The easiest way to type IPA phonetic symbols (and foreign characters*) on your Windows PC

* Czech, Danish, Esperanto, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hungarian, IPA for English, IPA for all languages, Italian, Math/Science, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Swedish and Turkish

1

Run TypeIt

2

Choose your keyboard – for example, IPA for English

Click the TypeIt icon in your taskbar to choose a keyboard. TypeIt will remember your last setting the next time you run it.


Why you’ll love TypeIt

  • Obvious keyboard shortcuts. Just press Alt + the key that’s most similar to the character you want to type. For example, to type æ, press Alt + A. If there are several characters based on the same letter (e.g. æ and ɑ), just hold Alt and keep hitting the same key (here: A) until you get the character you want.

    Alternatively, you can type a letter like a, and then tap Ctrl one or more times to turn it into æ or ɑ.

    I made TypeIt because I was tired of solutions where each character has its own arbitrary shortcut. I could never remember which key typed which character (“How do I type ɑ? Was it  [ ,  ;  or maybe Shift + ;?”). I don’t want to have to pause and think “how do I type that character?” – I want it to be obvious.

  • You can keep your existing keyboard layout. TypeIt gives you the phonetic symbols you need, but doesn’t force a whole new layout on you. It doesn’t change the way you type numbers and punctuation, so you won’t have to get used to new ways of typing characters like ", ? or /.

    Some solutions for typing foreign and special characters “take over” punctuation keys. As a result, you can no longer type characters like the apostrophe or quote by simply pressing ' or " because these keys are instead used to type foreign characters. While these solutions provide alternative ways to type an apostrophe or quote, why should you struggle to learn a new way to type punctuation just because you want to type phonetic symbols?

  • Pleasantly fast typing. Why copy & paste characters from webpages when you can type them directly into your applications and websites?
  • You can use it offline. Flaky Internet access? No worries. With the TypeIt app, your IPA symbols and foreign characters are always available.
  • Pop-up help is always a keystroke away (see example) – just press Alt + F1. You probably won’t need it, though :)
  • Includes the proper quotation marks (such as „ “ « or ») for each of the included languages. Additionally, the curly apostrophe (), English-style curly quotes (“ ”), long dashes (– —) and other useful symbols (→ ° ±×·≠≈≤≥²³ €) are always available, whatever language you’re typing in, so you can type things like 20°, 2 × 4 and 100 m² without batting an eye.
  • Doesn’t get in the way. I like software that does the job without making a big fuss. That’s why TypeIt installs in three clicks, consumes very little memory and CPU, and doesn’t bother you with pop-ups and updates.

Upgrade your keyboard

TypeIt is the best foreign-language- and phonetic-symbol-typing experience in the known universe (by the way, here are some comments from happy users). You can upgrade your keyboard with TypeIt for just $24.99 (Extended Edition) or $19.99 (Standard Edition).

  • One-time fee. For a one-time fee, you get a lifetime license with free updates (minor fixes and improvements), good for up to 3 PCs in your household or one PC in an organization. There is also a volume license for organizations – see below.
  • Risk-free purchase. If you change your mind within 30 days of your purchase, you can get a problem-free refund.
  • Lifetime license. For a one-time fee, you get a lifetime license with free updates (minor fixes and improvements), good for up to 3 computers in your household or one computer in an organization. There is also a volume license for organizations – see below.
  • Quick installation. TypeIt takes only a few clicks to install.
  • Risk-free purchase. If you change your mind within 30 days of your purchase, you can get a problem-free refund.
TypeIt Standard TypeIt Extended
Includes: Czech, Danish, Esperanto, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hungarian, IPA for English, Italian, Math/Science, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Swedish, Turkish
Does not include: IPA for all languages
Runs on: Windows 7, 8, 10, 11
Includes: everything that’s in the Standard edition plus the “IPA for all languages” phonetic keyboard
Runs on: Windows 7, 8, 10, 11
One-time fee
Instant download
One-time fee
Instant download
Buy Volume License ($269) » License for 25 PCs. Get the convenience of TypeIt for your department or organization.
Buy Volume License ($439) » License for 25 PCs. Get the convenience of TypeIt for your department or organization.
Try TypeIt
You can also download a trial version of the app, which includes all the keyboards (including IPA for all languages), but some characters are missing, and a trial reminder is shown every few keystrokes. Can be used for up to 14 days.
Runs on: Windows 7, 8, 10, 11
Questions about the TypeIt app? Send them
The TypeIt App is distributed by FastSpring LLC (USA).