IPA Tones and Word Accents | IPA Pronunciation and Phonetic Learning

This page is an interactive International Phonetic Alphabet tones and word accents chart (IPA Tones and Word Accents) that collects 14 groups of commonly used symbols, including 5 level tones (extra high, high, mid, low, extra low), 5 contour tones (rising, falling, high rising, low rising, rising-falling), as well as downstep ꜜ, upstep ꜛ, global rise ↗, and global fall ↘, and other word accent and intonation symbols. Each tone is provided in two notations: one uses accent marks (such as ◌́, ◌̀) written directly over vowels, and the other uses Chao tone letters (such as ˦, ˨, ˩˥). The two are functionally equivalent, and the chart connects them with or. Click any symbol on the left, and the right side will display its Chinese name, IPA name, IPA number, Unicode name, Hex value, and pronunciation example. Click ▶ to play the standard audio. This is an important reference for IPA pronunciation and phonetic learning.

What Are Tones and Word Accents?

Tone is a pitch variation at the syllable level. It distinguishes word meaning through the height and movement of relative pitch and mainly appears in Sino-Tibetan, Kra-Dai, and Hmong-Mien languages, as well as some languages of the Americas and Africa. Word accent is a prosodic means of highlighting a syllable at the word or syllable level through pitch, loudness, or duration. It is common in "pitch-accent languages" such as Japanese, Swedish, and Serbian, as well as "stress languages" such as English and Russian. The International Phonetic Alphabet uses a separate set of symbols to record tones and word accents. Together with stress symbols ˈ and ˌ and vowel length symbols ː and ˑ, they form a complete system for describing prosody. Mastering these symbols is a prerequisite for recording tonal languages and describing intonation changes, and it is an important part of IPA pronunciation and phonetic learning.

The Two Notations for Tone Symbols

The International Phonetic Alphabet provides two equivalent ways to write tones. The first is accent-mark notation, which places combining diacritics directly over vowel letters, such as é, è, ē, ě, ê, e̋, and ȅ. Its advantages are concise writing and convenient typesetting. The second is Chao tone-letter notation, which uses several vertical bars (tone letters) to represent relative pitch levels, such as ˥, ˦, ˧, ˨, ˩, and combined forms ˩˥, ˥˩, ˧˥, ˩˧, and ˧˦˨. Its advantage is that it can be freely combined to depict pitch movement precisely, especially in contour tones and multi-tone languages. The chart on this page gives both notations for each tone, connected by or; clicking either side displays the same pronunciation features. For phonetic learning, mastering both notations can significantly improve transcription ability.

Classification of Level Tones

Level tones are tones in which pitch remains relatively stable within a syllable. They are divided into five levels from high to low: extra high level (◌̋ or ˥), high level (◌́ or ˦), mid level (◌̄ or ˧), low level (◌̀ or ˨), and extra low level (◌̏ or ˩). These five levels form the basic pitch scale of the Chao tone-letter system on this page. The four tones of Standard Chinese—first tone (55), second tone (35), third tone (214), and fourth tone (51)— can all be written precisely with this set of tone letters. When learning level tones, the key is to build an auditory impression of "relative pitch," not absolute pitch. For example, when the same speaker produces ˥ and ˩, the perceived difference is what matters; different people differ greatly in absolute frequency. This is especially important in IPA pronunciation training.

Composition of Contour Tones

Contour tones are tones in which pitch rises or falls within a syllable. Common types include rising tone (◌̌ or ˩˥), falling tone (◌̂ or ˥˩), high rising tone (◌᷄ or ˧˥), low rising tone (◌᷅ or ˩˧), and rising-falling tone (◌᷈ or ˧˦˨). Compared with level tones, contour tone letters are made by joining two or three pitch-level symbols. For example, ˩˥ indicates a rise from the lowest pitch to the highest pitch, and ˧˦˨ indicates a rise from mid to high and then a fall to low. The third tone of Standard Chinese (214) is a typical contour tone, and contour tones also appear extensively in Mandarin dialects, Cantonese, and Southern Min. When learning contour tones, pay special attention to the starting point, ending point, and turning point, and use audio to experience the direction of pitch movement. This is very helpful for the fine description of IPA pronunciation.

