල:Audio-pipe	see under W
^ top V
සැකිල්ල:Audio-pipe	English verve
සැකිල්ල:Audio-pipe	Hindi वरुण [ʋəruɳə] "Varuna"	Between [v] and [w]. Used by some Germans and Russians for v/w, and by some speakers of British English for r.
සැකිල්ල:Audio-pipe	Arabic / Swahili ghali "expensive"	Sounds rather like French [ʁ].
සැකිල්ල:Audio-pipe	Mandarin Hénán	Like [o] but without the lips rounded, something like a cross of [ʊ] and [ʌ].
[ ʌ ]	see under A
^ top W
සැකිල්ල:Audio-pipe	English wow
[ ʷ ]	English rain [ɹʷeɪn]	Indicates a sound has lip rounding, quick.
සැකිල්ල:Audio-pipe	what (some dialects)	like [h] and [w] said together
සැකිල්ල:Audio-pipe	Turkish kayık "caïque"	Like [u], but with the lips flat; something like [ʊ].
සැකිල්ල:Audio-pipe	Spanish agua
^ top X
සැකිල්ල:Audio-pipe	Scottish English loch, German Bach, Russian хороший [xɐˈroʂɨj] "good"
සැකිල්ල:Audio-pipe	Dutch Scheveningen, Castilian Spanish Don Juan [doɴˈχwan]	Like [x], but further back , in the throat. Some German and Arabic speakers have [χ] for [x].
^ top Y
සැකිල්ල:Audio-pipe	French rue	Like [i], but with the lips rounded as for [u].
සැකිල්ල:Audio-pipe	German Bülow, French sûr	Long [y].
සැකිල්ල:Audio-pipe	German Eisenhüttenstadt	Like [ɪ], but with the lips rounded as for [ʊ].
සැකිල්ල:Audio-pipe	Spanish llama (Castilian)	More y-like than [l]. Rather like English million.
සැකිල්ල:Audio-pipe	see under U
සැකිල්ල:Audio-pipe	see under V
[ ɣ ]	see under V
^ top Z
සැකිල්ල:Audio-pipe	English zoos
සැකිල්ල:Audio-pipe	English vision, French journal
සැකිල්ල:Audio-pipe	formal Russian жжёшь [ʑːoʂ] "you burn", Polish źle	More y-like than [ʒ], something like beigey.
සැකිල්ල:Audio-pipe	Mandarin 人民日报 Rénmín Rìbào "People's Daily", Russian журнал "journal"	Like [ʒ] with the tongue curled or pulled back .
[ ɮ ]	see under L
^ top other
සැකිල්ල:Audio-pipe	English uh-oh, Hawai‘i, German die Angst	The 'glottal stop', a catch in the breath. For some people, found in button [ˈbʌʔn̩], or between vowels across words: Deus ex machina [ˌdeɪəsˌʔɛksˈmɑːkɨnə]; in some nonstandard dialects, in a apple [ʌˈʔæpl̩].
සැකිල්ල:Audio-pipe	Arabic عربي (carabī) "Arabic"	A light sound deep in the throat.
සැකිල්ල:Audio-pipe	English tsk-tsk! or tut-tut!, Zulu icici "earring"	(The English click used for disapproval.) Several distinct sounds, written as digraphs, including [ kǀ ], [ ɡǀ ], [ ŋǀ ]. The Zimbabwean MP Ncube has this click in his name, as did Cetshwayo.
සැකිල්ල:Audio-pipe	English tchick! tchick!, Zulu ixoxo "frog"	(The English click used to urge on a horse.) Several distinct sounds, written as digraphs, including [ kǁ ], [ ɡǁ ], [ ŋǁ ]. Found in the name of the Xhosa.
සැකිල්ල:Audio-pipe	Zulu iqaqa "polecat"	A hollow popping sound, like a cork pulled from a bottle. Several distinct sounds, written as digraphs, including [ kǃ ], [ ɡǃ ], [ ŋǃ ].

• ^1 ^2 These symbols are officially written with a tie linking them (e.g. t͡ʃ), and are also sometimes written as single characters (e.g. ʧ) though the latter convention is no longer official. They are written without ligatures here to ensure correct display in all browsers.

Diacritic marks

All diacritics are here shown on a carrier letter such as the vowel a.

