The Bangla IPA chart is divided into two sections: 1. consonants and 2. vowels. Each section provides the Bangla alphabet, the corresponding IPA symbols, and the audio sounds for each letter and IPA symbol.

1. Consonants

The consonant chart is organized by place and manner of articulation. Bangla features 33 consonant sounds, and among which, 11 consonants have two variations. The second variations are enclosed in brackets in the chart.

Place of Articulation refers to where in the mouth a sound is produced.

Here are the main categories of place of articulation:

• Bilabial: These sounds are made using both lips.
• Labio-dental: These sounds are made with the bottom lip and top teeth.
• Denti-alveolar: These sounds are made with the tongue tip against the teeth or the ridge behind them.
• Retroflex: These sounds are made by curling the tongue back toward the roof of the mouth.
• Alveolo-palatal: These sounds are made in the area between the ridge behind the teeth and the hard part of the roof of the mouth.
• Velar: These sounds are made with the back of the tongue against the soft part of the roof of the mouth.
• Glottal: These sounds are made using the vocal cords in the throat.

Manner of Articulation describes how a sound is produced.

Here are the main categories of manner of articulation:

• Plosive: These sounds are made by blocking the airflow completely, then releasing it suddenly.
• Aspirated Plosive: These sounds are made like a plosive, but with a strong puff of air after the release.
• Fricative: These sounds are made by squeezing air through a small gap to create a hissing sound.
• Affricate: These sounds are made by stopping the airflow, then letting it go out as a fricative.
• Aspirated Affricate: These sounds are made like an affricate, but with a strong puff of air.
• Trill: These sounds are made by rapidly vibrating the tongue against another part of the mouth.
• Tap: These sounds are made by quickly tapping the tongue against the roof of the mouth.
• Nasal: These sounds are made by allowing air to escape through the nose.
• Approximant: These sounds are made by narrowing the vocal tract, but not enough to create friction.

2. Vowels

The vowel chart is organized by tongue position and height. Bangla features 7 simple vowels and 2 complex vowels. The complex vowels are listed as diphthongs in the chart.

Tongue Position describes how far forward or backward the tongue is in the mouth when a vowel sound is produced.

Here are the main categories of tongue position:

• Front: Tongue is towards the front of the mouth.
• Central: Tongue is in the middle of the mouth.
• Back: Tongue is towards the back of the mouth.

Tongue Height describes how high or low the tongue is in the mouth when a vowel sound is produced.

Here are the main categories of tongue height:

• Close: Tongue is high in the mouth, near the roof.
• Close-mid: Tongue is in a mid-high position.
• Open-mid: Tongue is in a mid-low position.
• Open: Tongue is low in the mouth.

Now return to the previous page and complete steps 2 to 5

Or

1. Click here to download the chart in PDF format.

2. Open the PDF file using Adobe Acrobat Reader (not a web browser) to ensure you can hear the sounds/pronunciations.

3. Click on each symbol or Bangla letter to hear the sounds/pronunciations of Bangla consonants and vowels.

4. Practice mimicking the correct pronunciation of each sound and learn how the sounds should be articulated, based on place and manner of articulation.