Type or paste English text to get its International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) transcription instantly. Switch between American and British pronunciation, show stress marks and syllables, and see every word side by side in both accents.
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IPA transcription US
dotted = estimated from spelling
Word by word
Word
US IPA
UK IPA
Source
Listen
Symbols in this transcription
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How to use the English to IPA Converter
Type or paste English text into the box. A sample sentence is already there, and the IPA updates as you type.
Choose an accent: American (US) or British (UK).
Adjust the options: stress marks, syllable dots, weak forms, plain r symbols and /slashes/ or [brackets].
Check the word table to compare US and UK forms. Words estimated from spelling are underlined with dots, so you know which ones to double-check.
Copy or download the transcription, or press Play audio to hear the text with your browser's voice.
How the English to IPA converter works
Each word goes through three steps, and the word table tells you which one produced it:
Dictionary: about 1,300 of the most common English words, plus irregular ones such as colonel, yacht, women and Wednesday, are stored with their full pronunciation and stress, including separate British forms where the accents differ (schedule, tomato, either).
Derived: words built from a known word are assembled from their parts. Endings change their sound with the word they attach to: -s is /s/ in cats, /z/ in dogs and /ɪz/ in boxes, and -ed is /t/ in walked, /d/ in played and /ɪd/ in wanted. Prefixes (un-, re-, over-), compounds (keyboard, sunlight), contractions and possessives are handled the same way.
Estimated: any other word is converted by several hundred letter-to-sound rules (silent e, -tion, soft c and g, vowel pairs, silent letters) and given stress from its ending and syllable weight. These words are underlined with dots because spelling rules can't predict every English pronunciation.
Numbers, years, prices and times are read out as words first (1999 becomes nineteen ninety-nine, $3.50 becomes three dollars fifty cents). Short capitalized abbreviations such as BBC or USA are spelled letter by letter.
English IPA chart with example words
Sound
US IPA
UK IPA
Example
FLEECE vowel
i
iː
see /si/, /siː/
KIT vowel
ɪ
ɪ
sit /sɪt/
DRESS vowel
ɛ
e
bed /bɛd/, /bed/
TRAP vowel
æ
æ
cat /kæt/
BATH vowel
æ
ɑː
bath /bæθ/, /bɑːθ/
LOT vowel
ɑ
ɒ
hot /hɑt/, /hɒt/
PALM / START vowel
ɑ, ɑɹ
ɑː
father, car /kɑɹ/, /kɑː/
THOUGHT / NORTH vowel
ɔ, ɔɹ
ɔː
thought /θɔt/, /θɔːt/
STRUT vowel
ʌ
ʌ
cup /kʌp/
FOOT vowel
ʊ
ʊ
book /bʊk/
GOOSE vowel
u
uː
too /tu/, /tuː/
NURSE vowel
ɝ
ɜː
bird /bɝd/, /bɜːd/
Schwa (unstressed)
ə, ɚ
ə
about /əˈbaʊt/, better /ˈbɛtɚ/, /ˈbetə/
FACE / PRICE / CHOICE
eɪ, aɪ, ɔɪ
eɪ, aɪ, ɔɪ
day, my, boy
GOAT / MOUTH
oʊ, aʊ
əʊ, aʊ
go /ɡoʊ/, /ɡəʊ/; now /naʊ/
NEAR / SQUARE / CURE
ɪɹ, ɛɹ, ʊɹ
ɪə, eə, ʊə
near, hair, tour
TH sounds
θ, ð
θ, ð
think /θɪŋk/, this /ðɪs/
SH, ZH, CH, J
ʃ, ʒ, tʃ, dʒ
ʃ, ʒ, tʃ, dʒ
she, vision, chair, just
NG, Y, R
ŋ, j, ɹ
ŋ, j, r
sing /sɪŋ/, yes /jɛs/, red
The other consonants are written with their usual letters: p, b, t, d, k, ɡ, f, v, s, z, h, m, n, l and w. The capital-style names (FLEECE, KIT, BATH…) are the standard lexical sets phoneticians use to compare accents.
American vs British IPA: common differences
Word
American (US)
British (UK)
What changes
car
kɑɹ
kɑː
UK drops r before a consonant or pause
water
ˈwɔtɚ
ˈwɔːtə
r-coloured schwa vs plain schwa
go
ɡoʊ
ɡəʊ
GOAT vowel
hot
hɑt
hɒt
LOT vowel
dance
dæns
dɑːns
BATH words
new
nu
njuː
US drops the y sound after t, d and n
hair
hɛɹ
heə
SQUARE vowel
tomato
təˈmeɪtoʊ
təˈmɑːtəʊ
word-specific difference
schedule
ˈskɛdʒul
ˈʃedjuːl
word-specific difference
herb
ɝb
hɜːb
silent h in American English
Both options show a standard, dictionary-style pronunciation. Real speakers vary: many Americans say thought and lot with the same vowel, and the American t in water is usually a quick tap. Use the transcription as a guide, and listen to native speakers to fine-tune.
Frequently asked questions
What is IPA?
IPA stands for International Phonetic Alphabet, a system of symbols where each symbol stands for one speech sound. Dictionaries use it to show pronunciation, because English spelling is not a reliable guide: the letters ough sound different in though, through, tough and cough, but the IPA writes them as /oʊ/, /u/, /ʌf/ and /ɔf/.
How accurate is this English to IPA converter?
Common words come from a built-in, hand-checked pronunciation list, and many more are built from known words plus endings such as -s, -ed, -ing, -ly or -ness. Rare words, names and technical terms are estimated from spelling rules and marked with a dotted underline. English spelling has many exceptions, so check estimated words in a dictionary if the exact pronunciation matters.
What is the difference between the US and UK transcriptions?
The British option follows a modern RP-style standard: r is only pronounced before a vowel (car /kɑː/), long vowels carry the length mark ː, go is /əʊ/ and hot is /ɒ/. The American option is rhotic (car /kɑɹ/), uses /oʊ/ for go and /ɑ/ for hot, and r-coloured vowels /ɝ/ and /ɚ/ as in bird and butter. Words such as bath, can't and after use /æ/ in the US and /ɑː/ in the UK.
What do the symbols ˈ and ˌ mean?
The vertical line ˈ marks primary stress and is placed before the stressed syllable, so ˈwɔtɚ (water) is stressed on the first syllable and əˈbaʊt (about) on the second. The low mark ˌ shows secondary stress, as in ˌɛdʒəˈkeɪʃən (education). One-syllable words are written without a stress mark.
What are weak forms?
Many short grammar words are reduced in normal speech. The is usually /ðə/ before a consonant and /ði/ before a vowel, and to, of, and, a, for and can usually contain the schwa /ə/. With Weak forms switched on, these words are transcribed as they are usually spoken in a sentence. Switch it off to see the full dictionary form of every word.
Should I use slashes or square brackets?
Slashes /…/ show a phonemic transcription: the sounds that distinguish words, which is what dictionaries give and what this tool produces. Square brackets […] are normally used for narrow phonetic detail such as aspiration or flapping. Choose the style your teacher or style guide asks for.
Is my text sent anywhere?
No. The dictionary and the rules are part of the page, so the conversion runs entirely in your browser and nothing you type is uploaded. The optional Play audio button uses the speech voices built into your device or browser.
Are all the tools on FreeToolCabin tested for quality and accuracy?
Yes! Every tool on our site undergoes automated Q/A testing in real browser environments to ensure high precision, correct output, and zero errors. If you happen to spot a bug or have a suggestion, please contact us at [email protected] and our team will review it right away.