The International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) Guide for Major Languages

Spanish IPA

Core Vowels: a, e, i, o, u

Unique Phonemes: the rolled /r/ (trill), the uvular /rr/, the /ñ/ (palatal nasal), the /ll/ in some dialects, the /ch/ affricate

In IPA, Spanish /r/ is written as [r] for the trill and [ɾ] for the tap. The /b/ and /v/ are both realized as [β] between vowels, a feature called "lenition" that confuses many English speakers.

IPA Word Examples:

• desarrollar: /de.sa.ro.ˈʎaɾ/
• ferrocarril: /fe.ro.ka.ˈril/
• murciélago: /muɾ.ˈθje.la.ɣo/

French IPA

Core Vowels: a, e, i, o, u, é, è, ê, œ, ø

Unique Phonemes: nasal vowels /ɑ̃/, /ɛ̃/, /ɔ̃/, the uvular /ʁ/ (French R), the front rounded vowels /y/, /ø/, /œ/, liaison and elision, the schwa /ə/

The IPA symbol [ʁ] represents the voiced uvular fricative unique to French. Nasal vowels are shown with a tilde beneath or the letter ̃, e.g., [ɑ̃], [ɛ̃], [ɔ̃], [œ̃].

IPA Word Examples:

• grenouille: /ɡʁə.nuj/
• serrurerie: /se.ʁy.ʁʁi/
• anticonstitutionnellement: /ɑ̃.ti.kɔ̃.sti.ty.sjɔ.nɛ.l.mɑ̃/

German IPA

Core Vowels: a, e, i, o, u, ä, ö, ü

Unique Phonemes: the /ch/ fricatives [x] and [ç], the glottal stop [ʔ], front rounded vowels /ü/ /ö/, the /z/ sound spelled as "s", the /v/ sound spelled as "w"

German IPA uses [x] for the guttural "ch" sound and [ç] for the softer palatal version. The symbol [ʁ] or [r] is used for the German R depending on dialect.

IPA Word Examples:

• Streichholzschächtelchen: /ʃtʁaɪ̯çhɔltsˌʃɛçtəlçən/
• Rechtsschutzversicherungsgesellschaft: /ʁɛçtsˌʃʊtsfeɐ̯ˌzɪçəʁʊŋsɡəˌzɛlʃaft/
• Donaudampfschifffahrtsgesellschaft:

Mandarin Chinese IPA

Core Vowels: a, e, i, o, u, ü

Unique Phonemes: 4 lexical tones (plus neutral), retroflex consonants zh, ch, sh, r, aspirated vs non-aspirated stops, the /ü/ sound (front rounded), syllabic nasals

Mandarin tones in IPA are shown with diacritics: ˥ (high level), ˧˥ (rising), ˨˩˦ (dipping), ˥˩ (falling). The Pinyin romanization system uses marks above vowels: ā ā á ǎ à.

IPA Word Examples:

• 绕口令 ràokǒulìng: /ʐào.kʰòu.lîŋ/
• 成就 chéngjiù: /tɕʰɤ̌ŋ.tɕiôu/
• 难以置信 nányǐzhìxìn:

Arabic IPA

Core Vowels: a, i, u, aa, ii, uu

Unique Phonemes: pharyngeal /ħ/ and /ʕ/, uvular /q/, emphatic consonants /sˤ/, /dˤ/, /tˤ/, /ðˤ/, the glottal stop /ʔ/ (hamza), voiced and voiceless pharyngeals

Arabic emphatic consonants are transcribed in IPA with a superscript ˤ indicating pharyngealization: [sˤ], [dˤ], [tˤ]. The uvular stop is [q] and the uvular fricative [x] or [χ].

IPA Word Examples:

• عشق (ʕišq): /ʕɪʃq/
• خصخصة (xasxasa): /χasχasa/
• المستشفى (al-mustašfā): /al.mʊs.taʃ.fā/

Japanese IPA

Core Vowels: a, i, u, e, o

Unique Phonemes: pitch accent system, the /r/ sound (flap [ɾ]), mora-timing vs stress-timing, geminate consonants, the syllabic nasal /N/

Japanese IPA uses [ɾ] for the flap R, [ɕ] for the "sh" in "shi", and [ɯ] for the unrounded high back vowel "u". Long vowels are marked with a macron (ā, ī, ū, ē, ō) in romanization.

IPA Word Examples:

• 橋/箸 (hashi/hashi): /ha.ɕi/
• 頑張る (ganbaru): /ɡam.ba.ɾu/
• 寿司 (sushi): /mɯ.zɨ.ka.ɕiː/

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