Editing International Phonetic Alphabet (section)

== Diacritics and prosodic notation <span class="anchor" id="Diacritics"></span> ==
[[Diacritic]]s are used for phonetic detail. They are added to IPA letters to indicate a modification or specification of that letter's normal pronunciation.<ref name=IPA15>{{harvnb|International Phonetic Association|1999|pp=14–15}}</ref>

By being made superscript, any IPA letter may function as a diacritic, conferring elements of its articulation to the base letter. Those superscript letters listed below are specifically provided for by the IPA ''Handbook''; other uses can be illustrated with {{angbr IPA|tˢ}} ({{IPA|[t]}} with fricative release), {{angbr IPA|ᵗs}} ({{IPA|[s]}} with affricate onset), {{angbr IPA|ⁿd}} (prenasalized {{IPA|[d]}}), {{angbr IPA|bʱ}} ({{IPA|[b]}} with breathy voice), {{angbr IPA|mˀ}} (glottalized {{IPA|[m]}}), {{angbr IPA|sᶴ}} ({{IPA|[s]}} with a flavor of {{IPA|[ʃ]}}, i.e. a [[voiceless alveolar retracted sibilant]]), {{angbr IPA|oᶷ}} ({{IPA|[o]}} with [[diphthongization]]), {{angbr IPA|ɯᵝ}} ([[compressed vowel|compressed]] {{IPA|[ɯ]}}). Superscript diacritics placed after a letter are ambiguous between simultaneous modification of the sound and phonetic detail at the end of the sound. For example, labialized {{angbr IPA|kʷ}} may mean either simultaneous {{IPA|[k]}} and {{IPA|[w]}} or else {{IPA|[k]}} with a labialized release. Superscript diacritics placed before a letter, on the other hand, normally indicate a modification of the onset of the sound ({{angbr IPA|mˀ}} glottalized {{IPA|[m]}}, {{angbr IPA|ˀm}} {{IPA|[m]}} with a glottal onset). (See {{section link|#Superscript IPA}}.)

