The charts below show the way in which the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) represents pronunciation for Tagalog language and a number of related Philippine languages in Wikipedia articles. For a guide to adding IPA characters to Wikipedia articles, see ((IPA-tl)) and Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Pronunciation § Entering IPA characters.

See Tagalog phonology for a more thorough look at the sounds of Tagalog.

Consonants
IPA Examples English approximation
ʔ akdâ [ak'daʔ] the catch in uh-oh
b bagay, Cavite best
d daw do
dʒ diyan; udyók joy
ɡ gatas gold
h hawak; Ecija; Geronimo; Sergio heat
j yupî you, boy
k Bulacan, keso, Quezon scan[1]
l bakal, ulo lamb
m madre mate
n nasa, asín need
ŋ ngipin, mangga wing, singer[2]
ɲ anyô, niya, El Niño canyon
p piso span[1]
ɾ[3] marami, parte North American, Australian atom[4]
s sugat, Nueva Vizcaya skew
ʃ okasyon, siyempre shine
t tamís, tarantado stand[1]
ts tatsulok, pizza cats[5]
tʃ mechado, tiyák; kutyà, kutsara chew
w lawak, bawal wait
Regional and marginal consonants
f Filipino, ref four[6]
ɣ sige Spanish amigo
r[3] Rajah, Salvador, Ormoc Spanish terremoto
ɹ[3] kard, nars red
v[6] van, David vase
x yakap Scottish English loch
z Zamboanga, Luzon zebra[7]
Vowels
IPA Examples English approximation
a batok far[8]
ɐ tansô nut[9]
ɛ heto, Emong set[10]
e eh, mayroon, bakit GA hand[10][11]
ɪ iták, depende sit[12]
i sinat, ngipin see
ɔ[13] opo off
o yero, katotohanan, pusô soul[12]
ʊ ulól foot[12]
u putik; podér soon
Diphthongs
aɪ tatay ice[14]
aʊ sayaw out
ea teatro Beatrice
eɪ Rey pay
eɔ leon payoff
ɪʊ paksiw, sisiw seawall
oɪ langoy boy
oʊ[15] limot sole
Marginal vowels
ɚ sir, kompyuter North American her[16]
Other symbols used in transcription of Tagalog pronunciation
IPA Explanation
ˈ Primary stress (placed before the stressed syllable):
tayô [taˈjoʔ] 'to stand', táyo [ˈtajo] 'we'

Notes

  1. ^ a b c /k/, /p/ and /t/ are never aspirated, unlike in English.
  2. ^ The ⟨ng⟩ cluster in Tagalog is treated as a singular phoneme, being a singular Baybayin character. The medial "ng" sound in other languages such as linger are spelled as the cluster "ngg". Outside the country, both spelling patterns are also observed in the Romanization of Korean.
  3. ^ a b c The /r/ phoneme is generally an alveolar rhotic that varies freely between [ɾ] [r] and [ɹ], and it exists as a distinct phoneme mostly in loanwords.
  4. ^ For native words, /ɾ/ is normally a flapped form of /d/. The two phonemes were separated with the introduction of the Latin script during the Spanish era.
  5. ^ Some local speakers read ts as /tʃ/ except for tatsulok.
  6. ^ a b /f/ and /v/ are usually pronounced by younger speakers, who tend to have English-leaning pronunciations. Others would replace for these phonemes with /p/ and /b/, respectively, in a fashion similar to fortition.
  7. ^ /z/ is sometimes an allophone of /s/ before voiced consonants like in Spanish.
  8. ^ /a/ is normally pronounced as a central vowel [ä]. However, the front variant [a] may also be used.
  9. ^ /a/ is relaxed to [ɐ] in unstressed positions and also occasionally in stressed positions in words such as (Inang Bayan [iˈnɐŋ ˈbɐjɐn]).
  10. ^ a b [ɛ] usually exists in slow or formal speech and may become a mid [ɛ̝] or close mid [e] in normal speech.
  11. ^ [e, o] are allophones of /i, u/ in final syllables, but they are distinct phonemes in some native words and English and Spanish loanwords.
  12. ^ a b c [ɪ, ʊ] are allophones of /i, u/ and sometimes /e, o/ (the latter for English and Spanish loanwords) in unstressed initial and medial syllables. See Tagalog phonology#Vowels and semivowels.
  13. ^ An allophone of [o] used in stressed syllables or interjections.
  14. ^ Sometimes replaced by [eː] in casual speech.
  15. ^ Occurs mostly in Batangas accent.
  16. ^ Occurs only in loanwords.
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