# Comparison of ASCII encodings of the International Phonetic Alphabet

The International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) consists of more than 100 letters and diacritics. Before Unicode became widely available, several ASCII-based encoding systems of the IPA were proposed. The alphabet went through a large revision at the Kiel Convention of 1989, and the vowel symbols again in 1993. Systems devised before these revisions inevitably lack support for the additions they introduced.
Only language-neutral systems are discussed below because language-dependent ones (such as ARPABET) do not allow for a systematic comparison.

## General information

| System | Author(s) | Created | Last updated | Note |
| Branner (unnamed) | David Prager Branner at the University of Washington | 1994 | ? | |
| Millar & Oasa (unnamed) | J. Bruce Millar and Hiroaki Oasa at Australian National University | 1981 | 1981 | |
| PHONASCII | George D. Allen at Purdue University | 1988 | 1988 | Not a direct mapping of the IPA. Segments are separated by spaces, and diacritics by commas. |
| Praat | Paul Boersma and David Weenink at the University of Amsterdam | 1991 | 2021 | |
| IPA (SIL) Keyboard | SIL International | 1994 | 2021 | |
| UCLA Phonological Segment Inventory Database (UPSID) | Ian Maddieson at the University of California, Los Angeles | 1984 | ? | Presented here is the scheme used for representing phonemes in the database of phonological inventories. Consequently, it is not designed for transcription of multiple segments and does not have symbols for values not found phonemically in the languages sampled. |
| Usenet IPA/ASCII transcription | Participants in sci.lang and alt.usage.english newsgroups (later maintained by Evan Kirshenbaum at HP Labs) | 1991 | 2011 | Also known variously as "ASCII-IPA", "Kirshenbaum", etc. IETF language subtags register fonkirsh to identify text in this convention. |
| Worldbet | James L. Hieronymus at AT&T Bell Laboratories | 1994 | 1994 | Segments are separated by spaces. |
| X-SAMPA | John C. Wells at University College London | 1995 | 2000 | IETF language subtags register fonxsamp to identify text in this convention. |

## Symbols

Only the symbols in the latest IPA chart are included. The numbers in the leftmost column, according to which the symbols are sorted, are the IPA Numbers. Some of the IPA symbols to which a system lacks a corresponding symbol may still be represented in that system by use of a modifier (diacritic), but such combinations are not included unless the documentation explicitly assigns one for the value.
| # | IPA | Branner | M&O | PHONASCII | Praat | SIL | UPSID | Usenet | Worldbet | X-SAMPA | Value |
| 101 | p | p | p | p | p | p | p | p | p | p | Voiceless bilabial plosive |
