List of IPA characters

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This list of characters of the International Phonetic Alphabet ( IPA ) arranges the phonetic spelling characters according to their similarity to grapheme or the sound value of characters of the Latin alphabet .

All IPA marks are provided with a description and examples. In addition to German, the common school languages are preferred as example languages, i.e. above all English , French , Italian , Spanish and Russian .

The pronunciation variants given as examples do not claim to be standard language , supra-regional or even the only possible variant. The translations also only give one meaning of the mostly polysemous or homonymous words.

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Consonants and vowels

Greek letters (and characters derived from them) are listed next to the Latin letters with which they are usually represented.

Rotated characters are listed twice if their phonetic meaning deviates significantly from that of the unrotated letter. The actual description is next to the letter, for whose phonetic meaning they represent a sound variant. There is an additional cross-reference next to the letter from which or its Greek counterpart they were created.

To find a character from a phonetic transcription in an article in the list, you can search for the character here in the bar or copy it in the article and locate it in this list using the browser's search function.

A.

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IPA mark
(clickable)
According to Description for German speakers example Audio sample
(clickable)
a Unrounded open front tongue vowel the sound does not occur in German; the IPA symbol is often simplistic but for the unrounded open central vowel used which the German standard pronunciation of a is German comb [ a m ]
French avoir (to have) [ a ˈvwa: ʁ ]
Russian я (I) [ y a ]
ɐ Almost open central vowel dull somewhat light a , between a and ə ; one of the German pronunciations of the unstressed -er at the end of the word; in southern German frequent variety of a z. B. before nasals German better [ ˈbɛs ɐ ]
southern German comb [ ɐ m ]
port. para (for) [ ˈp ɐ ɾɐ ]
bulgar. дума (word) [ ˈdum ɐ ]
ɑ Unrounded open back vowel “Dark” a , articulated by actively expanding the back of the throat, pulling the larynx down a little engl. calm (calm) [ ɑ ːm ]
French âme (soul) [ ɑ m ]
Dutch bad (bath) [ b ɑ t ]
Persian دار (gallows) [ d ɑ ɾ ]
ɒ Rounded open back vowel rounded variant of the [ɑ] engl. flop (failure) [ fl ɒ p ] ( BE )
ungar. kalap (hat) [ k ɒ lɒp ]
æ Unrounded, almost open front tongue vowel open somewhat light a , between a and ä [ɛ] Switzerland. Floor (attic) [ æ ʃtrɪx ]
( some, not all dialects )
English. cat (cat) [ æ t ]
finn. pää (head; end) [ ˈp æː ]
Persian ابر (cloud) [ æ ]
ɑ̃ Unrounded open back nasal vowel Nasa enamelled a , as with all nasal vowels, the air flow from the larynx into the mouth by the approach of the soft palate to the base of the tongue is reduced, between ɑ / / and / ɔ / , in French loan words such Or at ge , Ch at son French chant (singing) [ ʃ ɑ̃ ]
ʌ Unrounded, half-open back vowel "Dark", ie with an enlarged posterior pharynx , slightly closed but unrounded a engl. butter (butter) [ b ʌ tʰə ] ( BE )
Russian молодой (young) [ məɫ ʌ ˈdoj ]

B.

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IPA mark
(clickable)
According to Description for German speakers example Audio sample
(clickable)
b Voiced bilabial plosive German b German Ball [ b al ]
Engl. bulb [ bʌl b ]
French abri (protection) [ b ʁi ]
ɓ Voiced bilabial implosive implosive b , with inward airflow; the required negative pressure is created by starting the articulation with the larynx closed . Hausa ɓara (Peel) [ ɓ aːɽàː ]
Sindhi ٻار (Child) [ ɓ arʊ ]
Shona Bapu (lung) [ ɓ apu ]
versus bhasi (Bus) [ b asi ]
ʙ Voiced bilabial vibrant similar to Brrr , which in German expresses discomfort or freezing Kélé (face) [ m ʙ ulim ]
Kom (believe) [ ʙ̥ ɨmɨ ]
β Voiced bilabial fricative similar to German w , but formed with both lips instead of incisors and lower lip span. labio (lip) [ ˈla β jo ]
Binongko awa (get) [ ˈa β a ]

C.

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IPA mark
(clickable)
According to Description for German speakers
and typical European spellings
example Audio sample
(clickable)
c Voiceless palatal plosive similar Low German tj in herring
czech. ť and t before ě / i
ung. ty, lett. ķ, iceland. kj
tschech. tělo (body) [ c ɛlo ]
ungar. kutya (dog) [ ku c ɒ ]
lett. Kemme (comb) [ c eme ]
isl. Reykjavík [ ˈreiː c aviːk ]
ç Voiceless palatal fricative German ch , if not after a , o , u or with -chen German I [ ʔɪ ç ]
neo- smell . όχι (no) [ ˈɔ ç i ]
ir. chiall (sense) [ ç ialˠ ]
ɕ Voiceless alveolopalatal fricative between german ch in me and german ß in white , russ. щ, сч Swed. kjol (Rock) [ ɕ UL ]
Pol. siedem (seven) [ ɕ ɛdɛm ]
Russ. счастье (happiness) [ ɕ ːæsʲtʲjə ]
Ch. xué (learn) [ ɕ ]
ɔ → see under O
ɔ̃ → see under O

D.

