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A 'central vowel' is a type of vowel sound used in some spoken languages. The defining characteristic of a central vowel is that the tongue is positioned halfway between a front vowel and a back vowel. The central vowels identified by the International Phonetic Alphabet are:

★ close central unrounded vowel

★ close central rounded vowel

★ close-mid central unrounded vowel

★ close-mid central rounded vowel

★ mid central vowel

★ open-mid central unrounded vowel

★ open-mid central rounded vowel

★ near-open central vowel

★ open central unrounded vowel (unofficial but most frequent usage)
Occasionally, the ''ad hoc'' symbols for near-close central vowels will be seen.