| 102 | b | b | b | b | b | b | b | b | b | b | Voiced bilabial plosive |
| 103 | t | t | t | t | t | t | t | t | t | t | Voiceless alveolar plosive |
| 104 | d | d | d | d | d | d | d | d | d | d | Voiced alveolar plosive |
| 105 | ʈ | tr) | t( | tr | \t. | t< | t. | t. | tr | t` | Voiceless retroflex plosive |
| 106 | ɖ | dr) | d( | dr | \d. | d< | d. | d. | dr | d` | Voiced retroflex plosive |
| 107 | c | c | c | c | c | c | c | c | c | c | Voiceless palatal plosive |
| 108 | ɟ | j- | J | J | \j- | j= | dj | J^ | J | J\ | Voiced palatal plosive |
| 109 | k | k | k | k | k | k | k | k | k | k | Voiceless velar plosive |
| 110 | ɡ | g | g | g | \gs | g< | g | g | g | g | Voiced velar plosive |
| 111 | q | q | q | q | q | q | q | q | q | q | Voiceless uvular plosive |
| 112 | ɢ | G | G | G | \gc | G= | G | G | Q | G\ | Voiced uvular plosive |
| 113 | ʔ | ? | ? | ? | \?g | ?= | ? | ? | ? | ? | Glottal plosive |
| 114 | m | m | m | m | m | m | m | m | m | m | Voiced bilabial nasal |
| 115 | ɱ | m" | m> | mv | \mj | m> | mD | M | M | F | Voiced labiodental nasal |
| 116 | n | n | n | n | n | n | n | n | n | n | Voiced alveolar nasal |
| 117 | ɳ | nr) | n( | nr | \n. | n< | n. | n. | nr | n` | Voiced retroflex nasal |
| 118 | ɲ | nj) | n) | nj | \nj | n= | nj | n^ | n~ | J | Voiced palatal nasal |
| 119 | ŋ | ng) | g~ | ng | \ng | n> | N | N | N | N | Voiced velar nasal |
| 120 | ɴ | N | N | N | \nc | N= | nU | n" | Nq | N\ | Voiced uvular nasal |
| 121 | ʙ | B | | bb | \bc | B= | | b<trl> | B | B\ | Voiced bilabial trill |
| 122 | r | r | r | rr | r | r | r | r<trl> | r | r | Voiced alveolar trill |
| 123 | ʀ | R | R | RR | \rc | R= | R | r" | R | R\ | Voiced uvular trill |
| 124 | ɾ | r" | r* | dt | \fh | r> | r[ | * | d( | 4 | Voiced alveolar tap |
| 125 | ɽ | rr) | r(* | rt | \f. | r< | r.[ | *. | rr | r` | Voiced retroflex flap |
| 126 | ɸ | P" | F | F | \ff | f= | P | P | F | p\ | Voiceless bilabial fricative |
| 127 | β | B" | B | V | \bf | b= | B | B | V | B | Voiced bilabial fricative |
| 128 | f | f | f | f | f | f | f | f | f | f | Voiceless labiodental fricative |
| 129 | v | v | v | v | v | v | v | v | v | v | Voiced labiodental fricative |
| 130 | θ | O- | s | sd | \tf | t= | 0D | T | T | T | Voiceless dental fricative |
| 131 | ð | d- | z | zd | \dh | d= | 6D | D | D | D | Voiced dental fricative |
| 132 | s | s | s | s | s | s | s | s | s | s | Voiceless alveolar fricative |
| 133 | z | z | z | z | z | z | z | z | z | z | Voiced alveolar fricative |
| 134 | ʃ | S | sV | S | \sh | s= | S | S | S | S | Voiceless postalveolar fricative |
| 135 | ʒ | 3" | zV | Z | \zh | z= | Z | Z | Z | Z | Voiced postalveolar fricative |
| 136 | ʂ | sr) | s( | sr | \s. | s< | s. | s. | sr | s` | Voiceless retroflex fricative |
