Language/Tagalog/Pronunciation/Alphabet-and-Pronunciation

Tagalog Alphabet & Pronunciation

Welcome to our lesson on "Tagalog Pronunciation → Alphabet and Pronunciation"! In this lesson, we will explore "Ang alpabetong Pilipino", or the Filipino alphabet, which is similar to the ISO basic Latin alphabet but includes the Spanish "Ñ" and "Ng", a diagraph unique to Tagalog. The modern Filipino alphabet consists of a total of 28 letters.

After mastering the Tagalog alphabet and pronunciation, you might want to expand your knowledge by exploring other aspects of the language. Feel free to check out our lessons on Tagalog Grammar: Regular Verbs, Tagalog Vocabulary - Drinks, and Tagalog Grammar → Verbs → Irregular Verbs to further enhance your Tagalog language skills. Enjoy learning and happy studying! 😊

Vocabulary

• Titik/Letra - Letter
• Alpabeto - Alphabet
• Patinig - Vowel
• Katinig - Consonant

Modern Filipino Alphabet

Ang Makabagong Alpabetong Pilipino (The Modern Filipino Alphabet) is the current alphabet employed by the country, starting from 1976, to align the Filipinos with the international standard. There are 23 consonants, or "katinig", and 5 vowels, or "patinig" with a total of 28 letters in the alphabet.

Letters	Pronunciation	IPA	Notes
A a	ey	/a/
B b	bi	/b/
C c	si	/k/, /s/	Used mostly for foreign words. Sometimes replaced by a K.
D d	di	/d/
E e	i	/e/, /i/
F f	ef	/f/, /p/	Used mostly for foreign words. Sometimes replaced by a P.
G g	dzi	/g/, /dʒ/, /h/
H h	eyts	/h/
I i	ay	/i/, /e/
J j	dzey	/dʒ/, /h/	Used mostly for foreign words
K k	key	/k/
L l	el	/l/
M m	em	/m/
N n	en	/n/
Ñ ñ	enyi	/ɲ/
Ng ng	endzi	/ŋ/
O o	o	/o/, /u/
P p	pi	/p/
Q q	kyu	/k/	Used mostly for foreign words.
R r	ar	/ɾ/
S s	es	/s/
T t	ti	/t/
U u	yu	/u/, /o/
V v	vi	/v/, /b/	Used mostly for foreign words. Sometimes replaced by a B.
W w	dobolyu	/w/
X x	eks	/ks/	Used mostly for foreign words.
Y y	way	/j/
Z z	zi	/z/, /s/	Used mostly for foreign words.

Tips

When a vowel is repeated, each vowel is pronounced individually.

Such as in the case of words like aangat, or umuunlad, the double "a" and "u" vowels are pronounced separately: a-a-ngat, u-mu-un-lad. The vowels o and u are also pronounced individually when used together, such as in uod.

Like in Spanish, the J is usually silent.

Words that contain a j treat the letter like an h, especially in Spanish names like Juan. In fact, Filipino spelling has already replaced a lot of words from the Spanish language with a j with an h, i.e., Hesus, Hulyo, kuneho, hardin, trabaho. However, Anglicized versions of names like Julia, and words like jew, juice, joke, and jump, keep the /dʒ/ sound.

Note: Older Filipinos have a habit of sounding the /dʒ/ phoneme as "dz". This is because the sound produced in the initial consonant of words such as "germs" or "juniper" is not native to the traditional Filipino tongue.

Pilipinong Alpabeto (abakada)

From a period starting in the 1930s until 1976, the Philippines used the "Abakada" alphabet, which omitted all foreign letters adopted from former colonists. This system was closer to the original Alibata writing system used in prehistoric times. The letters c, f, j, ñ, q, v, x and z were all removed, and k replaced c in use and in the alphabet's position.

Practice Phrases

• Pinatay ni Florifel ang paru-paro pagkatapos ng fiesta - Florifel killed the butterfly after the fiesta.
• Kinuha ng kuneho ang kamote ni Quixote - The rabbit took the sweet potato of Quixote.
• Uupo si Urduja habang umuubo - Urduja will sit while coughing.
• Maiinggit si Ingrid dahil sa danggit - Ingrid will become jealous because of the danggit (salted sun-dried fish).