Symbol	Example	Description
[ ˈa ]	pronunciation [pʰɹɜʊ̯ˌnɐnsiˈeɪʃn̩]	Main stress. The mark denotes the stress of the following syllable.
[ ˌa ]		Weaker stress. The mark denotes the stress of the following syllable.
[ aː ]	English shh! [ʃː]	Long. Often used with English vowels or diphthongs: Mayo /ˈmeːoː/ for [ˈmeɪ̯ɜʊ̯], etc.
[ aˑ ]	RP caught [ˈkʰɔˑt]	Semi-long. (Although the vowel is different, this is also longer than cot [ˈkʰɒt].)
[ a̯ ]	English cow [kʰaʊ̯], koi [kʰɔɪ̯]	This vowel runs into the vowel next to it. (In English, the diacritic is generally left off: [kaʊ].)
[ ã ]	French vin blanc [vɛ̃blɑ̃] "white wine"	A nasal vowel, as with a Texas twang.
[ n̥ ]		Sounds like a loud whisper; [n̥] is like a whispered breath through the nose. [l̥] is found in Tibetan Lhasa.
[ n̩ ]	English button	A consonant without a vowel. (English [n̩] is often transcribed /ən/.)
[ d̪ ]	Spanish dos, French deux	The tongue touches the teeth more than it does in English.
[ kʰ ]	English come	Aspirated consonant, pronounced with a puff of air. Similarly [tʰ pʰ tsʰ tʃʰ tɕʰ].
[ k’ ]	Zulu ukuza "come"	Like a popped [k], pushed from the throat. Similarly [t’ p’ q’ tʃ’ ts’ tɬ’].
[ á ]	Mandarin 妈妈 [mámā] "mother"	High tone.	Careful! The Pinyin Romanization used for Mandarin has these same diacritics, but with different values. However, Thai Romanization uses them the way the IPA does.
[ ā ]	Mandarin 妈妈 [mámā] "mother"	Mid tone.
[ à ]	Mandarin 马的 [màdɤ] "horse's"	Low tone.
[ â ]	Mandarin 骂 [mâ] "scold"	Falling tone.
[ ǎ ]	Mandarin 麻 [mǎ] "hemp"	Rising tone.
[ . ]	English London [ˌlɐn.dən]	Syllable break. (this is often redundant and therefore left off)

Brackets

Two types of brackets are commonly used to enclose transcriptions in the IPA:

• [Square brackets] indicate the phonetic details of the pronunciation, regardless of whether they are actually meaningful to a native speaker. This is what a foreigner who does not know the structure of a language might hear. For instance, the English word lulls is pronounced [ˈlɐɫz], with different el sounds at the beginning and end. This may be obvious to speakers of other languages, though a native English speaker might not believe it. Likewise, Spanish la bomba has two different b sounds to foreign ears, [laˈβomba], though a Spaniard might not be able to hear it. Omitting such detail does not make any difference to the identity of the word.
• /Slashes/ indicate meaningful sounds called phonemes. Changing the symbols between slashes would either change the identity of the word or produce nonsense. Since there is no meaningful difference between the two el sounds in the word lulls, they need to be transcribed with the same symbol: /ˈlʌlz/. Similarly, Spanish la bomba is transcribed phonemically with a single b sound, /laˈbomba/. Thus a reader who is not familiar with the language in question might not know how to interpret these transcriptions.

A third kind of bracket is occasionally seen:

• Either //double slashes// or |pipes| (or occasionally other conventions) show that the enclosed sounds are theoretical constructs that aren't actually heard. (This is part of morphophonology.) For instance, most phonologists argue that that the -s at the ends of verbs, which surfaces as either /s/ in talks /tɔːks/ or as /z/ in lulls /lʌlz/, has a single underlying form. If they decide this form is an s, they would write it //s// (or |s|) to claim that phonemic /tɔːks/ and /lʌlz/ are essentially //tɔːks// and //lʌls// underneath. If they were to decide it was essentially the latter, //z//, they would transcribe these words //tɔːkz// and //lʌlz//.

Lastly,

• <Angle brackets> may be used to represent the original orthography: <lulls>, <la bomba>.

Outside links

IPA pronunciation chart: http://web.uvic.ca/ling/resources/ipa/charts/IPAlab/IPAlab.htm