| 137 | ʐ | zr) | z( | zr | \z. | z< | z. | z. | zr | z` | Voiced retroflex fricative |
| 138 | ç | c" | c$ | c\ | \c, | c= | C | C | C | C | Voiceless palatal fricative |
| 139 | ʝ | j" | j$ | J\ | \jc | j< | jF | C<vcd> | j^ | j\ | Voiced palatal fricative |
| 140 | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | Voiceless velar fricative |
| 141 | ɣ | g" | r=< | g\ | \gf | g= | gF | Q | G | G | Voiced velar fricative |
| 142 | χ | X | X | X | \cf | x= | X | X | X | X | Voiceless uvular fricative |
| 143 | ʁ | R% | R= | G\ | \ri | R> | RF | g" | K | R | Voiced uvular fricative |
| 144 | ħ | h- | h< | H | \h- | h> | H | H | H | X\ | Voiceless pharyngeal fricative |
| 145 | ʕ | ?& | 6< | Hv | \9e | ?< | 9 | H<vcd> | ! | ?\ | Voiced pharyngeal fricative |
| 146 | h | h | h | h | h | h | h | h | h | h | Voiceless glottal fricative |
| 147 | ɦ | h" | 6 | hv | \h^ | h< | hh | h<?> | hv | h\ | Voiced glottal fricative |
| 148 | ɬ | l- | l%$ | ls | \l- | l= | hlF | s<lat> or L | hl | K | Voiceless alveolar lateral fricative |
| 149 | ɮ | l3") | l$ | lz | \lz | l> | lF | z<lat> | Zl | K\ | Voiced alveolar lateral fricative |
| 150 | ʋ | v" | v> | | \vs | v= | vA | r<lbd> | V[ | P or V\ | Voiced labiodental approximant |
| 151 | ɹ | r& | r= | r | \rt | r= | rA | r | 9 | r\ | Voiced alveolar approximant |
| 152 | ɻ | jr) | r=( | | \r. | R< | r.A | r. | 9r | r\` | Voiced retroflex approximant |
| 153 | j | j | j | j | j | j | j | j | j | j | Voiced palatal approximant |
| 154 | ɰ | m&" | | Rg | \ml | w> | RA | j<vel> | 4) | M\ | Voiced velar approximant |
| 155 | l | l | l | l | l | l | l | l | l | l | Voiced alveolar lateral approximant |
| 156 | ɭ | lr) | l( | lr | \l. | l< | l. | l. | lr | l` | Voiced retroflex lateral approximant |
| 157 | ʎ | y& | l) | lj | \yt | L< | lj | l^ | L | L | Voiced palatal lateral approximant |
| 158 | ʟ | L | | | \lc | L= | L | L | Lg | L\ | Voiced velar lateral approximant |
| 160 | ɓ | b$ | b,, | b? | \b^ | b> | b< | b` | b< | b_< | Voiced bilabial implosive |
| 162 | ɗ | d$ | d,, | d? | \d^ | d> | d< | d` | d< | d_< | Voiced alveolar implosive |
| 164 | ʄ | j$ | J,, | J? | \j^ | j> | dj< | J` | J< | J\_< | Voiced palatal implosive |
| 166 | ɠ | g$ | g,, | g? | \g^ | g> | g< | g` | g< | g_< | Voiced velar implosive |
| 168 | ʛ | G$ | G,, | G? | \G^ | G> | G< | G` | Q< | G\_< | Voiced uvular implosive |
| 169 | ʍ | w& | | | \wt | w= | hw | v<vls> | W | W | Voiceless labial–velar fricative |
| 170 | w | w | w | w | w | w | w | w | w | w | Voiced labial–velar approximant |
| 171 | ɥ | h& | w. | | \ht | y< or h= | wj | j<rnd> | jw | H | Voiced labial–palatal approximant |
| 172 | ʜ | H | | | \hc | Q= | | | | H\ | Voiceless epiglottal trill |