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IPA mark
(clickable)
According to Description for German speakers example Audio sample
(clickable)
d Voiced alveolar plosive German d German then [ d an ]
Engl. wand (magic wand) [ wɒn d ] ( BE )
French dans (in) [ d ɑ̃ ]
ɗ Voiced dental implosive implosives d , with inward airflow; the required negative pressure is created by starting the articulation with the larynx closed. Sindhi Festival [ ɗ ɪnu ]
Hausa ɗana (measure) [ ɗ ANA ]
Shona Dende (Krug) [ ɗ en ɗ e ]
versus dhesiki (panel) [ d esiki ]
ɖ Voiced retroflex plosive d with the tongue bent back behind the alveoli swed. bord (table) [ buː ɖ ]
Hindi डाल (branch) [ ɖ ɑl ]
Sindhi fear [ ɖ əpʊ ]
ð Voiced dental fricative voiced th sound (lispell sound) engl. there (there) [ ð ɛə̯ ] ( BE )
neo- smelling . δέντρο (tree) [ ð ɛndrɔ ]
Bashkir. ҡыҙ (girl) [ qɯ̞ˈ ð ]
d͡z Voiced alveolar affricates [d], which goes directly into a [z] ital. zero (zero) [ d͡z ɛːro ]
alb. xixëllonja (firefly) [ d͡z i d͡z əɫɔɲa ]
d͡ʒ Voiced postalveolar affricates German dsch ;
[d], which changes directly into a [ʒ]
German jungle [ ʊŋəl ]
English. judge (judge) [ d͡ʒ ʌ d͡ʒ ]
d̠͡ʑ Voiced alveolopalatal affricates [d], which changes directly into a [ʑ] polish dźwięk [ d͡ʑ vʲɛŋk ]
ɖ͡ʐ Voiced retroflex affricates [ɖ], which changes directly into a [ʐ] polish dżem [ d͡ʐ ɛm ]

E.

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IPA mark
(clickable)
According to Description for German speakers example Audio sample
(clickable)
e Unrounded, semi-closed front tongue vowel Closed German e (in German mostly long and stressed, in foreign words also half-length with a secondary accent) German Beet [ b e ːt (ʰ) ]
German phone calls [ ˌtʰ e ləfoˈniːʁən ]
French été (summer) [ e ˈt e ]
Italian. pane (bread) [ ˈpaːn e ]
ə Middle central vowel unstressed German e (except in foreign words, see [e]); Schwa German trap [ ˈfal ə ]
engl. about (about) [ ə ˈbaʊ̯t ]
French je (I) [ ʒ ə ]
ɘ Unrounded, semi-closed central vowel similar to German unstressed e ( Schwa ) Luxembourgish Mëschung [ ˈmɘʃʊŋ ]
ɛ Unrounded, half-open front tongue vowel German e ("open" e ) German kess [ k ɛ s ]
French. père (father) [ p ɛ ʁ ]
ital. era (era) [ ɛ RA ]
English. gender (gender) [ ˈd͡ʒ ɛ ndɚ ] ( AE )
Polish everyone (one) [ ˈj ɛ dn ]
ɛ̃ Unrounded, half-open front tongue nasal vowel light nasal vowel French main (hand) [ m ɛ̃ ]
French plein (full) [ pl ɛ̃ ]
Polish pęseta (tweezers) [ p ɛ̃ sɛta ]
ɜ Unrounded half-open central vowel between German ä in had and German ö in want engl. bird (bird) [ b ɜ ːd ] ( BE )
vietnames. vâng (obey) [ v ɜ ŋ ]

F.

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IPA mark
(clickable)
According to Description for German speakers example Audio sample
(clickable)
f Voiceless labiodental fricative German f German Haft [ ha f t (ʰ) ]
Engl. cough (cough) [ kʰɒ f ] ( BE )
French feu (fire) [ f ø ]
ɸ Voiceless bilabial fricative bilabiales f (lip position as with p) japan.ふ た (cover) [ ɸ ɯta ]
Hausa fara (begin) [ ɸ aːɽàː ]

G

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IPA mark
(clickable)
According to Description for German speakers example Audio sample
(clickable)
ɡ Voiced velar plosive German g German God [ ɡ ɔt (ʰ) ]
Engl. dog (dog) [ ɡ ] ( BE )
French guerre (war) [ ɡ ɛʁ ]
dutch. goal (Goal) [ g oːɫ ]
ɠ Voiced velar implosive implosive g , with inward airflow; the required negative pressure is created by starting the articulation with the larynx closed. Sindhi difficult [ ɠ əro ]
ɢ Voiced uvular plosive g is spoken further back in the throat Persian غار (cave) [ ɢ ar ]
ʛ Voiced uvular implosive pronounced g further back in the throat with airflow directed inwards Mam q'a (fire) [ ʛ a ]
ɣ Voiced velar fricative dialectal in German (e.g. Westphalian wagon ).
The soft palate and the back of the tongue are only brought closer together at the point where they touch when the [g] is articulated, i.e. further forward than the uvula-R (see: ʁ)
arab. غرب (west) [ ɣ arb ]
span. Paga (wages) [ ˈpa ɣ a ]
neo-Greek. γάλα (milk) [ ɣ ala ]
ɤ → see under O