The Function of Downstep ꜜ and Upstep ꜛ

The downstep symbol ꜜ and the upstep symbol ꜛ are used to describe an overall lowering or raising of the pitch baseline within a word or phrase. They are common in African tonal languages (such as Hausa and Yoruba) and some East Asian languages. Downstep means that the pitch of following syllables is lowered overall, while the tone pattern itself remains unchanged; upstep is the opposite. For example, in the English sentence "He's determined to ꜜtake charge," ꜜ indicates that the pitch of the syllable containing take is overall lower than the expected value from the preceding syllable, creating a natural sense of intonation decline. Both are "relative adjustment" symbols. They can only be understood by referring to the pitch baseline of surrounding syllables, and they need to be used flexibly according to context in phonetic learning.

The Function of Global Rise ↗ and Global Fall ↘

Global rise ↗ and global fall ↘ are symbols at the intonation level, used to describe the pitch movement of an entire phrase or sentence. They often appear in English questions and statements. For example, in "↗What did you say you wanted?" the ↗ indicates that the pitch of the whole sentence tends to rise, corresponding to the rising intonation of a yes-no question; in "↘What did you say you wanted?" the ↘ indicates that the whole sentence tends to fall, corresponding to the falling intonation of a statement or wh-question. These two symbols are written at the beginning or end of a sentence. Used together with the major prosodic group ‖ and minor prosodic group | in the suprasegmental features chart, they can fully describe the intonation structure of a stretch of speech. They are key symbols for intonation training in IPA pronunciation and phonetic learning.

The Relationship Between Tone Symbols and Vowel Symbols

Tone symbols themselves do not represent phonemes, but are superimposed on vowels or sonorant consonants to record the pitch of a syllable. In terms of writing, combining diacritic notation is written directly on vowel letters, such as /é/ and /è/; Chao tone-letter notation is usually written at the end of a syllable, such as /ma˧˥/. The two notations each have suitable scenarios: the former is compact and convenient for marking dictionary entries, while the latter is flexible and convenient for describing complex tone patterns in multi-tone languages. In actual transcription, the same page or the same work generally uses one notation consistently to avoid visual confusion caused by mixing. This is also a writing convention that should be developed in IPA pronunciation and phonetic learning.

How to Understand the Tones and Word Accents Chart

The tones and word accents chart on this page corresponds to the interactive IPA tone panel. The core area consists of a symbol list on the left and a detail card on the right: the left side displays 14 groups of symbols in a 6-column grid. Each group contains a main notation (accent mark) and an alternative notation (Chao letters), separated by or. Clicking either side switches the display; after clicking, the right side displays the symbol's full Chinese name, IPA name, IPA number, Unicode name, Hex value, and a directly playable pronunciation example.

When using it, you should understand "symbol," "tone pattern," and "example" together: the symbol is only the written form, the tone pattern explains the pitch movement and level, and the example shows how it appears in actual language or typical combinations. For example, the extra high level tone is represented by both ◌̋ and ˥, but both refer to a stable highest pitch; the rising-falling tone is represented by ◌᷈ or ˧˦˨, both referring to the movement from mid to high and then to low. By repeatedly comparing with the audio on the right, you can connect abstract symbols with real pitch changes, thereby improving IPA pronunciation and phonetic learning efficiency.

How to Master the Pronunciation of Tone Symbols and Phonetic Learning

It is recommended to learn in the order of "level tones → contour tones → downstep and upstep → global intonation." First master the auditory perception and tone letters of the five level tones and build the concept of "relative pitch levels"; then learn the five contour tones, focusing on starting point, ending point, and turning point; next learn downstep ꜜ and upstep ꜛ, experiencing the relative adjustment of the pitch baseline; finally learn global rise ↗ and global fall ↘, understanding them in the context of whole-sentence intonation. For each symbol you learn, click ▶ to play the audio, imitate the reading aloud, and record yourself to listen back. You can also try producing different tones on the same syllable /ma/ for comparison. This is the most effective way to master tones and can significantly improve IPA pronunciation and phonetic learning.