| 173 | ʡ | ?- | | | \?- | H= | 99 | | | >\ | Epiglottal plosive |
| 174 | ʢ | ?" | | | \9- | Q< | | | | <\ | Voiced epiglottal trill |
| 175 | ɧ | Sx) | | | \hj | H> | | | | x\ | Sj-sound |
| 176 | ʘ | p! | p* | | \O. | p= | | p! | p| | O\ | Bilabial click |
| 177 | ǀ | t! | t* | t! | \|1 | !< | / | t! | | | |\ | Dental click |
| 178 | ǃ | r! | | | ! | ! | ! | c! | | !\ | Alveolar click |
| 179 | ǂ | c! | c* | c! | \|- | != | /= | c! | c| | =\ | Palatal click |
| 180 | ǁ | l! | l* | l! | \|2 | !> | # | l! | || | |\|\ | Alveolar lateral click |
| 181 | ɺ | l" | | lt | \rl | L> | l[ | *<lat> | l) | l\ | Voiced alveolar lateral flap |
| 182 | ɕ | ci) | sV> | ss | \cc | c< | SJ | | c} | s\ | Voiceless alveolo-palatal fricative |
| 183 | ʑ | zi) | zV> | zz | \zc | z> | ZJ | | z} | z\ | Voiced alveolo-palatal fricative |
| 184 | ⱱ | | | | | v< | v[ | | | | Voiced labiodental flap |
| 209 | ɫ | l~) | l- | | \l~ | l~~ | l- | L | | 5 | Velarized alveolar lateral approximant |
| 301 | i | i | i | i | i | i | i | i | i | i | Close front unrounded vowel |
| 302 | e | e | e | e | e | e | e | e | e | e | Close-mid front unrounded vowel |
| 303 | ɛ | E | E | E | \ef | e< | E | E | E | E | Open-mid front unrounded vowel |
| 304 | a | a | a | a | a | a | a | a | a | a | Open front unrounded vowel |
| 305 | ɑ | a" | A | aa | \as | a= | a_ | A | A | A | Open back unrounded vowel |
| 306 | ɔ | c& | O | O | \ct | o< | O | O | > | O | Open-mid back rounded vowel |
| 307 | o | o | o | o | o | o | o | o | o | o | Close-mid back rounded vowel |
| 308 | u | u | u | u | u | u | u | u | u | u | Close back rounded vowel |
| 309 | y | y | y or i! | y | y | y | y | y | y | y | Close front rounded vowel |
| 310 | ø | o/) | 0 or e! | oe | \o/ | o> | o/ | Y | 7 | 2 | Close-mid front rounded vowel |
| 311 | œ | oe) | E! | oE | \oe | E< | E) | W | 8 | 9 | Open-mid front rounded vowel |
| 312 | ɶ | OE) | a! | OE | \Oe | E> | | &. | 6 | & | Open front rounded vowel |
| 313 | ɒ | a"& | A= or A! | ao | \ab | o= | a_) | A. | 5 | Q | Open back rounded vowel |
| 314 | ʌ | v& | ^, V= or O! | A | \vt | u> | ^ | V | ^ | V | Open-mid back unrounded vowel |
| 315 | ɤ | U" | o! | oo | \rh | O> | o( | o- | 2 | 7 | Close-mid back unrounded vowel |
| 316 | ɯ | m& | m= or u! | uu | \mt | u= | uu | u- | 4 | M | Close back unrounded vowel |
| 317 | ɨ | i- | i" | i- | \i- | I= | i_ | i" | ix | 1 | Close central unrounded vowel |
| 318 | ʉ | u- | u" | u- | \u- | U= | u+ | u" | ux | } | Close central rounded vowel |
| 319 | ɪ | I | I | I | \ic | i= | I | I | I | I | Near-close near-front unrounded vowel |
| 320 | ʏ | Y | Y | Y | \yc | Y= | Y | U. | Y | Y | Near-close near-front rounded vowel |
| 321 | ʊ | U | U | U | \hs | u< | U | U | U | U | Near-close near-back rounded vowel |
