American English IPA Translator
A free IPA translator for American English
Type any English word or sentence, and this tool writes it in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA), the way it sounds in American English. You'll see:
- the IPA for every word, ready to copy
- which syllable is stressed
- each sound, with recordings of Julie saying example words and a link to her free lesson on how to say it
The symbols match the ones Julie Cunningham, MA, CCC-SLP, uses in her lessons. Julie is a licensed speech-language pathologist who has taught English since 2007.
Dictionary or everyday speech?
- Dictionary shows each word on its own, the way an American dictionary lists it, with the flap T Americans use in words like water, /ˈwɑɾɚ/. Use it to learn a new word.
- Everyday speech shows how Americans really say a sentence: the T that links into the next word in get it, /gɛɾ ɪt/, the reduced for in for me, /fɚ mi/, the T that disappears in twenty, /ˈtwɛni/, the T that stops in your throat in hot dog, /hɑʔ dɑg/, the dropped syllable in family, /ˈfæmli/, and more. Use it to sound more natural.
Sounds that are hard for speakers of your language
Choose your first language, and the translator marks the sounds in your text that are often hard for people who speak it, using the five challenges Julie sees most in her students: Arabic, Farsi/Persian, Filipino/Tagalog, French, Hindi/Urdu, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Mandarin/Chinese, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Turkish and Vietnamese. When a sound swap makes a different English word, it tells you, so you can hear why it matters: for many Spanish speakers, sit can sound like seat, and for many Korean speakers, coffee can sound like copy.
How to read the stress marks
The mark ˈ comes before the stressed syllable, the one you say longer and louder: computer is /kəmˈpjuɾɚ/. The low mark ˌ shows a lighter stress, as in pronunciation, /pɹəˌnʌnsiˈeɪʃən/. Words with one syllable don't get a mark.
Questions
Which accent does this show?
General American English, the accent most people in the U.S. hear as neutral. Many words have more than one American pronunciation, and the translator shows a common one. For example, many Americans, Julie included, say caught and cot with the same vowel, /ɑ/, so the translator does too: talk is /tɑk/ and water is /ˈwɑɾɚ/.
Where do the pronunciations come from?
They start from the Carnegie Mellon University Pronouncing Dictionary, a free dictionary of over 100,000 American English words, written here in the IPA symbols Julie uses. We changed them to match how Americans talk today: the same vowel in caught and cot, the flap T in water, and the shorter forms Americans use in words like every /ˈɛvɹi/ and different /ˈdɪfɹənt/. The everyday-speech changes follow the patterns Julie teaches in her lessons.
Why isn't my word here?
Names, brand names and very rare words may be missing. Check the spelling, or try a simpler form of the word.
Can it tell me if I'm saying a word correctly?
No. It shows how a word should sound, not how you sound. To find out how you sound, it's best to have a professional listen to you. Contact Julie if you'd like to know where to start.
Does it know which sounds are hard for me?
It knows which sounds are often hard for speakers of your first language, from Julie's work with her students. Not everyone has every challenge, so it shows patterns, not your own mistakes. Only a listener can tell which ones you really do.
Is it free?
Yes, and you don't need an account.