3.1.6 Pronunciation
Level AAA · added in WCAG 2.0
When a word's meaning in context depends on how it is pronounced, give users a way to find the pronunciation. This is a level AAA criterion: most laws and policies require AA, but it is still worth meeting where you can.
Who it helps
Screen reader users may hear the wrong reading of a word, which changes its meaning. People who are blind, have reading disabilities or are reading in a second language cannot always use context to work out the right pronunciation.
How to meet it
- Find words whose meaning changes with pronunciation and that context does not settle, such as English heteronyms or Japanese names with several readings.
- Give the pronunciation right after the word, for example in parentheses.
- For Japanese and Chinese text, use ruby annotation (ruby, rt and rp elements) to show the reading.
- Or link the word to a glossary entry or an audio clip that gives the pronunciation.
- Only annotate the ambiguous words; you do not need to annotate every word on the page.
Examples
<p lang="ja">担当者：東海林</p><p>The bass in the photo was enormous.</p><p lang="ja">担当者：<ruby>東海林<rp>(</rp><rt>しょうじ</rt><rp>)</rp></ruby></p><p>The bass (rhymes with "face") in the photo was enormous.</p>Can a scanner detect this?
No
axe-core has no rule for this criterion. Software cannot tell whether context makes a word's meaning clear. A person who knows the language must read the content and find ambiguous words.
No automated rule tests this criterion. Check it by hand.
Common mistakes
- Assuming screen readers will always choose the right pronunciation from context.
- Using ruby text for readings but leaving out rp fallback parentheses for browsers that do not render ruby.
- Linking to a general dictionary site instead of giving the pronunciation of the specific word.
Related criteria
Check your own page
See which automated WCAG checks your page fails, with the failing elements and how to fix them.
Reviewed November 2, 2026