{|class="wikitable"
! colspan=6|Airstream diacritics
|-
|style="text-align:center; font-size:xx-large; line-height:1em;" |{{IPA|◌ʼ}}
|style="text-align:center; font-size:larger;" |{{IPA|kʼ sʼ}}
|[[Ejective]]
|style="text-align:center; font-size:xx-large; line-height:1em;" |{{IPA|◌<sup>ː</sup>}}
|style="text-align:center; font-size:larger;" |{{IPA|p<sup>ː</sup> d<sup>ː</sup>}}
|Iclinic
|-
! colspan=6|Syllabicity diacritics
|-
|style="text-align:center; font-size:xx-large; line-height:1em;" |{{IPA|◌̩}}
|style="text-align:center; font-size:larger;" |{{IPA|ɹ̩ n̩}}
|rowspan=2|[[Syllabic consonant|Syllabic]]
|style="text-align:center; font-size:xx-large; line-height:1em;" |{{IPA|◌̯}}
|style="text-align:center; font-size:larger;" |{{IPA|ɪ̯ ʊ̯}}
|rowspan=2|[[Non-syllabic]]
|-
|style="text-align:center; font-size:xx-large; line-height:1em;" |{{IPA|◌̍}}
|style="text-align:center; font-size:larger;" |{{IPA|ɻ̍ ŋ̍}}
|style="text-align:center; font-size:xx-large; line-height:1em;" |{{IPA|◌̑}}
|style="text-align:center; font-size:larger;" |{{IPA|y̑}}
|-
! colspan=6|Consonant-release diacritics
|-
|style="text-align:center; font-size: xx-large;" |{{IPA|◌ʰ}}
|style="text-align:center; font-size:larger;" |{{IPA|tʰ}}
|[[Aspiration (phonetics)|Aspirated]]{{efn-lg|name=aspirated}}
|style="text-align:center; font-size:xx-large; line-height:1em;" |{{IPA|◌̚}}
|style="text-align:center; font-size:larger;" |{{IPA|p̚}}
|[[No audible release]]
|-
|style="text-align:center; font-size: xx-large;" |{{IPA|◌ⁿ}}
|style="text-align:center; font-size:larger;" |{{IPA|dⁿ}}
|[[Nasal release]]
|style="text-align:center; font-size:xx-large; line-height:1em;" |{{IPA|◌ˡ}}
|style="text-align:center; font-size:larger;" |{{IPA|dˡ}}
|[[Lateral release (phonetics)|Lateral release]]
|-
|style="text-align:center; font-size: xx-large;" |{{IPA|◌ᶿ}}
|style="text-align:center; font-size:larger;" |{{IPA|tᶿ}}
|Voiceless dental fricative release
|style="text-align:center; font-size:xx-large; line-height:1em;" |{{IPA|◌ˣ}}
|style="text-align:center; font-size:larger;" |{{IPA|tˣ}}
|Voiceless velar fricative release
|-
|style="text-align:center; font-size: xx-large;" |{{IPA|◌ᵊ}}
|style="text-align:center; font-size:larger;" |{{IPA|dᵊ}}
|Mid central vowel release
|colspan=3|
|-
! colspan=6|Phonation diacritics
|-
|style="text-align:center; font-size: xx-large; line-height:1em;" |{{IPA|◌̥}}
|style="text-align:center; font-size:larger; width:4em;" |{{IPA|n̥ d̥}}
|rowspan=2|[[Voiceless]]
|rowspan=2 style="text-align:center; font-size:xx-large; line-height:1em;" |{{IPA|◌̬}}
|rowspan=2 style="text-align:center; font-size:larger;" |{{IPA|s̬ t̬}}
|rowspan=2|[[Voiced]]
|-
|style="text-align:center; font-size: xx-large; line-height:1em;" |{{IPA|◌̊}}
|style="text-align:center; font-size:larger; width:4em;" |{{IPA|ɻ̊ ŋ̊}}
|-
|style="text-align:center; font-size: xx-large; line-height:1em;" |{{IPA|◌̤}}
|style="text-align:center; font-size:larger; width:4em;" |{{IPA|b̤ a̤}}
|[[Breathy voice]]d{{efn-lg|name=aspirated}}
|style="text-align:center; font-size:xx-large; line-height:1em;" |{{IPA|◌̰}}
|style="text-align:center; font-size:larger;" |{{IPA|b̰ a̰}}
|[[Creaky voice]]d
|-
! colspan=6|Articulation diacritics
|-
|style="text-align:center; font-size:xx-large; line-height:1em;" |{{IPA|◌̪}}
|style="text-align:center; font-size:larger; width:4em;" |{{IPA|t̪ d̪}}
|rowspan=2|[[Dental consonant|Dental]] <br />({{IPA|◌͆}} is [[dentolabial]] or underbite in extIPA)
|rowspan=2 style="text-align:center; font-size:xx-large; line-height:1em;" |{{IPA|◌̼}}
|rowspan=2 style="text-align:center; font-size:larger;" |{{IPA|t̼ d̼}}
|rowspan=2|[[Linguolabial]]
|-
|style="text-align:center; font-size:xx-large; line-height:1em;" |{{IPA|◌͆}}
|style="text-align:center; font-size:larger; width:4em;" |{{IPA|ɮ͆}}
|-
|style="text-align:center; font-size:xx-large; line-height:1em;" |{{IPA|◌̺}}
|style="text-align:center; font-size:larger;" |{{IPA|t̺ d̺}}
|[[Apical consonant|Apical]]
|style="text-align:center; font-size:xx-large; line-height:1em;" |{{IPA|◌̻}}
|style="text-align:center; font-size:larger;" |{{IPA|t̻ d̻}}
|[[Laminal]]
|-
|style="text-align:center; font-size:xx-large; line-height:1em;" |{{IPA|◌̟}}
|style="text-align:center; font-size:larger;" |{{IPA|u̟ t̟}}
|rowspan=2|[[Relative articulation#Advanced and retracted|Advanced (fronted)]]
|style="text-align:center; font-size:xx-large; line-height:1em;" |{{IPA|◌̠}}
|style="text-align:center; font-size:larger;" |{{IPA|i̠ t̠}}
|rowspan=2|[[Relative articulation#Advanced and retracted|Retracted (backed)]]
|-
|style="text-align:center; font-size:xx-large; line-height:1em;" |{{IPA|◌᫈}}
|style="text-align:center; font-size:larger;" |{{IPA|ɡ᫈}}
|style="text-align:center; font-size:xx-large; line-height:1em;" |{{IPA|◌᫢}}
|style="text-align:center; font-size:larger;" |{{IPA|q᫢}}{{efn-lg|name=retracted}}
|-
|style="text-align:center; font-size:xx-large; line-height:1em;" |{{IPA|◌̈}}
|style="text-align:center; font-size:larger;" |{{IPA|ë ä}}
|[[Relative articulation#Centralized vowels|Centralized]]
|style="text-align:center; font-size:xx-large; line-height:1em;" |{{IPA|◌̽}}
|style="text-align:center; font-size:larger;" |{{IPA|e̽ ɯ̽}}
|[[Mid-centralized]]
|-
|style="text-align:center; font-size:xx-large; line-height:1em;" |{{IPA|◌̝}}
|style="text-align:center; font-size:larger;" |{{IPA|e̝ r̝}}
|rowspan=2|[[Relative articulation#Raised and lowered|Raised]] <br />({{IPA|[r̝], [ɭ˔]}} are fricatives)
|style="text-align:center; font-size:xx-large; line-height:1em;" |{{IPA|◌̞}}
|style="text-align:center; font-size:larger;" |{{IPA|e̞ β̞}}
|rowspan=2|[[Relative articulation#Raised and lowered|Lowered]] <br />({{IPA|[β̞], [ɣ˕]}} are approximants)
|-
|style="text-align:center; font-size:xx-large; line-height:1em;" |{{IPA|◌˔}}
|style="text-align:center; font-size:larger;" |{{IPA|ɭ˔}}
|style="text-align:center; font-size:xx-large; line-height:1em;" |{{IPA|◌˕}}
|style="text-align:center; font-size:larger;" |{{IPA|y˕ ɣ˕}}
|-
! colspan=6|Co-articulation diacritics
|-
|style="text-align:center; font-size:xx-large; line-height:1em;" |{{IPA|◌̹}}
|style="text-align:center; font-size:larger;" |{{IPA|ɔ̹ x̹}}
|rowspan=2| More [[Roundedness|rounded]] / less spread<br />(over-rounding)
|style="text-align:center; font-size:xx-large; line-height:1em;" |{{IPA|◌̜}}
|style="text-align:center; font-size:larger;" |{{IPA|ɔ̜ xʷ̜}}
|rowspan=2| Less rounded / more spread<br />(under-rounding){{efn-lg|name=lessrounded|These are relative to the cardinal value of the letter. They can also apply to unrounded vowels: {{IPA|[ɛ̜]}} is more spread (less rounded) than cardinal {{IPA|[ɛ]}}, and {{IPA|[ɯ̹]}} is less spread than cardinal {{IPA|[ɯ]}}.<ref>{{Cite journal |date=December 1990 |title=Further report on the 1989 Kiel Convention |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S0025100300004205/type/journal_article |journal=Journal of the International Phonetic Association |language=en |volume=20 |issue=2 |page=23 |doi=10.1017/S0025100300004205 |s2cid=249405404 |issn=0025-1003 |access-date=26 May 2023 |archive-date=1 July 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230701181159/https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/journal-of-the-international-phonetic-association/article/abs/further-report-on-the-1989-kiel-convention/0F7CF0E050D875E856701841AB2623F9 |url-status=live}}</ref><br />Since {{angbr IPA|xʷ}} can mean that the {{IPA|[x]}} is labialized (rounded) throughout its articulation, and {{angbr IPA|x̜}} makes no sense ({{IPA|[x]}} is already completely unrounded), {{angbr IPA|x̜ʷ}} can only mean a less-labialized/rounded {{IPA|[xʷ]}}. However, readers might mistake {{angbr IPA|x̜ʷ}} for "{{IPA|[x̜]}}" with a labialized off-glide, or might wonder if the two diacritics cancel each other out. Placing the 'less rounded' diacritic under the labialization diacritic, {{angbr IPA|xʷ̜}}, makes it clear that it is the labialization that is 'less rounded' than its cardinal IPA value.}}
|-
|style="text-align:center; font-size:xx-large; line-height:1em;" |{{IPA|◌͗}}
|style="text-align:center; font-size:larger;" |{{IPA|y͗ χ͗}}
|style="text-align:center; font-size:xx-large; line-height:1em;" |{{IPA|◌͑}}
|style="text-align:center; font-size:larger;" |{{IPA|y͑ χ͑ʷ}}
|-
|style="text-align:center; font-size:xx-large; line-height:1em;" |{{IPA|◌ʷ}}
|style="text-align:center; font-size:larger;" |{{IPA|tʷ dʷ}}
|[[Labialized]]
|style="text-align:center; font-size:xx-large; line-height:1em;" |{{IPA|◌ʲ}}
|style="text-align:center; font-size:larger;" |{{IPA|tʲ dʲ}}
|[[Palatalization (phonetics)|Palatalized]]
|-
|style="text-align:center; font-size:xx-large; line-height:1em;" |{{IPA|◌ˠ}}
|style="text-align:center; font-size:larger;" |{{IPA|tˠ dˠ}}
|[[Velarized]]
|rowspan=2 style="text-align:center; font-size:xx-large; line-height:1em;" |{{IPA|◌̴}}
|rowspan=2 style="text-align:center; font-size:larger;" |{{IPA link|ɫ}} {{IPA|ᵶ}}
|rowspan=2|Velarized or pharyngealized
|-
|style="text-align:center; font-size:xx-large; line-height:1em;" |{{IPA|◌ˤ}}
|style="text-align:center; font-size:larger;" |{{IPA|tˤ aˤ}}
|[[Pharyngealized]]
|-
|style="text-align:center; font-size:xx-large; line-height:1em;" |{{IPA|◌̘}}
|style="text-align:center; font-size:larger;" |{{IPA|e̘ o̘}}
|rowspan=2|[[Advanced tongue root]] <br />(expanded pharynx)
|style="text-align:center; font-size:xx-large; line-height:1em;" |{{IPA|◌̙}}
|style="text-align:center; font-size:larger;" |{{IPA|e̙ o̙}}
|rowspan=2|[[Retracted tongue root]]
|-
|style="text-align:center; font-size:xx-large; line-height:1em;" |{{IPA|◌꭪}}
|style="text-align:center; font-size:larger;" |{{IPA|y꭪}}
|style="text-align:center; font-size:xx-large; line-height:1em;" |{{IPA|◌꭫}}
|style="text-align:center; font-size:larger;" |{{IPA|y꭫}}
|-
|style="text-align:center; font-size:xx-large; line-height:1em;" |{{IPA|◌̃}}
|style="text-align:center; font-size:larger;" |{{IPA|ẽ z̃}}
|[[Nasalized]]
|style="text-align:center; font-size:xx-large; line-height:1em;" |{{IPA|◌˞}}
|style="text-align:center; font-size:larger;" |{{IPA|ɚ ɝ}}
|[[R-colored vowel|Rhoticity]]
|}

