Penang Hokkien Phonetic Table provides you audio-on-demand on the basic sounds in the language, based on IPA symbols. Each set is articulated in the four tones: 1, 2, 3 and 4. Tone 33 is the same as tone 3, and is therefore not articulated separately.

a
e
ɛ
i
o
ɔ
u

a
e
ɛ
i
o
ɔ
u

initials

b+IPA
ba
be

bi
bo

bu

g+IPA
ga
ge

gi
go

gu

h+IPA
ha
he

hi
ho

hu

k+IPA
ka
ke

ki
ko

ku

l+IPA
la
le

li
lo

lu

m+IPA
ma
me

mi
mo

mu

n+IPA
na
ne

ni
no

nu

p+IPA
pa
pe

pi
po

pu

s+IPA
sa
se

si
so

su

t+IPA
ta
te

ti
to

tu

dz+IPA (j-)
dza
dze
dzɛ
dzi
dzo
dzɔ
dzu

ts+IPA (c-)
tsa
tse
tsɛ
tsi
tso
tsɔ
tsu

tsh+IPA (ch-)
tsha
tshe
tshɛ
tshi
tsho
tshɔ
tshu

kh+IPA (kh-)
kha
khe
khɛ
khi
kho
khɔ
khu

ph+IPA (ph-)
pha
phe
phɛ
phi
pho
phɔ
phu

IPA+ʔ (-k)


ɛʔ


ɔʔ


IPA+k (-k)*
ak
ek
ɛk
ik
ok
ɔk
uk

IPA+s
as
es
ɛs
is
os
ɔs
us

IPA+t
at
et
ɛt
it
ot
ɔt
ut

m
ã
ɛ̃
ĩ

p+nasal+IPA

pɛ̃


ĩ+IPA
ĩa
ĩɛ

IPA+ŋ





ɔŋ

ŋ+IPA
ŋa
ŋe
ŋɛ
ŋi

ŋɔ
ŋu

* The final letter "-k" is used to spell the glottal stop (ʔ) and the velar stop (k). In syllables where ambiguity may arise, the velar stop is spelled with -rk or other letters. In this writing system, "-h" is used as the pseudo-fricative, never as a glottal stop.

Language Learning Tools

Use the following language learning tools to learn Penang Hokkien!

Learn Penang Hokkien with uTalk

This app opens the door to over 150 languages.

Return to Penang Hokkien Resources



Timothy Tye
Copyright © 2003-2025 Timothy Tye. All Rights Reserved.