| 322 | ə | @ | e= | 6 | \sw | e= | "@ | @ | & | @ | Mid central vowel |
| 323 | ɵ | o- | o" | | \o- | O= | @) | @. | ox | 8 | Close-mid central rounded vowel |
| 324 | ɐ | a& | | | \at | a> | 4 | | ax | 6 | Near-open central vowel |
| 325 | æ | ae) | @ | ae | \ae | a< | aa | & | @ | { | Near-open front unrounded vowel |
| 326 | ɜ | E& | E" | 3 | \er | e> | 3 | V" | 3 | 3 | Open-mid central unrounded vowel |
| 327 | ɚ | xr^ | | 3r | \sr | | "@. | R | | @` | R-coloured mid central vowel |
| 395 | ɞ | E" | O" | | \kb | O< | 3) | O" | | 3\ | Open-mid central rounded vowel |
| 397 | ɘ | e& | e" | 6 | \e- | E= | @ | @<umd> | | @\ | Close-mid central unrounded vowel |
| 401 | ◌ʼ | ` | | ? | \ap | ]] | ' | ` | > | _> | Ejective |
| 402A | ◌̥ | V) | % | ,-v | \0v | % | | <o> | 0 | _0 | Voiceless |
| 402B | ◌̊ | V) | % | ,-v | \0^ | @ | | <o> | 0 | _0 | Voiceless |
| 403 | ◌̬ | v) | | ,+v | | %% | | <vcd> | v | _v | Voiced |
| 404 | ʰ | h^ | HH | ,h | \^h | h^ | h | <h> | h | _h | Aspirated |
| 405 | ◌̤ | h") | | ,hv | \:v | %%% | h | <?> | Hv | _t | Breathy voiced |
| 406 | ◌̰ | ~ | | ,?v | \~v | $$$ | * | | ? | _k | Creaky voiced |
| 407 | ◌̼ | { | | | | {{{{ | | | { | _N | Linguolabial |
| 408 | ◌̪ | [ | [ | ,d | \Nv | { | | [ | [ | _d | Dental |
| 409 | ◌̺ | ] | | ,ap | \Uv | {{ | | | ] | _a | Apical |
| 410 | ◌̻ | | | ,lm | \Dv | {{{ | | | } | _m | Laminal |
| 411 | ◌̹ | u) | } | ,+w | \3v | ++++ | | . | (w) | _O | More rounded |
| 412 | ◌̜ | U) | { | | \cv | ____ | | - | | _c | Less rounded |
| 413 | ◌̟ | + | + | ,< or ,fr | \+v | + | | | + | _+ | Advanced |
| 414 | ◌̠ | _ | - | ,> or ,bk | \-v | _ | | | - | _- | Retracted |
| 415 | ◌̈ | "^ | " | | \:^ | * | | " | | _" | Centralized |
| 416 | ◌̽ | x^ | | | \x^ | ** | | | | _x | Mid-centralized |
| 417 | ◌̘ | < | | | \T( | +++ | | | ¿ | _A | Advanced tongue root |
| 418 | ◌̙ | > | | | \T) | ___ | | | ¡ | _q | Retracted tongue root |
| 419 | ◌˞ | r^ | | | \hr | [[[ | . | <r> | | ` | Rhoticity |
| 420 | ʷ | w^ | | ,V\ | \^w | w^ | W | <w> | w | _w | Labialized |
| 421 | ʲ | j^ | . | ,j | \^j | j^ | J | <pzd> | j | ' or _j | Palatalized |
| 422 | ˠ | g^ | | ,g | \^G | g=^ | - | <vzd> | 2 | _G | Velarized |
| 423 | ˤ | &g^ | | ,H | \^9 | ?<^ | 9 | <H> | ! | _?\ | Pharyngealized |
| 424 | ◌̃ | ~^ | ~ | ,+n | \~^ | ~ | ~ | ~ | ~ | ~ or _~ | Nasalized |
| 425 | ⁿ | n^ | | ,n- | \^n | n^ | n | | n | _n | Nasal release |
| 426 | ˡ | l^ | | ,l- | \^l | l^ | L | | l | _l | Lateral release |
| 427 | ◌̚ | .) | | ,= | \cn | ]]] | | <unx> | c | _} | No audible release |
| 428 | ◌̴ | ~) | - | | | | | | | _e | Velarized or pharyngealized |
| 429 | ◌̝ | = | . | ,/ or ,up | \T^ | ++ | | | | _r | Raised |
| 430 | ◌̞ | =" | ( | ,\ or ,dn | \Tv | __ | | | | _o | Lowered |