'''Notes:'''
{{Notelist-lg |refs=
{{efn-lg|name=aspirated|With aspirated voiced consonants, the aspiration is usually also voiced (voiced aspirated – but see [[aspirated voiced|voiced consonants with voiceless aspiration]]). Many linguists prefer one of the diacritics dedicated to breathy voice over simple aspiration, such as {{angbr IPA|b̤}}. Some linguists restrict that diacritic to [[sonorant]]s, such as breathy-voice {{angbr IPA|m̤}}, and transcribe voiced-aspirated obstruents as e.g. {{angbr IPA|bʱ}}.}}
{{efn-lg|name=retracted|In the Unicode Pipeline {{as of|2024}}. Care must be taken that a superscript retraction sign is not mistaken for mid tone.}}
}}

Subdiacritics (diacritics normally placed below a letter) may be moved above a letter to avoid conflict with a [[descender]], as in voiceless {{angbr IPA|ŋ̊}}.<ref name=IPA15 /> The raising and lowering diacritics have optional spacing forms {{angbr IPA|˔}}, {{angbr IPA|˕}} that avoid descenders.

A couple additional superscript letters are found for secondary articulation. In the ''Handbook'', for example, {{angbr IPA|ʱ}} is used for voiced aspiration. {{angbr IPA|ᶣ}} is commonly seen with languages such as [[Twi]] where consonants may be simultaneously palatalized and labialized, while {{angbr IPA|ˀ}} may be used for glottalized sounds without specifying whether they are ejective or have [[creaky voice]]. ExtIPA provides {{angbr IPA|ʶ}} for [[uvularization]]. However, only limited set of IPA letters are used is this fashion; for others, superscripting indicates more general shades of sound.

The state of the [[glottis]] can be finely transcribed with diacritics. A series of alveolar plosives ranging from open-glottis to closed-glottis [[phonation]] is:

{|class="wikitable"
|+Phonation scale
|-
! Open glottis
|style="text-align:center; font-size:larger; width:2em;" |{{IPA|[t]}}
|[[voiceless]]
|-
|
|style="text-align:center; font-size:larger;" |{{IPA|[d̤]}}
|[[breathy voice]], also called ''murmured''
|-
|
|style="text-align:center; font-size:larger;" |{{IPA|[d̥]}}
|[[slack voice]]
|-
![[Sweet spot (phonetics)|Sweet spot]]
|style="text-align:center; font-size:larger;" |{{IPA|[d]}}
|[[modal voice]]
|-
|
|style="text-align:center; font-size:larger;" |{{IPA|[d̬]}}
|[[stiff voice]]
|-
|
|style="text-align:center; font-size:larger;" |{{IPA|[d̰]}}
|[[creaky voice]]
|-
!Closed glottis
|style="text-align:center; font-size:larger;" |{{IPA|[ʔ͜t]}}
|glottal closure
|}

Additional diacritics are provided by the [[Extensions to the IPA]] for speech pathology.

=== Suprasegmentals ===
These symbols describe the features of a language above the [[Phonological hierarchy|level]] of individual consonants and vowels, that is, at the level of syllable, word or [[phrase]]. These include [[prosody (linguistics)|prosody]], pitch, [[length (phonetics)|length]], [[stress (linguistics)|stress]], intensity, [[tone (linguistics)|tone]] and gemination of the sounds of a language, as well as the [[rhythm]] and [[Intonation (linguistics)|intonation]] of speech.<ref name="Handbook13">{{harvnb|International Phonetic Association|1999|p=13}}</ref> Various ligatures of pitch/tone letters and diacritics are provided for by the [[Kiel Convention]] and used in the IPA ''Handbook'' despite not being found in the summary of the IPA alphabet found on the one-page chart.

Under [[#Capital letters|capital letters]] below we will see how a carrier letter may be used to indicate suprasegmental features such as labialization or nasalization. Some authors omit the carrier letter, for e.g. suffixed {{IPA|[kʰuˣt̪s̟]ʷ}} or prefixed {{IPA|[ʷkʰuˣt̪s̟]}},{{Notetag|Cf. the {{IPA|/ʷ.../}} and {{IPA|/ʲ.../}} transcriptions in {{Cite web |first=Eszter |last=Ernst-Kurdi |year=2017 |title=The Phonology of Mada |publisher=SIL Yaoundé |url=https://www.sil.org/resources/archives/76424}}}} or place a spacing variant of a diacritic such as {{angbr IPA|˔}}<!--A spacing ATR or RTR diacritic would be a better example, when those have broader font support.--> or {{angbr IPA|˜}} at the beginning or end of a word to indicate that it applies to the entire word.{{Notetag|E.g. {{Cite book |first=Aaron |last=Dolgopolsky |year=2013 |title=Indo-European Dictionary with Nostratic Etymologies |series=Studia Philologica |publisher=Rukopisnye pami͡atniki Drevneĭ Rusi |url=https://searchworks.stanford.edu/view/11657956}}<!-- has 3 volumes, so 3 ISBNs -->}}