H

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IPA mark
(clickable)
According to Description for German speakers example Audio sample
(clickable)
H Voiceless glottal fricative German h German Halle [ h alə ]
English. have (have) [ h æv ]
isl. löpp (foot) [ h p ]
H Voiceless pharyngeal fricative between [h] as in German a h a and [x] as in German A ch at Arabic حج(Pilgrimage) [ ħ adːʒ ]
Hebrew חֹר(Hole) [ ħ or ]
ɦ Voiced glottal fricative voiced variant of German h Dutch hoed (hat) [ ɦ ut ]
Ukrainian гуска (goose) [ ɦ uskɑ ]
Igbo aha (name) [ á ɦ à ]
ɧ Voiceless velopalatal fricative Hissing sound between [ ʃ ] as in German ra sch and [x] as in German Ba ch swed. sjal (scarf) [ ɧ ɑːl ]
ʜ Voiceless epiglottal fricative similar to German ch in Bach awar. Smell [ ma ʜ ]
ɥ → see under Y

I.

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IPA mark
(clickable)
According to Description for German speakers example Audio sample
(clickable)
i Unrounded closed front tongue vowel (closed) i as in German with the long i german rent [ ˈm i ːtʰə ]
engl. evening (evening) [ i ːvnɪŋ ]
French. cri (cry) [ i ]
ĩ Unrounded closed front tongue nasal vowel nasalized i port. sim (yes) [ s ĩ ]
ɨ Unrounded closed central vowel "Dull" i , Russian ы, Romanian, formed with the tongue lying further back in the mouth . î at the beginning of the word u. otherwise â Russian вы (her) [ v ɨ ]
Polish syn (son) [ s ɨ n ]
romanian. cânta (sing) [ k ɨ nˈta ]
ɪ Unrounded, centralized, almost closed front tongue vowel open i as in German with the short i German middle [ ˈm ɪ tʰə ]
Engl. ink (ink) [ ɪ ŋk ]
Czech mile (pleasant) [ ˈm ɪ ]
ɯ Unrounded closed back vowel unrounded dark closed sound, very similar to the ɨ ;
dark counterpart to i , closed counterpart to a , unrounded counterpart to u (²)
Turkish kalın (thick) [ kaˈl ɯ n ]
port. peixe (fish) [ ˈpɐiʃ ɯ ]
korean. 음식 or飮食(Essen) [ ɯ ːmɕik ]
ɤ → see under O

(²) according to the three-dimensional Turkish vowel system, the 8 vowels of which can be interpreted as the corners of a cube.

J

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IPA mark
(clickable)
According to Description for German speakers
and typical European spellings
example Audio sample
(clickable)
j Voiced palatal approximant German j , Russian й, Hungarian j and ly German abruptly [ j ɛː ]
engl. onion (onion) [ ˈʌn j ən ]
French waist (size) [ j ]
Russian я (me) [ j a ]
ʝ Voiced palatal fricative voiced variant of german ch in ich Swed. jord (Earth) [ ʝ uːɖ ]
span. yo (I) [ ʝ o ]
ɟ Voiced palatal plosive similar German dj
Hungarian gy , Albanian gj , Czech / Slovak ď ,
Latin Serbo-Croatian. ¹ / Cyrillic . ђ
Latvian Ģ
Hungarian agy (brain) [ ɒ ɟ ]
serbokr. đak / ђак (student) [ ɟ ak ]
ir. giall (hostage) [ ɟ ialˠ ]
ʄ Voiced palatal implosive similar to German tj in Matjes with inward (instead of, as always in German, outward) airflow Sindhi uneducated [ ʄ ətu ]

K

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IPA mark
(clickable)
According to Description for German speakers example Audio sample
(clickable)
k Voiceless velar plosive German k (but without aspiration ) German cold [ k ʰalt ]
engl. skull (skull) [ s k ʌɫ ]
French coq (cock) [ k ɔ k ]
k͡x Voiceless velar affricates Swiss German k

L.

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IPA mark
(clickable)
According to Description for German speakers
and typical European spellings
example Audio sample
(clickable)
l Voiced lateral alveolar approximant German l German bar [ l atʰə ]
French. salle (hall) [ sa l ]
ɫ Velarized lateral alveolar approximant dark l in English; in German dialectal in the Cologne and Viennese dialect (" Meidlinger L ") engl. well (good) [ ɫ ]
russ. лук (onion) [ ɫ uk ]
port. fácil (simple) [ ˈfasi ɫ ]
ɬ Voiceless lateral alveolar fricative voiceless l with audible friction on the sides of the tongue welsh. llan (church) [ ɬ an ]
ɭ Voiced lateral retroflex approximant l with the tongue bent back behind the alveoli Swedish pärla (pearl) [ ˈpæː ɭ a ]
Tamil நாள் (day) [ n̪aː ɭ ]
ʟ Voiced lateral velar approximant further back on the palate spoken l Medium Waghi aglagle (dizzy) [ a ʟ a ʟ e ]
ɮ Voiced lateral alveolar fricative Voiced l with audible friction on the sides of the tongue Zulu Dlala (game) [ ɮ Ala ]
ʎ Voiced lateral palatal approximant Voiced palatalized (mouillated) l , simultaneous articulation of l and j
it. gl , sp. ll , port. lh , slovak. ľ , sloven./croat. lj , Serbian љ, Russian ль / л before e / и
ital. foglio (paper sheet) [ ʎ O ]
Spanish llave (key) [ ʎ aβe ]
in Slovenian. Ljubljana [ ʎ ub ʎ ana ]

M.

