Phonetics is the study of speech sounds.
Explore phonetics: paste a word or sentence, choose US or UK, and select a mode.
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Standard is free; Spoken uses credits. Switching modes does not spend credits.
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Example · IPA Transcription · American English
This phonetics converter turns English text into a phonetic transcription in International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) symbols, so you can see how words sound. Start with free Standard transcription for dictionary pronunciations, or choose Spoken to examine pronunciation in sentence context.
English spelling gives clues about pronunciation, but those clues are inconsistent. A letter can represent different sounds, and several letters can represent one sound. Phonetics helps you look beyond spelling and pay attention to the sounds themselves.
For everyday study, English phonetics becomes useful when you have a specific question: where does the stress fall, which vowel belongs here, or why does this familiar word sound different in a sentence? Enter your own vocabulary, lesson material, or practice script and work through the result at a manageable pace.
Phonetics covers more than the symbols shown by this tool. It also concerns how sounds are produced, heard, and measured. This page focuses on one practical part of phonetics: written transcription of English pronunciation. The output is a guide to speech sounds, not a recording of your voice or a guarantee that every speaker uses the same pronunciation.
Choose Standard when you want dictionary pronunciations for individual words. It uses dictionary lookup and may show more than one pronunciation where alternatives are available. This is a useful starting point for phonetics study: check the sounds, compare accents, and notice stress before practicing a longer passage. Standard is free and does not use Spoken credits.
Choose Spoken when you want a context-aware transcription of a sentence or passage. It can account for pronunciation choices that depend on surrounding words, including weak forms and words whose pronunciation changes with meaning. Spoken uses credits and is subject to your available allowance. Treat its result as a suggested reading to check, rather than the only possible way to speak.
Both modes support phonetics practice: Standard gives dictionary forms, while Spoken suggests a contextual reading. Switching keeps your input and clears the old result. Submit again to compare; changing the selector does not run a conversion or spend credits.
First, paste a short piece of English into the input box. Starting with one sentence makes phonetics easier to follow than starting with a whole article. Choose American or British pronunciation using the US or UK setting, then select Standard or Spoken. Press Show IPA to generate a result for the text you entered.
Next, read the transcription beside the original words. Look for stress marks, unfamiliar vowel symbols, and places where the letters do not predict the sound. Use the available pronunciation controls to listen as you study. Connect the written symbols with listening and repetition instead of treating them as an isolated exercise.
Finally, change one word and explore English phonetics in context. Consider whether the meaning or rhythm changes, keeping the accent setting consistent. After switching modes, submit again to generate a new transcription.
The starting example is “Please read the schedule.” In Standard, schedule appears as ˈskɛdʒul in the US dictionary and ˈʃɛdjuːl in the UK dictionary. This makes pronunciation differences visible without changing the written word. These are the converter’s dictionary entries, not an exhaustive list of regional pronunciations; speakers within either country can use other variants.
The word read also illustrates why phonetics needs context. Standard can list alternatives for its present and past forms. For a phonetics comparison, try “I read every morning” and “Yesterday I read the news” in Spoken. Look at the suggested vowel and check it against the sentence meaning. A dictionary list and a contextual reading serve different purposes.
Build a phonetics practice routine: predict a word’s sounds, check the transcription, and listen. Then try a sentence, focusing on recurring sounds and stress. Begin with familiar symbols rather than memorizing the whole chart.
Use phonetics to prepare vocabulary lists, classroom examples, presentation notes, or reading practice. In a phonetics lesson, teachers can compare a dictionary entry with a sentence reading; learners can revisit words that look alike but sound different. The useful result is a clearer question about pronunciation, followed by listening and practice. A transcription alone does not assess your accent or fluency.
This phonetics tool takes English text as input. It does not transcribe an uploaded recording, translate another language into English, or convert phonetic symbols back into ordinary spelling. Names, specialist terms, and unusual spellings may need extra checking. If a word is missing or a reading seems wrong, compare a reliable dictionary or ask a teacher before using it as a reference.
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Use the dedicated Standard dictionary converter.
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Work on the words in your next presentation.
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Return to the tool, start with Standard, and explore phonetics using your own text.
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