IPAbet

The design

Most IPA symbols are a letter and one capital: s⇧H→ʃ t⇧R→ʈ n⇧G→ŋ. Five rules decide which.

The rules

  1. Plain keys stay plain
    A letter that is already an IPA symbol types itself: s→st→tm→m.
  2. Two keys at most
    Every symbol is a letter, or a letter and one capital: t⇧R→ʈ. Accents are separate keys on ⌥.
  3. Only the letter before changes
    A key only ever changes the letter just before it, so what you get never depends on anything earlier.
  4. Each capital means one thing
    ⇧R makes a sound retroflex, ⇧J palatal, ⇧L lateral: t⇧R→ʈn⇧J→ɲs⇧L→ɬ.
  5. Follow familiar spelling
    ⇧H is the h in th, sh and wh: t⇧H→θs⇧H→ʃw⇧H→ʍ. ⇧G is the g in ng: n⇧G→ŋ. The digits come from Arabic chat: 2⇧H→ʔ7⇧H→ħ.

See it

Pick a capital to see which symbols it makes. The slider moves the vowels into acoustic space and the consonants into the mouth. Click a symbol to hear it.

Vowels

FrontCentralBackCloseClose-midOpen-midOpen2400200016001200900600250350500700950← F2 (Hz)← F1 (Hz)iiyyɨi⇧Yʉu⇧Yɯu⇧Wuuɪi⇧Hʏy⇧Hʊu⇧Heeøe⇧Wɘe⇧Yɵo⇧Yɤo⇧Wooə5⇧Hɛe⇧Hœo⇧Eɜe⇧5ɞo⇧5ʌu⇧Aɔo⇧Hæa⇧Eɐa⇧5aaɶa⇧Wɑa⇧Hɒo⇧A
rounded unroundedDrag the slider: front to back becomes F2, close to open becomes F1.

Select a modifier to see how derived vowels hang off the seven bases.Every non-base vowel is base + one trailing capital (except the central-vowel series on 5, which start from schwa).

Click any vowel to hear its recording (Wikimedia Commons, isolated phonemes).Rhoticity ˞ is vowel-then-⌥R. Formant values are illustrative averages.

Pulmonic consonants

PlosiveNasalTrillTap/FlapFricativeLateral fric.ApproximantLateral appr.BilabialLabiodentalDentalAlveolarPostalv.RetroflexPalatalVelarUvularPharyng.GlottallipsglottisBilabialLabiodentalDentalAlveolarPostalv.RetroflexPalatalVelarUvularPharyng.GlottalppbbttddʈtRɖdRccɟdJkkɡg ⇧GqqɢgQʔ2 ⇧HmmɱmVnnɳnRɲnJŋnGɴnQʙrBrrʀrGⱱ4 ⇧Vɾ4 ⇧Hɽ4 ⇧RɸpHβbHffvvθtHðdHsszzʃsHʒzHʂsRʐzRçcHʝgJxxɣgHχqHʁrQħ7 ⇧Hʕ3 ⇧HhhɦhHɬsLɮzLʋvHɹrHɻrRjjɰwWllɭlRʎlJʟlG
voiced voicelessDrag the slider to move each column to where it’s made in the mouth.

Select an operator to see how derived consonants hang off the ~20 base letters.Every non-base symbol is a base plus one trailing capital (R J Q G H V L), or a ⇧-digit / ⌥-mark.

Click any symbol to hear its recording (Wikimedia Commons, isolated phonemes).Non-pulmonic consonants (clicks, implosives, ejectives) and the co-articulated / Other-Symbolconsonants live off this grid.

Coverage

Every symbol on the IPA chart, and every extIPA diacritic for disordered speech. The extIPA letters ʬ ʭ ʪ ʫ ʩ ꞎ ʞ don't have keys yet.