{| class="wikitable"
! colspan=4|Length, stress, and rhythm
|-
| style="text-align:center; font-size:larger;" | {{IPA|ˈke}}
| Primary [[stress (linguistics)|stress]] (appears<br /> before stressed syllable)
| style="text-align:center; font-size:larger;" | {{IPA|ˌke}}
| [[Secondary stress]] (appears<br /> before stressed syllable)
|-
| rowspan=2 style="text-align:center; font-size:larger;" | {{IPA|eː kː}}
| rowspan=2 | [[Length (phonetics)|Long]] ([[long vowel]] or<br />[[geminate consonant]])
| style="text-align:center; font-size:larger;" | {{IPA|eˑ}}
| Half-long
|-
| style="text-align:center; font-size:larger;" | {{IPA|ə̆ ɢ̆}}
| [[Extra-short]]
|-
| style="text-align:center; font-size:larger;" | {{IPA|ek.ste}}<br />{{IPA|eks.te}}
| [[Syllable]] break <br />(internal boundary)
| style="text-align:center; font-size:larger;" | {{IPA|es‿e}}
| [[Connected speech|Linking]] (lack of a boundary; <br />a [[phonological word]]){{NoteTag|The IPA ''Handbook'' variously defines the "linking" symbol as marking the "lack of a boundary"<ref>{{harvnb|International Phonetic Association|1999|p=23}}</ref> or "absence of a break",<ref name="auto" /> and gives [[French liaison]] and English [[linking r]] as examples. The illustration for Croatian uses it to tie atonic [[clitic]]s to tonic words, with no resulting change in implied syllable structure. It is also sometimes used simply to indicate that the consonant ending one word forms a syllable with the vowel beginning the following word.}}
|-
! colspan=4|Intonation
|-
| style="text-align:center; font-size:larger;" | '''{{IPA|{{!}}}}'''{{efn-lg|name=intonationbreaks}}
| [[Prosodic unit|Minor or foot break]]
| style="text-align:center; font-size:larger;" | '''{{IPA|‖}}'''{{efn-lg|name=intonationbreaks}}
| [[Prosodic unit|Major or intonation break]]
|-
| style="text-align:center;font-size:larger;" | {{IPA|↗︎}}
| [[Intonation (linguistics)|Global rise]]{{NoteTag|name="global"|The global rise and fall arrows come before the affected syllable or prosodic unit, like stress and upstep/downstep. This contrasts with the Chao tone letters (listed below), which most commonly come after. One will occasionally see a horizontal arrow {{angbr IPA|→}} for global level pitch (only dropping due to [[downdrift]]), e.g. in Julie Barbour (2012) ''A Grammar of Neverver''. Additionally, some fonts display the arrows as [[emoji]] by default, if &amp;#xFE0E; is not appended.}}
| style="text-align:center;font-size:larger;" | {{IPA|↘︎}}
| [[Intonation (linguistics)|Global fall]]{{NoteTag|name="global"}}
|-
! colspan=4|Up- and down-step
|-
| style="text-align:center; font-size:larger;" | {{IPA|ꜛke}}
| [[Upstep]]
| style="text-align:center; font-size:larger;" | {{IPA|ꜜke}}
| [[Downstep]]
|}

'''Notes:'''
{{Notelist-lg |refs=
{{efn-lg|name=intonationbreaks|The pipes for intonation breaks should be a heavier weight than the letters for click consonants. Because fonts do not reflect this, the intonation breaks in the official IPA charts are set in bold typeface.}}
}}

{| class="wikitable"
! colspan=13|Pitch diacritics{{NoteTag|name=pitch|There is not a one-to-one correspondence between tone diacritics and tone letters. When pitch is transcribed with diacritics, the three pitches {{angbr IPA|é ē è}} are taken as the basic levels and are called 'high', 'mid' and 'low'. Contour tones combine only these three and are called {{angbr IPA|e᷇}} 'high-mid' etc. The more extreme pitches, which do not form contours, are {{angbr IPA|e̋}} 'extra-high' and {{angbr IPA|ȅ}} 'extra-low', using [[#Comparative degree|doubled diacritics]]. When transcribed with tone letters, however, combinations of all five levels are possible. Thus, {{angbr IPA|e˥ e˧ e˩}} may be called 'high', 'mid' and 'low', with {{angbr IPA|e˦ e˨}} being 'near-high' and 'near-low', analogous to descriptions of vowel height. In a three-level transcription, {{angbr IPA|é ē è}} are identified with {{angbr IPA|e˥ e˧ e˩}}, but in a five-level transcription, {{angbr IPA|e̋ ȅ}} are identified with {{angbr IPA|e˥ e˩}}.<ref>{{harvnb|Roach|1989|p=76}}</ref>}}
|-
| style="text-align:center; font-size:larger; width:2em;" | {{IPA|ŋ̋ e̋}}
| Extra high
| style="text-align:center; font-size:larger;" | {{IPA|ŋ̌ ě}}
| Rising
| style="text-align:center; font-size:larger;" | {{IPA|ŋ᷄ e᷄}}
| Mid-rising
|-
| style="text-align:center; font-size:larger;" | {{IPA|ŋ́ é}}
| High
| style="text-align:center; font-size:larger;" | {{IPA|ŋ̂ ê}}
| Falling
| style="text-align:center; font-size:larger;" | {{IPA|ŋ᷅ e᷅}}
| Low-rising
|-
| style="text-align:center; font-size:larger;" | {{IPA|ŋ̄ ē}}
| Mid
| style="text-align:center; font-size:larger;" | {{IPA|ŋ᷈ e᷈}}
| Peaking (rising–falling)
| style="text-align:center; font-size:larger;" | {{IPA|ŋ᷇ e᷇}}
| High-falling
|-
| style="text-align:center; font-size:larger;" | {{IPA|ŋ̀ è}}
| Low
| style="text-align:center; font-size:larger;" | {{IPA|ŋ᷉ e᷉}}
| Dipping (falling–rising)
| style="text-align:center; font-size:larger;" | {{IPA|ŋ᷆ e᷆}}
| Mid-falling
|-
| style="text-align:center; font-size:larger;" | {{nowrap|{{IPA|ŋ̏ ȅ}}}}
| Extra low
| style="text-align:center;" colspan=4| (etc.){{NoteTag|Although any combination of tone diacritics is theoretically possible, such as {{angbr IPA|e᪰}} for a falling–rising–falling tone, any others than those illustrated are vanishingly rare.}}
|}