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IPA mark
(clickable)
According to Description for German speakers example Audio sample
(clickable)
m Voiced bilabial nasal German m German mat [ m atʰə ]
English. milk (milk) [ m ɪɫk ]
French femme (woman) [ fa m ]
ɱ Voiced labiodental nasal an n or m assimilated to german f as in five or to german w as in lawyer German beginning [ ˈa ɱ faŋ ]
engl. comfort (consolation) [ ˈkʰʌ ɱ fɚt ] ( AE )
neo- smell . συμβουλή (advice) [ si ɱ vuˈli ]
ɯ → see under I.
ɰ → see under W

N

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IPA mark
(clickable)
According to Description for German speakers
and typical European spellings
example Audio sample
(clickable)
n Voiced alveolar nasal German n German wet [ n as ]
engl. tin (pewter) [ tʰɪ n ]
French noir (black) [ n waːʁ ]
ɲ Voiced palatal nasal between n and j (at the same time, i.e. not nj )
French / Italian. gn , span. ñ , port. nh , kat./ung. ny , Polish ń / ni, Czech. ň / n before ě / i,
sloven./croat. nj , Serbian њ , Russian нь
French digne (worthy) [ di ɲ ]
it. gnocchi (gnocchi) [ ɲ ɔkːi ]
span. niño (Child) [ ni ɲ o ]
Pol. Poznań (Posen) [ pozna ɲ ]
port. caminho (way) [ kɐmi ɲ u ]
ungar. anya (mother) [ ɒ ɲ ɒ ]
ŋ Voiced velar nasal German ng German Hang [ ha ŋ ]
Engl. sing (sing) [ ŋ ]
ital. angolo (corner, angle) [ ˈa ŋ golo ]
down. vangen (to catch) [ ˈv̊ɑ ŋ ə (n) ]
thail. งาน (to work) [ ŋ āːn ]
ɳ Voiced retroflex nasal n with the tongue bent back behind the alveoli Swedish barn (child) [ bɑː ɳ ]
Malayalam chain link [ ɳ ːi ]
Sindhi diamond [ ɳ i ]
ɴ Voiced uvular nasal Similar ng to the nasal spoken further back in the throat Inuktitut (his bones) [ saː ɴ ːi ]
Japanese三 / 参 (さ ん, three) [ sa ɴ ]

O

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IPA mark
(clickable)
According to Description for German speakers example Audio sample
(clickable)
O Rounded, semi-closed back vowel German o ("closed" o ) German boat [ b o t (ʰ) ]
fr. mot (word) [ m o ]
span. obra (work) [ o βɾa ]
ital. giorno (day) [ o rn o ]
O Rounded semi-closed back nasal vowel nasalized "closed" o french bon (good) [ b õ ]
ɵ Rounded, semi-closed central vowel between the closed ö [ø] in S ö teeth and the closed o [o] in B o hne icelandic vinur (friend) [ˈveːn ө r]
swedish full (full) [ f ɵ l ]
O Rounded semi-closed front tongue vowel German ö ("closed" ö ) German [ b ø ː ]
French feu (fire) [ f ø ]
down. keuken (kitchen) [ ˈk øː kə (n) ]
swedish oil (beer) [ ø ːl ]
ɞ Rounded half-open central vowel between the open ö [œ] in k ö can and the open o [ɔ] in k o might Irish tomhail (consumed!) [ t ɞ ːʎ ]
Icelandic þö (however) [ θ̠ ɞ ]
œ
(oe ligature)
Rounded half-open front tongue vowel German ö ("open" ö ) German Hell [ ˈh œ ]
French œuf (egg) [ œ f ]
Finnish mökki (hut) [ ˈm œ kːi ]
œ̃ Rounded half-open front tongue nasal vowel rounded half-open nasal vowel, nasalized / œ / BF brun (brown) [ œ̃ ]
ɶ
(oɛ ligature)
Rounded open front tongue vowel between German etc. [ɛ] as k ä open German mmen and ö [œ] as k ö can
Note .: The corresponding IPA character is displayed incorrectly by some browsers .
Austrian rope [ s ɶ ː ]
meckl. sæven [ s ɶ ːvn ]
ɔ Rounded half-open back vowel German o ("open" o ) German toll [ ɔ l ]
Engl. saw (saw) [ s ɔ ː ]
Italian notte (night) [ ˈn ɔ tːe ]
down. uitlokken (provoke) [ ˈœy̯tˌl ɔ kə (n) ]
ɔ̃ Rounded half-open rear nasal vowel in German in French loan words such as B on mot, Ch an s on French montagne (mountain) [ m ɔ̃ ˈtaɲ ]
French long (long) [ l ɔ̃ ]
Polish Śląsk (Silesia) [ ɕl ɔ̃ sk ]
ɤ Unrounded, semi-closed back vowel unrounded "closed" or similar estn. sõna (word) [ ˈs ɤ na ]
chin. (drink) [ χ ɤ ]
vietnames. (silk) [ t ɤ ]
thail. เงิน (silver) [ ŋ ɤ n ]
ʊ → see under U
ʘ → see under Others

