The Pronunciation tool lets you control how specific words are spoken: company names, technical terms, acronyms, product names, and anything else the AI voice might get wrong. Set a word once, and it is pronounced consistently across your videos.
Opening the Pronunciation tool
There are three ways to get to your pronunciations:
From the script box. Click the Pronunciation icon at the bottom of the script box.
From a word in your script. Highlight any word in the script editor and add it straight to the dictionary. The word is pre-filled for you.
From the dashboard. Go to Assets > Pronunciations to manage every entry in one place.
💡 Good news: Pronunciations are now unlimited on every plan.
Two ways to guide pronunciation
Phonetic spelling: you respell the word the way it should sound (for example, "kuhlossian" for "Colossyan"). Many voices behave well with phonetic spelling alone, and it is the right starting point for most words.
IPA phonemes: the precise lever. IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) describes the exact sounds of a word. If you want a more deterministic, coherent, and consistent result, generate the IPA automatically from your phonetic spelling. It is especially useful for acronyms and technical terms.
IPA takes precedence. When an entry has an IPA, the IPA drives the pronunciation and overwrites the phonetic spelling. If you want the phonetic spelling to drive instead, delete the IPA.
⚠️ Important: IPA phonemes are supported only for US English voices and always overwrite Phonetic spelling. If you want to enforce the Phonetic spelling, delete the IPA.
Adding a pronunciation
Click on Add new word
Enter the Written form – how the word appears in your script and subtitles
Enter the Phonetic spelling – how it should sound
(Optional) Add or generate the IPA phonemes – see the Working with IPA phonemes section below
Select the Voice you would like to use
Click Play ▶️ to hear the pronunciation
Click Save to save your changes
📍 Important: In the Phonetic spelling field, avoid special characters (. , : % ! and similar).
Editing a pronunciation
Click any word in the dictionary to open the Edit pronunciation window. From there, you can:
Edit the phonetic spelling and the IPA
Switch the voice
Preview with Play ▶️
Add or remove voice variants for the word
Save all your changes in one go
Working with IPA phonemes
Generate it automatically. Next to the IPA field, click the AI ✨ button to generate the phonemes from your phonetic spelling. This is the quickest way to a correct starting point. Remember that the generated IPA then takes precedence over the phonetic spelling.
Fine-tune by ear. To adjust an IPA, paste it into a free IPA tool such as leskoff.com (set to English – United States), listen, tweak the symbols, and paste it back. Enter the IPA as a single continuous string with no spaces.
Switch back to phonetic spelling. If you would rather the phonetic spelling drive, delete the IPA. The voice then follows the spelling.
When editing an IPA by hand, use the symbols in the IPA phoneme keyboard reference below.
Voice and language support
IPA phonemes work for US English voices only. For other voices and languages, use phonetic spelling.
If you pick a voice that does not support phonemes, the IPA field is replaced with the message "This voice does not support phonemes." Switch to a supported voice or use phonetic spelling.
For technical and specialised content, the best voices are provided by MiniMax (the ones tagged "40 languages supported.").
Keep your captions clean
Because pronunciation is controlled in the dictionary, you do not need to retype words phonetically inside your script to force a sound. Your written form stays clean, so your subtitles and closed captions read correctly.
Phonetic spelling reference (English alphabet)
💡 Note: Phonetic spelling is different for all languages. The same word is spelt differently in English versus French phonetic spelling.
Letter |
Phonetic Spelling |
Alternatives |
A |
ai |
ah, ay, eigh |
B |
bee |
be, buh |
C |
see |
kuh, suh, cee |
D |
dee |
de |
E |
ee |
eh, eei |
F |
ef |
fuh |
G |
jee |
guh |
H |
eitch |
huh, (silent) |
I |
eye |
aiy, ah-ee |
J |
jay |
jai |
K |
kay |
kai |
L |
el |
ell |
M |
em |
em |
N |
en |
nuh |
O |
oh |
ah, oh, uh, oo |
P |
pee |
puh |
Q |
cue |
kwuh |
R |
ah-r |
arr, are |
S |
ess |
zuh |
T |
tee |
tuh, tea |
U |
yoo |
yew |
V |
vee |
vea, vuh |
W |
double-you |
double-yew, duboyoo |
X |
ecks |
exx |
Y |
wah-ee |
wye, wyie |
Z |
zee |
zea, zuh |
IPA phoneme keyboard (US English)
When you edit an IPA by hand, use only the symbols below. Each is shown with an example word, with the matching sound in bold. Write the phonemes as one continuous string with no spaces, length marks, or syllable dots. The same keyboard is available on leskoff.com.
Stress marks
Symbol |
Use |
ˈ |
Primary stress (place before the stressed syllable) |
ˌ |
Secondary stress |
Vowels
Symbol |
As in |
Symbol |
As in |
i |
eat |
ɔ |
orange |
ɪ |
if |
ʌ |
uncle |
eɪ |
ate |
ʊ |
book |
ɛ |
every |
u |
Uber |
æ |
active |
ju |
Yuma |
ə |
ago |
oʊ |
old |
ɑ |
obstinate |
aɪ |
ice |
aʊ |
out |
ɔɪ |
oil |
ɝ |
earth |
ɚ |
allergy |
ɪɹ |
ears |
ɛɹ |
airplane |
ɔɹ |
orange |
ɑɹ |
artist |
ʊɹ |
cure |
aɪɹ |
Ireland |
aʊɹ |
hours |
|
|
Consonants
Symbol |
As in |
Symbol |
As in |
p |
put |
s |
sit |
b |
big |
z |
zap |
t |
talk |
ʃ |
she |
d |
dig |
ʒ |
Jacques |
k |
cut |
h |
help |
g |
go |
tʃ |
chin |
f |
fork |
dʒ |
joy |
v |
value |
m |
mat |
θ |
thin |
n |
no |
ð |
then |
ŋ |
link |
l |
lid |
ɹ |
red |
w |
with |
j |
yard |
💡 Do not use spaces, length marks (ː), syllable dots (.), or a plain r (use ɹ instead).
Limitations
Who can see my pronunciations
Pronunciations (also called Dictionary Entries) are owned by whoever creates them.
They are shared in the Workspace where they are created.
They can be shared with, or unshared from, other Workspaces.
A pronunciation must be shared in at least one Workspace at all times.
Anyone in a Workspace where a pronunciation is shared can use it in their videos.