{| class="wikitable"
! colspan=5|[[Chao tone letter]]s{{NoteTag|name=pitch}}
|-
| style="text-align:center; font-size:larger; width:2em;" | {{IPA|˥e}}
| style="text-align:center; font-size:larger; width:2em;" | {{IPA|꜒e}}
| style="text-align:center; font-size:larger; width:2em;" | {{IPA|e˥}}
| style="text-align:center; font-size:larger; width:2em;" | {{IPA|e꜒}}
| High
|-
| style="text-align:center; font-size:larger;" | {{IPA|˦e}}
| style="text-align:center; font-size:larger;" | {{IPA|꜓e}}
| style="text-align:center; font-size:larger;" | {{IPA|e˦}}
| style="text-align:center; font-size:larger;" | {{IPA|e꜓}}
| Half-high
|-
| style="text-align:center; font-size:larger;" | {{IPA|˧e}}
| style="text-align:center; font-size:larger;" | {{IPA|꜔e}}
| style="text-align:center; font-size:larger;" | {{IPA|e˧}}
| style="text-align:center; font-size:larger;" | {{IPA|e꜔}}
| Mid
|-
| style="text-align:center; font-size:larger;" | {{IPA|˨e}}
| style="text-align:center; font-size:larger;" | {{IPA|꜕e}}
| style="text-align:center; font-size:larger;" | {{IPA|e˨}}
| style="text-align:center; font-size:larger;" | {{IPA|e꜕}}
| Half-low
|-
| style="text-align:center; font-size:larger;" | {{IPA|˩e}}
| style="text-align:center; font-size:larger;" | {{IPA|꜖e}}
| style="text-align:center; font-size:larger;" | {{IPA|e˩}}
| style="text-align:center; font-size:larger;" | {{IPA|e꜖}}
| Low
|-
| style="text-align:center; font-size:larger;" | {{IPA|˩˥e}}
| style="text-align:center; font-size:larger;" | {{IPA|꜖꜒e}}
| style="text-align:center; font-size:larger;" | {{IPA|e˩˥}}
| style="text-align:center; font-size:larger;" | {{IPA|e꜖꜒}}
| Rising (low to high or generic)
|-
| style="text-align:center; font-size:larger;" | {{IPA|˥˩e}}
| style="text-align:center; font-size:larger;" | {{IPA|꜒꜖e}}
| style="text-align:center; font-size:larger;" | {{IPA|e˥˩}}
| style="text-align:center; font-size:larger;" | {{IPA|e꜒꜖}}
| Falling (high to low or generic)
|-
| style="text-align:center;" colspan=5| (etc.)
|}

The old staveless tone letters, which are effectively obsolete, include high {{angbr IPA|ˉe}}, mid {{angbr IPA|˗e}}, low {{angbr IPA|ˍe}}, rising {{angbr IPA|ˊe}}, falling {{angbr IPA|ˋe}}, low rising {{angbr IPA|ˏe}} and low falling {{angbr IPA|ˎe}}.

==== Stress ====
Officially, the [[Stress (linguistics)|stress marks]] {{angbr IPA|ˈ ˌ}} appear before the stressed syllable, and thus mark the syllable boundary as well as stress (though the syllable boundary may still be explicitly marked with a period).<ref name=report75-76 /> Occasionally the stress mark is placed immediately before the nucleus of the syllable, after any consonantal onset.<ref>{{harvnb|Esling|2010|p=691}}</ref> In such transcriptions, the stress mark does not mark a syllable boundary. The primary stress mark may be [[#Comparative degree|doubled]] {{angbr IPA|ˈˈ}} for extra stress (such as prosodic stress). The secondary stress mark is sometimes seen doubled {{angbr IPA|ˌˌ}} for extra-weak stress, but this convention has not been adopted by the IPA.<ref name=report75-76 /> Some dictionaries place both stress marks before a syllable, {{angbr IPA|¦}}, to indicate that pronunciations with either primary or secondary stress are heard, though this is not IPA usage.{{NoteTag|For example, {{MW|Balearic}}}}

==== Boundary markers ====
There are three boundary markers: {{angbr IPA|.}} for a syllable break, {{angbr IPA|<nowiki>|</nowiki>}} for a minor prosodic break and {{angbr IPA|‖}} for a major prosodic break. The tags 'minor' and 'major' are intentionally ambiguous. Depending on need, 'minor' may vary from a [[foot (prosody)|foot]] break to a break in list-intonation to a continuing–prosodic unit boundary (equivalent to a comma), and while 'major' is often any intonation break, it may be restricted to a final–prosodic unit boundary (equivalent to a period). The 'major' symbol may also be doubled, {{angbr IPA|‖‖}}, for a stronger break.{{NoteTag|Russian and Lithuanian sources and commonly use the character {{unichar|2E3D|VERTICAL SIX DOTS}} for a less-than-minor break, such as the slight break in list intonation (e.g. the very slight break between digits in a telephone number). {{unichar|2E3E|WIGGLY VERTICAL LINE}} is used for an unexpected interruption in or a sharp change of intonation.<ref>{{Cite book |first=Ž. V. |last=Ganiev |year=2012 |title=Sovremennyj ruskij jazyk |publisher=Flinta/Nauka |isbn=9785976510449}}</ref>}}

Although not part of the IPA, the following additional boundary markers are often used in conjunction with the IPA: {{angbr IPA|μ}} for a [[mora (linguistics)|mora]] or mora boundary, {{angbr IPA|σ}} for a syllable or syllable boundary, {{angbr IPA|+}} for a morpheme boundary, {{angbr IPA|#}} for a word boundary (may be doubled, {{angbr IPA|##}}, for e.g. a breath-group boundary),<ref>{{Cite book |last=Evans |first=Nicholas |author-link=Nicholas Evans (linguist) |title=A grammar of Kayardild: with historical-comparative notes on Tangkic |publisher=Mouton de Gruyter |year=1995 |isbn=978-3-11-012795-9 |series=Mouton Grammar Library}}</ref> {{angbr IPA|$}} for a phrase or intermediate boundary and {{angbr IPA|%}} for a prosodic boundary. For example, C# is a word-final consonant, %V a post-[[pausa]] vowel, and σC a syllable-initial consonant.

==== Pitch and tone ====
{{See also|tone letter}}
{{angbr IPA|ꜛ ꜜ}} are defined in the ''Handbook'' as "upstep" and "downstep", concepts from tonal languages. However, the upstep symbol can also be used for [[pitch reset]], and the IPA ''Handbook'' uses it for prosody in the illustration for Portuguese, a non-tonal language.

