IPA translator: text to IPA in 13 languages

How the translator finds the IPA

1. A pronunciation dictionary. Each language has one, built mainly from Wiktionary data, and a dictionary entry is the most reliable answer.
2. Pronunciation rules, when you pick the language. A word that is not in the dictionary is spelled out with the language’s spelling-to-sound rules, where the language has them. With auto-detect, this step is skipped.
3. An AI model, last. If any word is still missing, an AI model transcribes the whole text, so the sentence stays consistent.

A text someone has already converted in the same language comes back from a cache, without being worked out again.

Languages

Pick a language, or leave auto-detect on. Each language page has a sound table, worked examples and notes on what learners find hard.

• English (US)
• English (UK)
• Arabic (MSA)
• Chinese (Mandarin)
• French
• German
• Italian
• Japanese
• Korean
• Portuguese (BR)
• Russian
• Spanish
• Turkish

Examples

One word from each language page, with its IPA as checked against the dictionaries above:

• hello/həˈloʊ/English · US — General American
• Schmetterling/ˈʃmɛtɐlɪŋ/German · butterfly — sch, final -er as /ɐ/
• bonjour/bɔ̃.ʒuʁ/French · hello — nasal vowel, uvular r
• mariposa/ma.ɾi.ˈpo.sa/Spanish · butterfly — single tap r
• farfalla/far.ˈfal.la/Italian · butterfly — held double l
• obrigado/o.bɾi.ˈɡa.du/Portuguese · thank you — final o said /u/
• ありがとう/a.ɾi.ɡa.toː/Japanese · thank you — tapped r, long final vowel
• 감사합니다/kam.sa.ham.ni.da/Korean · thank you — the ㅂ in 합 assimilates to /m/
• 你好/ni˨˩˦ xɑʊ˨˩˦/Mandarin Chinese · hello (nǐ hǎo) — said /ni˧˥ xɑʊ˨˩˦/ after third-tone sandhi
• спасибо/spɐˈsʲibə/Russian · thank you — soft с, reduced final vowel
• merhaba/meɾ.ha.ˈba/Turkish · hello — stress on the last syllable
• مرحبا/mar.ħa.ba/Arabic · hello — pharyngeal ح

Slashes or brackets?

IPA is written two ways. Between slashes, a transcription is broad: it shows the sounds that tell words apart in a language, its phonemes. Between square brackets it is narrow, and shows how a sound is actually made, such as the puff of air after the p in pin. The translator writes its results between slashes. For when to use which, read phonemic vs phonetic transcription.

Questions

Is the IPA translator free?

Yes. It needs no account and no install. The desktop app does this inside every app: select text and press the hotkey.

How much text can I convert at once?

Up to 10 characters and 3 words per request: one word or a short phrase.

Which languages does it support?

13: English (US), English (UK), Arabic (MSA), Chinese (Mandarin), French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese (BR), Russian, Spanish, Turkish. Leave auto-detect on, or pick the language when a spelling could belong to more than one.

Where does the IPA come from?

From a pronunciation dictionary for each language first. When you pick the language, a word the dictionary lacks is spelled out with the language’s pronunciation rules; with auto-detect, that step is skipped. If a word is still missing, an AI model transcribes the whole text. Rare words and names can still come out wrong, so check them against a reference when it matters.

Can I hear the pronunciation?

Not on this page. The desktop app reads aloud any text you select.

What do the slashes around the result mean?

They mark a broad, phonemic transcription: the sounds that tell words apart in the language. Square brackets mark a narrow, phonetic transcription with more detail about how each sound is made.

Need help reading the result? Start with the beginner's guide to IPA, or open a language-specific converter for pronunciation notes.