P

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IPA mark
(clickable)
According to Description for German speakers example Audio sample
(clickable)
p Voiceless bilabial plosive German p (but without aspiration ) German passport [ p ʰas ]
engl. spear (spear) [ s p ɪə̯ ] ( BE )
French nappe (tablecloth) [ na p ]
p͡f Voiceless labiodental affricates German pf German compulsory [ p͡f lɪçt (ʰ) ]
ɸ → see under F

Q

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IPA mark
(clickable)
According to Description for German speakers example Audio sample
(clickable)
q Voiceless uvular plosive pronounced k in the throat (on the uvula ) arab. قلب (heart) [ q alb ]

Quechua Quri (Gold) [ q ɔɾɪ ]
Inuktitut IMIQ (water) [ imi q ]

R.

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IPA mark
(clickable)
According to Description for German speakers example Audio sample
(clickable)
r Voiced alveolar vibrant "Rolled" r with several laps of the tongue;
[ r ], [ ʀ ] and [ ʁ ] are free allophones in the German language
span. perro (dog) [ pe r o ]
Russ. рыба (fish) [ r ɨbə ]
ungar. virág (Blume) [ vi r AG ]
ɾ Voiced alveolar tap r produced with a flick of the tongue ;
in North American English an allophone to [ t ] or [ ] and [ d ];
dialect also in German, there partly with -dd- , partly with -rr- ( nds. "Vadder", Hess. "Nerrerländer")
span. pero (but) [ ˈpe ɾ o ]
dutch. rat (rat) [ ɾ ɑt ]
port. dar (to give) [ da ɾ ]
engl. water [ ˈwɑ ɾ ɚ ] ( AE )
ɺ Voiced lateral alveolar flap Mixture of rolled r and German l, like the r in Bapperl japan.心 (heart) [ ko̥ko ɺ o ]
ɽ Voiced retroflex flap r with one stroke of the tongue to the alveoli Urdu بڑا (large) [ ɽ a ]
ɹ Voiced alveolar approximant "Dark" r engl. rest (pause) [ ɹ ɛst ]
Igbo (eat) [ ɹ í ]
ɻ Voiced retroflex approximant r with the tongue approaching the alveoli engl. wrap (envelop) [ ɻ æp ] ( AE )
Tamil வழி (way) [ʋa ɻ i]
ʀ Voiced uvular vibrant r rolled on the uvula ;
[ r ], [ ʀ ] and [ ʁ ] are free allophones in the German language
German rat [ ʀ atə ]
ʁ Voiced uvular fricative grated, not rolled suppository ‑ r; Probably the most common pronunciation variant of German r in the German-speaking area ; voiced counterpart to [ χ ];
[ r ], [ ʀ ] and [ ʁ ] are free allophones in the German language
German rat [ ʁ atʰə ]

fr. rate (spleen) [ ʁ at]
port. moderato (mouse) [ ʁ atu ]

Voiced palatal vibrant short "rolled" r , spoken simultaneously with [ ʒ ] Czech řeč (language) [ ɛt∫ ]
Czech Dvořák (name) [ dvɔ a: k ]
Czech hřbitov (cemetery) [ ˈɦ bɪtof ]
ɐ → see under A

S.

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IPA mark
(clickable)
According to Description for German speakers
and typical European spellings
example Audio sample
(clickable)
s Voiceless alveolar fricative German ss , ß , voiceless s
French. and port. also ç , hung. always sz ,
czech., slovak., sloven., serbokroat. (written) s always [s], Polish every s except si
German nut [ s ] foot [ Fu s ]
English. sea (sea) [ s i ]
fr. sous (below) [ s u ]
ital. semper (always) [ s ɛmpre ]
ʂ Voiceless retroflex fricative sch with the alveoli approximate tongue chin. shān (mountain) [ ʂ an ]
swedish forester (first) [ ʂ t ]
Sindhi thing [ ʂ ɛ ]
ʃ Voiceless postalveolar fricative German sch , engl. sh , fr. ch , it. sci before a / o / u and sc before e / i, port./bask./malt./katalan. x , approx. s , romanian. ș , Turkish ş , Czech / Slovak / Slovenian / Croat. š , Polish sz , Serb / Bulgarian / Russian. ш German fast [ ʃ nɛl ]
Engl. dish (plate) [ ʃ ]
French cacher (to hide) [ kaˈ ʃ e ]
s͡f Voiceless labiodental-alveolar fricative simultaneous articulation of voiceless s and f Shona Sviba (black) [ SF iɓa ]
ɕ → see under C