Phonetic pitch and phonemic tone may be indicated by either diacritics placed over the nucleus of the syllable{{snd}}e.g., high-pitch {{angbr IPA|é}}{{snd}}or by [[Chao tone letter]]s placed either before or after the word or syllable. There are three graphic variants of the tone letters: with or without a stave, and facing left or facing right from the stave. The stave was introduced with the 1989 Kiel Convention, as was the option of placing a staved letter after the word or syllable, while retaining the older conventions. There are therefore six<!--One of our sources says 'seven', but the staveless tone letters were only allowed before the word/syllable pre-Kiel, and that was not changed in the Kiel Convention.--> ways to transcribe pitch/tone in the IPA: i.e., {{angbr IPA|é}}, {{angbr IPA|˦e}}, {{angbr IPA|e˦}}, {{angbr IPA|꜓e}}, {{angbr IPA|e꜓}} and {{angbr IPA|ˉe}} for a high pitch/tone.<ref name=report75-76 /><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Maddieson |first=Ian |date=December 1990 |title=The transcription of tone in the IPA |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S0025100300004242/type/journal_article |journal=Journal of the International Phonetic Association |language=en |volume=20 |issue=2 |pages=31 |doi=10.1017/S0025100300004242 |s2cid=144897531 |issn=0025-1003 |access-date=29 May 2023 |archive-date=1 July 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230701181159/https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/journal-of-the-international-phonetic-association/article/abs/transcription-of-tone-in-the-ipa/723944977809BFB13914AF78EAAAC8E3 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Heselwood|2013|p=7}}</ref> Of the tone letters, only left-facing staved letters and a few representative combinations are shown in the summary on the ''Chart'', and in practice it is currently more common for tone letters to occur after the syllable/word than before, as in the Chao tradition. Placement before the word is a carry-over from the pre-Kiel IPA convention, as is still the case for the stress and upstep/downstep marks. The IPA endorses the Chao tradition of using the left-facing tone letters, {{angbr IPA|˥ ˦ ˧ ˨ ˩}}, for underlying tone, and the right-facing letters, {{angbr IPA|꜒ ꜓ ꜔ ꜕ ꜖}}, for surface tone, as occurs in [[tone sandhi]], and for the intonation of non-tonal languages.{{NoteTag|Maddieson and others have noted that a phonemic/phonetic distinction should be handled by /slash/ or [bracket] delimiters. However, the reversed tone letters remain in use to distinguish tone sandhi from lexical tone when both are phonemic.}} In the Portuguese illustration in the 1999 ''Handbook'', tone letters are placed before a word or syllable to indicate prosodic pitch (equivalent to {{IPA|[↗︎]}} global rise and {{IPA|[↘︎]}} global fall, but allowing more precision), and in the Cantonese illustration they are placed after a word/syllable to indicate lexical tone. Theoretically therefore prosodic pitch and lexical tone could be simultaneously transcribed in a single text, though this is not a formalized distinction.

Rising and falling pitch, as in [[contour tone]]s, are indicated by combining the pitch diacritics and letters in the table, such as grave plus acute for rising {{IPA|[ě]}} and acute plus grave for falling {{IPA|[ê]}}. Only six combinations of two diacritics are supported, and only across three levels (high, mid, low), despite the diacritics supporting five levels of pitch in isolation. The four other explicitly approved rising and falling diacritic combinations are high/mid rising {{IPA|[e᷄]}}, low rising {{IPA|[e᷅]}}, high falling {{IPA|[e᷇]}}, and low/mid falling {{IPA|[e᷆]}}.{{NoteTag|A work-around sometimes seen when a language has more than one rising or falling tone, and the author wishes to avoid the poorly legible diacritics {{angbr IPA|e᷄, e᷅, e᷇, e᷆}} but does not wish to employ tone letters, is to restrict the generic rising {{angbr IPA|ě}} and falling {{angbr IPA|ê}} diacritics to the higher-pitched of the rising and falling tones, say {{IPA|/e˥˧/}} and {{IPA|/e˧˥/}}, and to resurrect the retired (pre-Kiel) IPA subscript diacritics {{angbr IPA|e̗}} and {{angbr IPA|e̖}} for the lower-pitched rising and falling tones, say {{IPA|/e˩˧/}} and {{IPA|/e˧˩/}}. When a language has either four or six level tones, the two middle tones are sometimes transcribed as high-mid {{angbr IPA|e̍}} (non-standard) and low-mid {{angbr IPA|ē}}. Non-standard {{angbr IPA|e̍}} is occasionally seen combined with acute and grave diacritics or with the macron to distinguish contour tones that involve the higher of the two mid tone levels.}}

The Chao tone letters, on the other hand, may be combined in any pattern, and are therefore used for more complex contours and finer distinctions than the diacritics allow, such as mid-rising {{IPA|[e˨˦]}}, extra-high falling {{IPA|[e˥˦]}}, etc. There are 20 such possibilities. However, in Chao's original proposal, which was adopted by the IPA in 1989, he stipulated that the half-high and half-low letters {{angbr IPA|˦ ˨}} may be combined with each other, but not with the other three tone letters, so as not to create spuriously precise distinctions. With this restriction, there are 8 possibilities.<ref name=Chao>{{Cite journal |last=Chao |first=Yuen-Ren |year=1930 |title={{IPA|ə sistim əv}} "{{IPA|toun}}-{{IPA|letəz}}" |trans-title=A system of "tone-letters" |journal=Le Maître Phonétique |volume=30 |pages=24–27 |jstor=44704341}}</ref>

The old staveless tone letters tend to be more restricted than the staved letters, though not as restricted as the diacritics. Technically they support as many distinctions as the staved letters,{{Notetag|See for example {{Cite journal |author=Pe Maung Tin |author-link=Pe Maung Tin |year=1924 |title={{IPA|bɜˑmiːz}} |journal=Le Maître Phonétique |volume=2 (39) |number=5 |pages=4–5 |jstor=44704085}} where five pitch levels are distinguished.}} but in the decades prior to the Kiel Convention only three pitch levels were provided for level tones, and only two for contour tones. Unicode supports default or high-pitch {{angbr IPA|ˉ ˊ ˋ ˆ ˇ ˜ ˙}} and low-pitch {{angbr IPA|ˍ ˏ ˎ ꞈ ˬ ˷}}. Only a single mid-pitch tone is supported: {{angbr IPA|˴}}. The IPA had also used dots for [[neutral tone]]s<!-- Daniel Jones, ðə trᴂnskrɪpʃən əv piːkɪŋiːz. Le Maître Phonétique 6 (43), no. 21 (janvier-mars 1928) -->, but the corresponding dotted Chao tone letters were not adopted at the Kiel Convention.

Although tone diacritics and tone letters are presented as equivalent on the chart, "this was done only to simplify the layout of the chart. The two sets of symbols are not comparable in this way."<ref>{{harvnb|International Phonetic Association|1999|p=14}}</ref> Using diacritics, a high tone is {{angbr IPA|é}} and a low tone is {{angbr IPA|è}}; in tone letters, these are {{angbr IPA|e˥}} and {{angbr IPA|e˩}}. One can double the diacritics for extra-high {{angbr IPA|e̋}} and extra-low {{angbr IPA|ȅ}}; there is no parallel to this using tone letters. Instead, tone letters have mid-high {{angbr IPA|e˦}} and mid-low {{angbr IPA|e˨}}; again, there is no equivalent among the diacritics. Thus in a three-register tone system, {{angbr IPA|é ē è}} are equivalent to {{angbr IPA|e˥ e˧ e˩}}, while in a four-register system, {{angbr IPA|e̋ é è ȅ}} may be equivalent to {{angbr IPA|e˥ e˦ e˨ e˩}}.<ref name=report75-76 />

