Language/Catalan/Pronunciation/Alphabet-and-Pronunciation
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Hello everybody,
Welcome to our lesson on Catalan Pronunciation → Alphabet and Pronunciation! In this lesson, you will learn the basics of the Catalan alphabet and how to pronounce each letter correctly. As you progress in your Catalan language journey, don't forget to explore other related pages, such as Catalan Vocabulary - Days of the Week, Catalan Vocabulary - Common nouns and verbs for daily life, and Catalan Vocabulary - Computer to expand your knowledge and improve your skills. 📚🎉
Feel free to edit this page and contribute to the learning experience!
Catalan Alphabet & IPA Pronunciation[edit | edit source]
| Letter | Catalan | Valencian | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Pronunciation | Name | Pronunciation | |
| A a | a | /ˈa/ | a | /ˈa/ |
| B b | be, be alta | /ˈbe/, /ˈbe ˈaltə/ | be | /ˈbe/ |
| C c | ce | /ˈse/ | ce | /ˈse/ |
| D d | de | /ˈde/ | de | /ˈde/ |
| E e | e | /ˈe/ | e | /ˈe/ |
| F f | efa | /ˈefə/ | efe, ef | /ˈefe/, /ˈef/ |
| G g | ge | /ˈʒe/ | ge | /ˈdʒe/ |
| H h | hac | /ˈak/ | hac | /ˈak/ |
| I i | i, i llatina | /ˈi/, /ˈi ʎəˈtinə/ | i, i llatina | /ˈi/, /ˈi ʎaˈtina/ |
| J j | jota | /ˈʒɔtə/ | jota | /ˈdʒota/ |
| K k | ca | /ˈka/ | ca | /ˈka/ |
| L l | ela | /ˈelə/ | ele, el | /ˈele/, /ˈel/ |
| M m | ema | /ˈemə/ | eme, em | /ˈeme/, /ˈem/ |
| N n | ena | /ˈenə/ | ene, en | /ˈene/, /ˈen/ |
| O o | o | /ˈo/ | o | /ˈo/ |
| P p | pe | /ˈpe/ | pe | /ˈpe/ |
| Q q | cu | /ˈku/ | cu | /ˈku/ |
| R r | erra | /ˈɛrə/ | erre, er | /ˈere/, /ˈeɾ/ |
| S s | essa | /ˈesə/ | esse, es | /ˈese/, /ˈes/ |
| T t | te | /ˈte/ | te | /ˈte/ |
| U u | u | /ˈu/ | u | /ˈu/ |
| V v | ve, ve baixa | /ˈve/, /ˈbe ˈbaʃə/ | ve | /ˈve/ |
| W w | ve doble | /ˈve ˈdobːlə/, /ˈbe ˈdobːlə/ | ve doble | /ˈve ˈdoble/ |
| X x | ics, xeix | /ˈiks/, /ˈʃeʃ/ | ics, xeix | /ˈiks/, /ˈʃejʃ/ |
| Y y | i grega | /ˈi ˈɡɾeɡə/ | i grega | /ˈi ˈɡɾeɡa/ |
| Z z | zeta | /ˈzetə/ | zeta | /ˈzeta/ |
Catalan Alphabet and English Equivalent[edit | edit source]
| Letter | Name | English comparison |
|---|---|---|
| A a | a | a in father when stressed; a in about otherwise (schwa) |
| B b | be or be alta | p as in pat the end of the word; b as in ball elsewhere, but softer |
| C c | ce | c as in ceiling before e or i; k as in skate elsewhere |
| Ç ç | ce trencada | c as in ceiling (not considered a basic letter) |
| D d | de | t as in tile at the end of the word; th as in there elsewhere |
| E e | e | e as in pencil or ai as in paint when stressed; a as in about otherwise (schwa) |
| F f | efa | f as in feather |
| G g | ge | j as in jacket or s as in measure before e or i; g as in game elsewhere |
| H h | hac | silent |
| I i | i or i llatina | y as in you before vowels; ea as in eat elsewhere |
| J j | jota | j as in jacket or s as in measure |
| K k | ca | k as in skate; only used in foreign words |
| L l | ela | l as in bell; always "dark" |
| M m | ema | m as in mother |
| N n | ena | n as in night |
| O o | o | o as in phone or o as in pore when stressed; oo as in racoon elsewhere |
| P p | pe | p as in span |
| Q q | cu | k as in skate; always before u/ü |
| R r | erra | fully trilled word-initially; t in bottle elsewhere |
| S s | essa | z as in zipper between vowels; s as in sample elsewhere |
| T t | te | t as in star |
| U u | u | w as in water before vowels; oo as in loot elsewhere |
| V v | ve or ve baixa | v as in vine or b as in ball but softer |
| W w | ve doble | w as in water |
| X x | ics or xeix | sh as in ship; x as in taxi in some words |
| Y y | i grega | Only used in the digraph ny to represent /ɲ/ (roughly like canyon) |
| Z z | zeta | z as in zipper |
Pronunciation Video: Learn the Catalan Alphabet[edit | edit source]
Catalan Keyboard[edit | edit source]