| 431 | ◌̩ | ,) | \ | ,$ | \|v | $ | | - | = | = or _= | Syllabic |
| 432 | ◌̯ | ( | * | ,gl | \nv | $$ | | | ( | _^ | Non-syllabic |
| 433 | ◌͡◌ | )) | | _ | \li | #& | | | | _ | Affricate or double articulation |
| 433 | ◌͜◌ | )) | | _ | | @& | | | | _ | Affricate or double articulation |
| 501 | ˈ | ' | ' | $S5 | \'1 | } | | ' | ` | " | Primary stress |
| 502 | ˌ | , | ` | $S3 | \'2 | }} | | , | ' | % | Secondary stress |
| 503 | ː | : | | | ,: | \:f | : | : | : | : | : | Long |
| 504 | ˑ | ; | : | ,. | \.f | :: | | | ; | :\ | Half-long |
| 505 | ◌̆ | (^ | * | ,-- | \N^ | *** | S | | ( | _X | Extra-short |
| 506 | . | . | | $ | . | . | | # | . | . | Syllable break |
| 507 | | | | | | | | | .< | | | | | | Minor (foot) group |
| 508 | ‖ | || | | | || | .= | | | | || | Major (intonation) group |
| 509 | ‿ | =) | | | \_u | #= | | | | -\ | Linking (absence of a break) |
| 510 | ↗ | / | | | | #>> | | | | </> or <R> | Global rise |
| 511 | ↘ | \ | | | | #<< | | | | <\> or <F> | Global fall |
| 512 | ◌̋ | 5 | 5 | $T5- | | @4 | | | _9 | _T | Extra-high |
| 513 | ◌́ | 4 | 4 | $T4- | \'^ | @3 | | | _7 | _H | High |
| 514 | ◌̄ | 3 | 3 | $T3- | \-^ | @2 | | | _5 | _M | Mid |
| 515 | ◌̀ | 2 | 2 | $T2- | \`^ | @1 | | | _3 | _L | Low |
| 516 | ◌̏ | 1 | 1 | $T1- | | @0 | | | _1 | _B | Extra-low |
| 517 | ꜛ | /) | | | | #< | | | | ^ | Upstep |
| 518 | ꜜ | \) | | | | #> | | | | ! | Downstep |
| 519 | ˥ | 5 | 5 | $T5- | | #4 | | | | <T> | Extra-high |
| 520 | ˦ | 4 | 4 | $T4- | | #3 | | | | <H> | High |
| 521 | ˧ | 3 | 3 | $T3- | | #2 | | | | <M> | Mid |
| 522 | ˨ | 2 | 2 | $T2- | | #1 | | | | <L> | Low |
| 523 | ˩ | 1 | 1 | $T1- | | #0 | | | | <B> | Extra-low |
| 524 | ◌̌ | 15 | 15 | $1/ | \v^ | @13 | | | | _L_H, _R or _/ | Rising |
| 525 | ◌̂ | 51 | 51 | $5\ | \^^ | @31 | | | | _H_L, _F or _\ | Falling |
| 526 | ◌᷄ | 35 | 35 | $3/ | | @23 | | | | _H_T | High-rising |
| 527 | ◌᷅ | 13 | 13 | $3\ | | @12 | | | | _B_L | Low-rising |
| 528 | ◌᷈ | 342 | 342 | $T3^ | | @131 | | | | _M_H_L, _R_F or _/_\ | Rising–falling |

## Coverage

| Scope | Branner | Millar & Oasa | PHONASCII | Praat | SIL | UPSID | Usenet | Worldbet | X-SAMPA |
| Consonants (80) | 79 (99%) | 69 (86%) | 67 (84%) | 79 (99%) | 80 (100%) | 75 (94%) | 73 (91%) | 73 (91%) | 79 (99%) |
| Vowels (29) | 29 (100%) | 27 (93%) | 26 (90%) | 29 (100%) | 28 (97%) | 28 (97%) | 28 (97%) | 26 (90%) | 29 (100%) |
| Diacritics (35) | 34 (97%) | 15 (43%) | 25 (71%) | 30 (86%) | 34 (97%) | 12 (34%) | 17 (49%) | 25 (71%) | 26 (74%) |
| Suprasegmentals (28) | 28 (100%) | 20 (71%) | 21 (75%) | 14 (50%) | 28 (100%) | 2 (7%) | 4 (14%) | 11 (39%) | 28 (100%) |
| Total (172) | 170 (99%) | 131 (76%) | 139 (81%) | 152 (88%) | 170 (99%) | 117 (68%) | 122 (71%) | 135 (78%) | 162 (94%) |