The correspondence breaks down even further once they start combining. For more complex tones, one may combine three or four tone diacritics in any permutation,<ref name=report75-76>{{harvnb|Roach|1989|pp=75–76}}</ref> though in practice only generic peaking (rising-falling) {{IPA|e᷈}} and dipping (falling-rising) {{IPA|e᷉}} combinations are used. Chao tone letters are required for finer detail ({{IPA|e˧˥˧, e˩˨˩, e˦˩˧, e˨˩˦}}, etc.). Although only 10 peaking and dipping tones were proposed in Chao's original, limited set of tone letters, phoneticians often make finer distinctions, and indeed an example is found on the IPA Chart.{{NoteTag|The example has changed over the years. In the chart included in the 1999 IPA ''Handbook'', it was {{IPA|[˦˥˦]}}, and since the 2018 revision of the chart it has been {{IPA|[˧˦˨]}}.}} The system allows the transcription of 112<!--125 less 5 triple letters and 8 other combos that form a straight line (e.g. 2-3-4).--> peaking and dipping pitch contours, including tones that are level for part of their length.

{| class="wikitable"
|+ Original (restricted) set of Chao tone letters{{NoteTag|Chao did not include tone shapes such as {{IPA|[˨˦˦], [˧˩˩]}}, which rise or fall and then level off (or vice versa). Such tone shapes are, however, frequently encountered in the modern literature.}}
! Register
! Level<br />{{NoteTag|In Chao's Sinological convention, a single tone letter {{angbr IPA|˥}} is used for a high tone on a [[checked syllable]], and a double tone letter {{angbr IPA|˥˥}} for a high tone on an open syllable. Such redundant doubling is not used in the ''Handbook'', where the tones of Cantonese {{IPA|[si˥]}} 'silk' and {{IPA|[sɪk˥]}} 'color' are transcribed the same way. If the author wishes to indicate a difference in phonetic or phonemic length, the IPA accomplishes that with the length marks {{angbr IPA|◌̆ ◌ˑ ◌ː}} rather than through the tone letters.}}
! Rising
! Falling
! Peaking
! Dipping
|-
| style="text-align:center; font-size:larger;" | {{IPA|e˩}}
| style="text-align:center; font-size:larger;" | {{IPA|e˩˩}}
| style="text-align:center; font-size:larger;" | {{IPA|e˩˧}}
| style="text-align:center; font-size:larger;" | {{IPA|e˧˩}}
| style="text-align:center; font-size:larger;" | {{IPA|e˩˧˩}}
| style="text-align:center; font-size:larger;" | {{IPA|e˧˩˧}}
|-
| style="text-align:center; font-size:larger;" | {{IPA|e˨}}
| style="text-align:center; font-size:larger;" | {{IPA|e˨˨}}
| style="text-align:center; font-size:larger;" | {{IPA|e˨˦}}
| style="text-align:center; font-size:larger;" | {{IPA|e˦˨}}
| style="text-align:center; font-size:larger;" | {{IPA|e˨˦˨}}
| style="text-align:center; font-size:larger;" | {{IPA|e˦˨˦}}
|-
| style="text-align:center; font-size:larger;" | {{IPA|e˧}}
| style="text-align:center; font-size:larger;" | {{IPA|e˧˧}}
| style="text-align:center; font-size:larger;" | {{IPA|e˧˥}}
| style="text-align:center; font-size:larger;" | {{IPA|e˥˧}}
| style="text-align:center; font-size:larger;" | {{IPA|e˧˥˧}}
| style="text-align:center; font-size:larger;" | {{IPA|e˥˧˥}}
|-
| style="text-align:center; font-size:larger;" | {{IPA|e˦}}
| style="text-align:center; font-size:larger;" | {{IPA|e˦˦}}
|
|
| style="text-align:center; font-size:larger;" | {{IPA|e˧˥˩}}
| style="text-align:center; font-size:larger;" | {{IPA|e˧˩˥}}
|-
| style="text-align:center; font-size:larger;" | {{IPA|e˥}}
| style="text-align:center; font-size:larger;" | {{IPA|e˥˥}}
| style="text-align:center; font-size:larger;" | {{IPA|e˩˥}}
| style="text-align:center; font-size:larger;" | {{IPA|e˥˩}}
| style="text-align:center; font-size:larger;" | {{IPA|e˩˥˧}}
| style="text-align:center; font-size:larger;" | {{IPA|e˥˩˧}}
|}

More complex contours are possible. Chao gave an example of {{IPA|[꜔꜒꜖꜔]}} (mid-high-low-mid) from English prosody.<ref name=Chao />

Chao tone letters generally appear after each syllable, for a language with syllable tone{{snd}}{{angbr IPA|a˧vɔ˥˩}}{{snd}}or after the phonological word, for a language with [[word tone]] ({{angbr IPA|avɔ˧˥˩}}). The IPA gives the option of placing the tone letters before the word or syllable{{snd}}{{angbr IPA|˧a˥˩vɔ}}, {{angbr IPA|˧˥˩avɔ}}{{snd}}but this is rare for lexical tone. Reversed tone letters may be used to clarify that they apply to the following rather than to the preceding syllable{{snd}}{{angbr IPA|꜔a꜒꜖vɔ}}, {{angbr IPA|꜔꜒꜖avɔ}}. The staveless letters are not directly supported by Unicode, but some fonts allow the stave in Chao tone letters to be suppressed.

=== Comparative degree ===
IPA diacritics may be doubled to indicate an extra degree (greater intensity) of the feature indicated.<ref name=K&L>{{harvnb|Kelly|Local|1989}}</ref> This is a productive process, but apart from extra-high and extra-low tones being marked by doubled high- and low-tone diacritics, {{angbr IPA|ə̋, ə̏}}, the major [[prosodic unit|prosodic break]] '''{{angbr IPA|‖}}''' being marked as a doubled minor break '''{{angbr IPA|{{!}}}}''', and a couple other instances, such usage is not enumerated by the IPA.