T

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IPA mark
(clickable)
According to Description for German speakers example Audio sample
(clickable)
t Voiceless alveolar plosive German t (but without aspiration ) german old [ al t (ʰ) ]
engl. time (time) [ aɪm ]
French toucher (touch) [ t uˈʃe ]
ʈ Voiceless retroflex plosive t with the tongue approaching the alveoli Swedish kort (short) [ ʈ ]
Hindi टमाटर (tomato) [ ʈ ʌmaʈʌr ]
θ Voiceless dental fricative voiceless th sound (Lispellaut) engl. theft (theft) [ θ ɛft ]
span. paz (peace) [ pa θ ]
arab. ثمر (fruit) [ θ amar ]
Bashkir. төҫ (color) [ tʏ̞ θ ]
t͡s Voiceless alveolar affricates German z, Hungarian c;
[t], which goes directly into a [s]
German goal [ t͡s iːl ]
Russian Царь (tsar or emperor) [ t͡s arʲ ]
t͡ʃ Voiceless postalveolar affricates German Tsch ;
[t], which changes directly into a [ʃ]
German Tschüss [ t͡ʃ ʏs ]
Engl. chin (chin) [ t͡ʃ ɪn ]
t̠͡ɕ Voiceless alveolopalatal affricates [t], which changes directly into a [ɕ], Russian ч,
for example between tz in "Si tz " and tch / dch in "Mä dch en"
Polish ćma [ t͡ɕ ma ]
Russian чуть (hardly) [ t͡ɕ ʉtʲ ]
ʈ͡ʂ Voiceless retroflex affricates [ʈ], which changes directly into a [ʂ],
for example between ch in "deu tsch " and tch / dch in "Mä dch en"
Polish czas (time) [ ʈ͡ʂ as ]
Russian лучше (better) [ 'ɫu ʈ͡ʂ ɨ ]

U

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IPA mark
(clickable)
According to Description for German speakers example Audio sample
(clickable)
u Rounded closed back vowel (closed) u , like German long u German chair [ ʃt u ːl ]
French fou (crazy) [ f u ]
Italian buio (dark) [ ˈb u ːjo ]
ũ Rounded closed back nasal vowel nasalized u port. um (a) [ ũ ]
ʉ Rounded closed central vowel between German u and ü engl. hoof (hoof) [ h ʉ F ] ( AuE )
Swed. ful (ugly) [ f ʉ l ]
norweg. gutt (Young) [ g ʉ t ]
ʊ Rounded centralized almost closed back vowel open u , like German short u German and [ ʔ ʊ nt (ʰ) ]
Engl. book (book) [ b ʊ k ]
swed. buss (bus) [ b ʊ ]

V

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IPA mark
(clickable)
According to Description for German speakers example Audio sample
(clickable)
v Voiced labiodental fricative German w , voiced counterpart to [f]; the lower lip is pressed against the upper teeth. The exhaled air passes through two narrow crevices between the narrowed vocal cords as well as the teeth and lip. German World [ v ɛlt (ʰ) ]
Engl. have (to have) [ v ]
French veau (calf) [ v o ]
Semi-voiced labiodental fricative Dutch v , a half-voiced middle thing between [f] and [v], ie the German pronunciation of the letters f and w Dutch veld [ V ɛlt ] (field)
niederl. vrij [ ʀɛ͡ı ] (free)
ʋ Voiced labiodental approximant The lower lip is brought closer to the upper lip and upper teeth without touching them (in contrast to [v] and [β]) and without rounding the lips (in contrast to [w]) Croat. Vasa (Vase) [ ʋ ǎːza ]
niederl. wijn (wine) [ ʋ ɛin ] sloven
. fathers (wind) [ ʋ eːtəɾ ]
Tamil ஒன்று (one) [ ʋ ɔndrɯ]
ѵ Voiced labiodental flap Similar to the German w , but the lower lip only briefly touches the upper incisors Sika voter (I put a stake in the ground) [ ѵ oːtɛr ]
ʌ → see under A
ɣ → see under G

W.

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IPA mark
(clickable)
According to Description for German speakers example Audio sample
(clickable)
w Voiced labiovelar approximant engl. w ; U-sound used consonantically, similar to the short, relaxed u in Bauer engl. wind (wind) [ w ɪnd ]
French. coin (corner) [ k w ɛ ]
Pol. łódka (boat) [ w utka ]
ital. uomo (man, man) [ w ɔːmo ]
Nasal voiced labiovelar approximant nasal counterpart of engl. w ; nasal u-sound used consonantically, similar to a hasty pronouncement of the "-ugen-" in the moment > "Aungmblick"> [ˈaw̃blɪk] port. São (Saint) [ ]
ʍ Voiceless labiovelar fricative initially voiceless engl. w schott. engl. Whether (ob) [ ʍ ɛðɚ ]
ɰ Voiced velar approximant like engl. w , but without rounding the lips japan.庭 (に ​​わ, garden) [ ni ɰ a ]

X

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IPA mark
(clickable)
According to Description for German speakers example Audio sample
(clickable)
x Voiceless velar fricative German standard pronunciation of ch after a , o , u ("Ach-Laut").
The soft palate and the back of the tongue are only brought closer together at the point where they touch when the k is articulated .
westf. grout (large) [ x rɔut ]
span. jabón (soap) [ x aˈβon ]
czech. v Čechách (in Bohemia) [ f ˈtʃɛ xx ]
Russian хлеб (bread) [ x lʲep ]
Polish. wschód (east) [ fsxut ] (' sh ' not spoken as ʃ)
χ Voiceless uvular fricative ch spoken in the back of the throat , voiceless counterpart to the rubbed uvula-r [ ʁ ], German ch after a , o , u ("oh sound") except in the suffix -chen (diminutive) German Bach [ ba χ ]
German high [ hoː χ ]
Dutch. vraag (question) [ vʀaː χ ]

