IPA Keyboard

How to Use the IPA Keyboard

1. Click a symbol. It is inserted at the cursor in the text box, replacing any selected text. You can also type or paste in the box, so the keyboard sits alongside ordinary typing.
2. Add a diacritic after its base letter. Click the letter, then the mark: n then the syllabic mark gives n̩. A mark joins the character before the cursor, and if there is nothing to attach it to, the keyboard says so instead of leaving a stray mark.
3. Check the name and code point. Hover or focus a key to see its name and Unicode code point. The line under the keys lists the code points of your whole text, which helps when a symbol looks right but will not search or match.
4. Copy the result. Use the copy button, or delete the last symbol with the backspace button if you misclicked.

How the Layout Follows the IPA Chart

The International Phonetic Alphabet is maintained by the International Phonetic Association, founded in 1886, which publishes the chart that this keyboard follows (revised to 2020). Its symbols are grouped the same way, so a sound is found by describing it, not by remembering where a key sits.

• Pulmonic consonants form a grid. Columns are places of articulation, from the lips (bilabial) to the throat (glottal); rows are manners, such as plosive, nasal and fricative. Where two symbols share a cell, the one on the right is voiced.
• Vowels are arranged by tongue height down the page and backness across it. Where two symbols share a cell, the one on the right is rounded.
• Non-pulmonic consonants are the clicks, voiced implosives and the ejective mark. The other symbols group holds sounds with two articulations, such as the labial-velar approximant, plus the two tie bars.
• Diacritics, suprasegmentals and tones follow, with the marks for stress, length, breaks between groups, tone accents and tone letters.

Slashes, Brackets and What They Mean

Transcriptions are conventionally wrapped to show what kind they are. Mixing the conventions is a common error in student work, so the table shows the three in use.

The aspiration mark in the second row is a modifier letter (U+02B0) placed after the k; the keyboard lists it with the other diacritics, though it is a spacing character rather than a combining one.

Unicode Details That Trip People Up

• The IPA g is not the ASCII g. The chart's symbol is the script g, ɡ (U+0261). In many fonts the two look the same, but only ɡ is the IPA letter, and the two will not match in a search. The keyboard always inserts U+0261.
• Some IPA letters are Greek. The voiced bilabial fricative is Greek beta (β), the voiceless dental fricative is theta (θ) and the voiceless uvular fricative is chi (χ). The keyboard inserts the Greek code points.
• Diacritics are combining marks, with exceptions. A ring below (U+0325) is a combining character that attaches to the letter before it. Letters with a descender take the ring above instead, as in ɡ̊, so the mark does not collide with the tail. Aspiration (ʰ), labialization (ʷ) and palatalization (ʲ) are separate spacing characters.
• Tie bars join affricates. For t͡s click t, then the tie bar above, then s. Fonts differ in how well they draw the bar, so check how it looks in the font you will use.
• Precomposed forms exist. A nasalized a can be a plus a combining tilde (U+0303) or the single character ã. The keyboard inserts the two-character form; use the Unicode Text Normalizer to convert if a program needs the other.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I type IPA symbols?

Click the symbols you need in the layout, which inserts each one at the cursor in the text box, then copy the text into your document. Symbols are grouped like the IPA chart, so find a consonant by its place and manner or a vowel by its height and backness. You can hover over any key to see its name and Unicode code point.

How do I add a diacritic to a letter?

Click the base letter first, then click the diacritic. A combining diacritic attaches to the character before the cursor, so n followed by the syllabic mark gives n̩. For a letter with a descender, such as ɡ, use the ring above, which is a separate key, so the mark stays clear of the tail.

Why does ɡ look like g but behave differently?

They are different characters. The IPA symbol is the script g, ɡ, at U+0261, while the ASCII g is U+0067. The two can look identical in a font, but a search for one will not find the other. Use U+0261 for IPA text, and check pasted text with the Unicode Character Inspector if matching matters.

What is the difference between slashes and square brackets?

Slashes mark a phonemic transcription, which records only the sounds that distinguish words in a language: /pɪt/. Square brackets mark a phonetic transcription, which can record detail such as aspiration: [pʰɪt]. Use slashes for broad transcription in a dictionary or textbook and brackets when the exact pronunciation is the point.

How do I type an affricate like ts or a double articulation like kp?

Type the first letter, click the tie bar above, then type the second letter: t͡s, k͡p. The tie bar is a combining mark, so it attaches to the first letter. A tie bar below is also provided for fonts that draw the upper one poorly.

Why do some symbols show boxes or sit in the wrong place?

Symbols appear as boxes when the font on your screen has no glyph for the character, and combining marks are positioned by the font, so the same text can look different from one app to another. Fonts designed for phonetics, such as Charis SIL, Doulos SIL and Gentium Plus, cover the whole alphabet. The text itself is correct whichever font draws it.

Which version of the IPA chart does it follow, and is anything uploaded?

The layout and symbol groups follow the IPA chart as revised to 2020, © International Phonetic Association, licensed CC BY-SA 3.0. Three letters common in dictionaries but absent from the chart (the r-coloured vowels and the velarized l) are listed separately. Everything runs in your browser and nothing you type is uploaded.