For example, the stress mark may be doubled (or even tripled, as may be the prosodic-break bar, '''{{angbr IPA|⦀}}'''<!-- eg Quilis and Fernández, 'Curso de fonética y fonología españolas para estudiantes'g -->) to indicate an extra degree of stress, such as prosodic stress in English.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Bloomfield |first=Leonard |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AdArAAAAMAAJ |title=Language |publisher=H. Holt |year=1933 |pages=91 |isbn=978-0-03-004885-2 |language=en |author-link=Leonard Bloomfield |access-date=1 June 2023 |archive-date=12 June 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230612140417/https://books.google.com/books?id=AdArAAAAMAAJ |url-status=live}}</ref> An example in French, with a single stress mark for normal prosodic stress at the end of each [[prosodic unit]] (marked as a minor prosodic break), and a double or even triple<!--Per the report of the Kiel Convention.--> stress mark for contrastive/emphatic stress: {{IPA|[ˈˈɑ̃ːˈtre '''{{!}}''' məˈsjø '''‖''' ˈˈvwala maˈdam '''‖''']}} ''{{lang|fr|Entrez monsieur, voilà madame}}.''<ref>{{Cite book |last=Passy |first=Paul |title=Conversations françaises en transcription phonétique |year=1958 |edition=2nd}}</ref> Similarly, a doubled secondary stress mark {{angbr IPA|ˌˌ}} is commonly used for tertiary (extra-light) stress, though a proposal to officially adopt this was rejected<!--again per the report of the kiel convention-->.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Chao |first=Yuen Ren |title=Language and Symbolic Systems |date=1968 |publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]] |isbn=978-0-521-09457-3 |location=Cambridge |pages=xxiii}}</ref> In a similar vein, the effectively obsolete staveless tone letters were once doubled for an emphatic rising intonation {{angbr IPA|˶}} and an emphatic falling intonation {{angbr IPA|˵}}.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Barker |first=Geoffrey |title=Intonation Patterns in Tyrolean German: an Autosegmental-Metrical Analysis |publisher=Peter Lang Verlag |year=2005 |isbn=978-0-8204-6837-2 |series=Berkeley Insights in Linguistics and Semiotics |pages=11}}</ref>

[[Length (phonetics)|Length]] is commonly extended by repeating the length mark, which may be phonetic, as in {{IPA|[ĕ e eˑ eː eːˑ eːː]}} etc., as in English ''shhh!'' {{IPA|[ʃːːː]}}, or phonemic, as in the "overlong" segments of [[Estonian phonology|Estonian]]:
* ''vere'' {{IPA|/vere/}} 'blood [gen.sg.]', ''veere'' {{IPA|/veːre/}} 'edge [gen.sg.]', ''veere'' {{IPA|/veːːre/}} 'roll [imp. 2nd sg.]'
* ''lina'' {{IPA|/linɑ/}} 'sheet', ''linna'' {{IPA|/linːɑ/}} 'town [gen. sg.]', ''linna'' {{IPA|/linːːɑ/}} 'town [ill. sg.]'
(Normally additional phonemic degrees of length are handled by the extra-short or half-long diacritic, i.e. {{angbr IPA|e eˑ eː}} or {{angbr  IPA|ĕ e eː}}, but the first two words in each of the Estonian examples are analyzed as typically short and long, {{IPA|/e eː/}} and {{IPA|/n nː/}}, requiring a different remedy for the additional words.)

[[#Delimiters|Delimiters]] are similar: double slashes indicate extra phonemic (morpho-phonemic), double square brackets especially precise transcription, and double parentheses especially unintelligible.

Occasionally other diacritics are doubled:
* [[R-colored vowel|Rhoticity]] in [[Badaga language|Badaga]] {{IPA|/be/}} "mouth", {{IPA|/be˞/}} "bangle", and {{IPA|/be˞˞/}} "crop".<ref>{{harvnb|Ladefoged|Maddieson|1996|p=314}}</ref>
* Mild and strong [[Aspiration (phonetics)|aspiration]], {{IPA|[kʰ]}}, {{IPA|[kʰʰ]}}.{{NoteTag|Sometimes the obsolete transcription {{angbr IPA|kʻ}} (with a turned apostrophe) for weak aspiration vs. {{angbr IPA|kʰ}} for strong aspiration is still seen.}}<!-- Korean does not (primarily) contrast for degrees of aspiration, as the distinction is made mainly with a low tone following the weak stop and a high tone following the aspirated stop, for dialects (including Seoul) that aspirate prosodically initial stops. -->
* [[Nasal vowel|Nasalization]], as in [[Palantla Chinantec]] lightly nasalized {{IPA|/ẽ/}} vs heavily nasalized {{IPA|/ẽ̃/}},<ref>{{Cite book |last=Ladefoged |first=Peter |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VqEXghQ-ow0C |title=Preliminaries to Linguistic Phonetics |publisher=University of Chicago Press |year=1971 |isbn=978-0-226-46787-0 |pages=35 |access-date=24 June 2023 |archive-date=1 July 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230701181655/https://books.google.com/books?id=VqEXghQ-ow0C |url-status=live}}</ref> though some care can be needed to distinguish this from the [[extIPA]] diacritic for [[velopharyngeal frication]] in disordered speech, {{IPA|/e͌/}}, which has also been analyzed as extreme nasalization.
* Weak vs strong [[ejective]]s, {{IPA|[kʼ]}}, {{IPA|[kˮ]}}.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Fallon |first=Paul D. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=okRdAgAAQBAJ |title=The Synchronic and Diachronic Phonology of Ejectives |date=2013-12-16 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-136-71252-4 |pages=267 |language=en |access-date=24 June 2023 |archive-date=1 July 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230701181656/https://books.google.com/books?id=okRdAgAAQBAJ |url-status=live}}</ref>
* Especially lowered, e.g. {{IPA|[t̞̞]}} (or {{IPA|[t̞˕]}}, if the former symbol does not display properly) for {{IPA|/t/}} as a weak fricative in some pronunciations of ''register''.<ref>{{harvnb|Heselwood|2013|p= 233}}</ref>
* Especially retracted, e.g. {{IPA|[ø̠̠]}} or {{IPA|[s̠̠]}},{{Notetag|E.g. in {{harvnb|Laver|1994|pp=559–560}}}}<ref name=K&L /><ref>{{Cite journal |last=van der Voort |first=Hein |date=October 2005 |title=Kwaza in a Comparative Perspective |url=https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/501245 |journal=International Journal of American Linguistics |volume=71 |issue=4 |pages=365–412 |doi=10.1086/501245 |s2cid=224808983 |issn=0020-7071 |access-date=3 June 2023 |archive-date=3 June 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230603075311/https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/501245 |url-status=live}}</ref> though some care might be needed to distinguish this from indications of alveolar or alveolarized articulation in [[extIPA]], e.g. {{IPA|[s͇]}}.
* Especially guttural, e.g. {{IPA|[ɫ]}} (velarized l), {{IPA|[ꬸ]}} (pharyngealized l).<ref>Cynthia Shuken (1980) Instrumental investigation of some Scottish Gaelic consonants. University of Edinburgh.</ref><!--This is mentioned in 'further report on the 1989 Kiel convention', JIPA 20:2, p. 23.-->
* The transcription of [[strident vowel|strident]] and [[harsh voice]] as extra-creaky {{IPA|/a᷽/}} may be motivated by the similarities of these phonations.

The [[extIPA]] provides combining parentheses for weak intensity, which when combined with a doubled diacritic indicate an intermediate degree. For instance, increasing degrees of nasalization of the vowel {{IPA|[e]}} might be written {{angbr IPA|e ẽ᪻ ẽ ẽ̃᪻ ẽ̃}}.