A close vowel (/kloʊz/) is a type of vowel sound used in many spoken languages. The defining characteristic of a close vowel is that the tongue is positioned as close as possible to the roof of the mouth without creating a constriction that would be classified as a consonant.
This term is prescribed by the International Phonetic Association. Close vowels are often referred to as high vowels, as in the Americanist phonetic tradition, because the tongue is positioned high in the mouth during the articulation of a close vowel.
The six close vowels identified within the International Phonetic Alphabet are:
- close front unrounded vowel
- close front rounded vowel
- close central unrounded vowel
- close central rounded vowel
- close back unrounded vowel
- close back rounded vowel
In the context of the phonology of any particular language, a high vowel can be any vowel that is more close than a mid vowel. That is, close-mid vowels, near-close vowels, and close vowels can all be considered high vowels.
International Phonetic Alphabet
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IPA topics
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IPA |
- International Phonetic Association
- History of the IPA
- Extensions to the IPA
- Kiel convention (1989)
- Journal of the IPA (JIPA)
- Naming conventions
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Phonetics |
- Diacritics
- Segments
- Tone letter
- Place of articulation
- Manner of articulation
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Special topics |
- Case variants of IPA letters
- Handwritten IPA
- Obsolete and nonstandard symbols
- IPA chart for English dialects
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Encodings |
- SAMPA
- X-SAMPA
- Conlang X-SAMPA
- Kirshenbaum
- TIPA
- Phonetic symbols in Unicode
- WorldBet
- IPA Braille
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Consonants
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IPA pulmonic consonantschart image • audio |
Place → |
Labial |
Coronal |
Dorsal |
Radical |
Glottal |
↓ Manner |
Bilabial |
Labio-dental |
Dental |
Alveolar |
Postalveolar |
Retroflex |
Alveolo-palatal |
Palatal |
Velar |
Uvular |
Pharyngeal |
Epiglottal |
Glottal |
Nasal |
m̥ |
m |
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ɱ |
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n̪ |
n̥ |
n |
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n̠ |
ɳ̊ |
ɳ |
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ɲ̟ |
ɲ̊ |
ɲ |
ŋ̊ |
ŋ |
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ɴ |
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Stop |
p |
b |
p̪ |
b̪ |
t̪ |
d̪ |
t |
d |
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ʈ |
ɖ |
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c |
ɟ |
k |
ɡ |
q |
ɢ |
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ʡ |
ʔ |
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Fricative |
ɸ |
β |
f |
v |
θ |
ð |
s |
z |
ʃ |
ʒ |
ʂ |
ʐ |
ɕ |
ʑ |
ç |
ʝ |
x |
ɣ |
χ |
ʁ |
ħ |
ʕ |
ʜ |
ʢ |
h |
ɦ |
Approximant |
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ʋ |
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ɹ |
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ɻ |
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j̊ |
j |
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ɰ |
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Flap or tap |
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ⱱ̟ |
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ⱱ |
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ɾ |
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ɽ |
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ɢ̆ |
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ʡ̯ |
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Trill |
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ʙ |
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r̥ |
r |
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ɽ͡r |
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ʀ |
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ᴙ * |
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Lateral fricative |
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ɬ |
ɮ |
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ɭ˔̊ |
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ʎ̥˔ |
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ʟ̝̊ |
ʟ̝ |
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Lateral approximant |
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l̪ |
l̥ |
l |
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ɭ |
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ʎ̟ |
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ʎ |
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ʟ |
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Lateral flap |
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ɺ |
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ɺ̠ |
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ʎ̯ |
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ʟ̆ |
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Non-pulmonic consonants
Clicks |
ʘ |
ǀ |
ǃ |
ǂ |
ǁ |
ʘ̃ |
ʘ̃ˀ |
ʘ͡q |
ʘ͡qʼ |
‼ |
Implosives |
ɓ |
ɗ |
ʄ |
ᶑ |
ɠ |
ʛ |
Ejectives |
pʼ |
t̪ʼ |
tʼ |
cʼ |
ʈʼ |
kʼ |
qʼ |
fʼ |
θʼ |
sʼ |
ɬʼ |
ʃʼ |
ʂʼ |
ɕʼ |
xʼ |
χʼ |
tsʼ |
tɬʼ |
cʎ̝̥ʼ |
tʃʼ |
ʈʂʼ |
kxʼ |
kʟ̝̊ʼ |
qχʼ |
Affricates
p̪f |
b̪v |
ts |
dz |
tʃ |
dʒ |
tɕ |
dʑ |
ʈʂ |
ɖʐ |
tɬ |
dɮ |
cç |
ɟʝ |
cʎ̥˔ |
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kx |
ɡɣ |
kʟ̝̊ |
ɡʟ̝ |
qχ |
ɢʁ |
Co-articulated consonants
Continuants |
ʍ |
w |
ɥ |
ɧ |
Occlusives |
k͡p |
ɡ͡b |
ŋ͡m |
These tables contain phonetic symbols, which may not display correctly in some browsers. |
Where symbols appear in pairs, left—right represent the voiceless—voiced consonants. |
Shaded areas denote pulmonic articulations judged to be impossible. |
* Symbol not defined in IPA. |
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Chart image |
- Pulmonics
- Non-pulmonics
- Affricates
- Co-articulated
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Vowels
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Front |
Near-front |
Central |
Near-back |
Back |
Close |
•iy
•ɨʉ
•ɯu
•ɪʏ
•ɪ̈ʊ̈
•ʊ
•eø
•ɘɵ
•ɤo
•e̞ø̞
ə
•ɤ̞o̞
•ɛœ
•ɜɞ
•ʌɔ
•æ
ɐ
•aɶ
•ä
•ɑɒ
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Near-close |
Close-mid |
Mid |
Open-mid |
Near-open |
Open |
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Vowels: IPA help • chart • chart with audio • view
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