Y

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IPA mark
(clickable)
According to Description for German speakers example Audio sample
(clickable)
y Rounded closed front tongue vowel German ü German goodness [ ˈg y ːtʰə ]
French. do (you) [ t y ]
down. duren (hold out) [ ˈd y rə (n) ]
swed. lyda (listen) [ ˈl y ːda ]
ʏ Rounded centralized almost closed front tongue vowel German ü (short) German nuts [ ˈn ʏ ]
down. vullen (fill) [ ˈv ʏ lə (n) ]
ɥ Voiced labiopalatal approximant consonantically used Ü-sound;
[ ɥ ] is to [y] like [w] to [u]
French huit (eight) [ ɥ it ]
ʎ → see under L
ɣ → see under G
ɤ → see under O

Z

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IPA mark
(clickable)
According to Description for German speakers
and typical European spellings
example Audio sample
(clickable)
z Voiced alveolar fricative voiced german s
english, french, port. also z , polish, czech., slovak., sloven., serbokroat., hung. always z , kyrill. з
German cream [ z aːnə ]
English. zoo (zoo) [ z ]
franz. rose (rose) [ ʁo z ]
ital. tesoro (treasure) [ teˈ z ɔːro ]
ʑ Voiced alveolopalatal fricative between voiced s and j, palatalized [z] Pol. ziarno (grain) [ ʑ arnɔ ]
ʐ Voiced retroflex fricative voiced sh with the tongue approaching the alveoli Tamil பழம் (fruit) [ ˈpʌ ʐ ʌm ]
chin. Rénmín (people) [ ʐ ənmin ]
ʒ Voiced postalveolar fricative voiced counterpart to German sch , j in J ournal, franz./port. g (only before e and i) and j , romanian. j , ung. zs , czech./slovak./sloven./croat./lit./lett. ž , Polish ż and rz , alban. zh , russ./serb./bulg. ж German genius [ ʒ eˈniː ]
engl. pleasure [ ˈplɛ ʒ ɚ ] ( AE )
French rouge (red) [ ʁuː ʒ ]; ever ( I ) [ ʒ ə ]
z͡v Voiced labiodental-alveolar fricative simultaneous articulation of voiced s [z] and w [v] Shona mazvita (thank you) [ maˈ z͡v ita ]

Others

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IPA mark
(clickable)
According to Description for German speakers example Audio sample
(clickable)
ʔ Voiceless glottal plosive Cracking sound produced by closing the glottis, as in German before starting vowels Pay attention to German [ bəˈ ʔ aχtʰən ]
Danish : stød [ stø ʔ ð ]
Arabic :  Letter Hamza , or
Hamza- Alif as a consonant
down. answer (answer) [ bəˈ ʔ ɑntʋɔːrdə (n) ]
thail. อาน (saddle) [ ʔ āːn ], เกาะ (island) [ ʔ ]
ʡ Voiceless epiglottal plosive   Dahalo (ground) [ ndoː ʡ o ]
ʕ Voiced pharyngeal fricative with narrowed larynx spoken throat pressing sound ("choking sound") arab. عين (eye) [ ʕ ain ]
ʢ Voiced epiglottal fricative   awar. (Nail) [ ma ʢ ]
ʘ Bilabial click similar to the smacking sound of an "air kiss" ǃXóõ (dream) [ k ʘ ôõ ]
ǀ Dental click   IsiXhosa (finely grind) [ ukúk ǀ ola ]
ǂ Palatoalveolar click   ǃXóõ (bone) [ k ǂ àã ]
ǁ Lateral alveolar click Reiterschnalzer: The sides of the tongue are pulled away from the gums IsiXhosa (to arm oneself) [ ukúk ǁ ʰoɓa ]
ǃ Postalveolar click Crackling sound with the tip of the tongue on the middle palate IsiXhosa (breaking stones) [ ukúk ǃ oɓa ]

Diacritics and Suprasegmentals

These characters are not sounds, but are used to describe the pronunciation of individual sounds or sequences of sounds.

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IPA mark
(enlarged)
Description for German speakers example Unicode
ˈ
the following syllable carries a primary stress; no apostrophe German Checkout [ kʰasə ] English. Because (because) [ kɒːz ] ( AE ) ital. mangiare (eat) [ one dʒaːre ]

U + 02C8
ˌ
the following syllable carries secondary stress (secondary stress); no comma German Wasserpfeife [ ˈvasɐ ˌ pfaɪ̯fə ]
Engl. influenza (flu) [ ˌ ɪnfluˈɛnzə ]
French ignorance (ignorance) [ ˌ iɲɔˈʀɑ̃s ]
U + 02CC
ː
Length character ; previous sound is spoken long; no colon, but length character German seam [ na ː t (ʰ) ]
Engl. yeast (yeast) [ ji ː st ]
ital. canna (pipe) [ ˈkan ː a ]
U + 02D0
ˑ
Length character; the previous sound is spoken halfway engl. beat [ bi ˑ t ] U + 02D1
̆
Length character; marked sound is spoken particularly briefly; typographically a breve , in use not identical to the breve in classical philology engl. police [ ə̆ ˈliˑs ] U + 0306
ʼ
Ejective pronunciation; The preceding sign is not generated pulmonarily, but by moving the larynx Georgian სააკაშვილი [ k ' aʃvɪlɪ ] U + 02BC
| subordinate intonation group (speaking act limit)   U + 007C
|| superior intonation group   two U + 007C
◌‿◌ Liaison arc between two words describes the liaison , the smooth transition to the next word as in French French mon [mɔ̃] + amie [aˈmi]
mon amie / mɔ̃n‿ami / [mɔ̃naˈmi]
U + 203F
◌͡◌
◌͜◌
Ligature bow above or below two phonetic signs denotes a double articulation Idoma [ ak͡pa ] (bridge), [ ag͡pa ] (lower jaw) U + 0361 or U + 035C
.
Syllable boundary German card [ ˈkʰaʁ . tʰə ]
engl. labor [ ˈleɪ̯ . ] ( BE )
French abbaye (abbey) [ a . be . ˈI ]
U + 002E
 ̋
particularly high tone   U + 030B
˥
  U + 02E5
 ́
high tone   U + 0301
˦
  U + 02E6
 ̄
medium tone   U + 0304
˧
  U + 02E7
 ̀
low tone   U + 0300
˨
  U + 02E8
 ̏
particularly low tone   U + 030F
˩
  U + 02E9
 ̌
rising tone   U + 030C
 ̂
falling tone   U + 0302
Downstep Igbo our house [ ʊ́ lɔ́ áɲɪ́ ] U + A71C
Upstep Hausa turanci ne (it's English) [ túrán tʃí nè ] U + A71B
Global rise German yes? [  yesː ] U + 2197
Global case German yes. [  Yes ] U + 2198
 ̥
or.
 ̊
Voiceless pronunciation of the marked sound German clear [ k aːɐ̯ ]
Engl. price (price) [ ˈp ɹ̥ aɪs ]
French médecin (doctor) [ me ˈsɛ̃ ]
U + 0325 or U + 030A
 ̬
Voiced pronunciation of the marked sound engl. back of (back of) [ ˈbæ ʰəv ]
French chaque jour (every day) [ ʃa ˈʒuʁ ]
U + 032C
 ̻
Laminal pronunciation of the marked sound Irish Taoiseach (title of head of government) [ t̪ˠiːʃɒx ] U + 033B
ʰ
Aspirated spoken, so followed by an audible breath of air German Pass [ p ʰ as ]
Quechua qhari (man) [ ˈq ʰ aɾɪ ]
Aymara thakhi (way) [ ˈt ʰ ak ʰ ɪ ]
U + 02B0
ʲ
Spoken in a palatalized way Russian цепь (chain) [ t͡sɛp ʲ ] U + 02B2
ʷ
Labialized , i.e. with rounded lips engl. red (rot) [ ɹ ʷ ɛd ] U + 02B7
 ̹
Spoken with more rounded lips French secret (secret) [ s ə̹ ˈkʁɛ ] U + 0339
 ̜
Spoken with less rounded lips engl. good (good) [ g ʊ̜ d ] (AE) U + 031C
 ̟
spoken earlier engl. key [ ʰiː ] U + 031F
 ̠
spoken further back engl. tree [ ɹiː ] U + 0320
 ̈
centralized speaking French force (force) [ f ɔ̈ ʁs ] U + 0308
 ̽
centralized speaking towards the center engl. November (November) [ n ˈvɛmbə ] ( BE ) U + 033D
 ̩
Identification of a sound, usually a consonant , which forms the core of the syllable German pray [ ˈbeːt ] U + 0329
 ̯
Identification of a sound, usually a vowel , that does not form the core of the syllable German study [ ˈʃtuːd ə ] U + 032F
 ˞
rhotic spoken engl. center [ ˈsɛn ɚ ] ( AE ) U + 02DE
 ̃
spoken nasally french ignorance [ ˌiɲɔˈʁ ɑ̃ s ] U + 0303
 ̰
To speak glottalized , i.e. with narrowing or closure of the glottis U + 0330
 ˠ
Said velarized , i.e. with the rear tongue raised to the velum ir. naoi (nine) [ ˠ ] U + 02E0
 ˤ
Pharyngalized , i.e. with a narrowing in the throat ( pharynx ) Heb. טוב (good) [ t ˤ ɔːv ] צדיק (meet) [ TS ˤ adːiːq ] U + 02E4
 ̝
raised tongue czech. řeč (language) [ ɛtʃ ] U + 031D
 ̞
lowered tongue U + 031E
 ̘
forward tongue root U + 0318
 ̙
back of the tongue U + 0319

See also

literature

  • Handbook of the International Phonetic Association. A guide to the use of the international phonetic alphabet. Edited by the International Phonetic Association. 12th edition. University Press, Cambridge et al. a. 2011, ISBN 978-0-521-65236-0
  • Geoffrey K. Pullum, William A. Ladusaw: Phonetic symbol guide. 2nd ed. University of Chicago Press, Chicago 1996, ISBN 0-226-68535-7

Web links

Wiktionary: List of IPA characters in the Wiktionary  - explanations of meanings, word origins, synonyms, translations

Individual evidence

  1. a b IPA symbols and definitions with information about their Unicode characters ( Memento of October 13, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) (PDF; 333 kB)
This version was added to the selection of informative lists and portals on June 1, 2006 .