Language/Slovak/Pronunciation/Alphabet-and-Pronunciation
< Language | Slovak | Pronunciation
Jump to navigation
Jump to search
Rate this lesson: 
Monophthongs
| Letter | Sound | Example in Slovak word | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| A a | /ʌ/ | abeceda (alphabet) | sun |
| Á á | /ɑː/ | áno (yes) | far |
| Ä ä | /ε/, /æ/ | päť (five) | cat |
| B b | /b/ | brat (brother) | break |
| C c | /ts/ | cibuľa (onion) | tsunami |
| Č č | /tʃ/ | čučoriedka (blueberry) | match |
| D d | /d/ | dom (house) | do |
| Ď ď | /ɟ/ | ďakujem (thank you) | - |
| Dz dz | /dz/ | medzi (between) | - |
| Dž dž | /dʒ/ | džem (jam) | jam |
| E e | /ε/ | egreš (gooseberry) | dress |
| É é | /εː/ | anténa (antenna) | - |
| F f | /f/ | farba (colour) | face |
| G g | /g/ | gaštan (chestnut) | grow |
| H h | /h/ | hokej (hockey) | high |
| Ch ch | /x/ | chorý (ill) | - |
| I i | /ɪ/ | ihla (needle, pin) | city |
| Í í | /iː/ | zívnuť (yawn) | tree |
| J j | /j/ | jablko (apple) | yes |
| K k | /k/ | krava (cow) | call |
| L l | /l/ | láska (love) | let |
| Ľ ľ | /ʎ/ | ľalia (lilly) | similar to Spanish ll |
| Ĺ ĺ | /lː/ | stĺp (column) | - |
| M m | /m/ | muž (man) | man |
| N n | /n/ | noha (leg) | name |
| Ň ň | /ɲ/ | dlaň (palm) | similar to Spanish ñ |
| O o | /ɒ/ | opica (monkey) | body |
| Ó ó | /ɔː/ | telefón (telephone) | door |
| P p | /p/ | pes (dog) | put |
| Q q | /kv/ | aqua | sequence |
| R r | /r/ | ružová (pink) | read |
| Ŕ ŕ | /rː/ | vŕba (willow) | - |
| S s | /s/ | sliepka (hen) | sad |
| Š š | /ʃ/ | šunka (ham) | shoe |
| T t | /t/ | tuniak (tuna) | take |
| Ť ť | /c/ | ťava (camel) | - |
| U u | /ʊ/ | ujo (uncle) | foot |
| Ú ú | /uː/ | ústa (mouth) | choose |
| V v | /v/ | vlajka (flag) | voice |
| W w | /v/ | kiwi | voice |
| X x | /ks/ | taxi | taxi |
| Y y | /ɪ/ | syr (cheese) | city |
| Ý ý | /iː/ | skrývať (hide) | tree |
| Z z | /z/ | zebra | zero |
| Ž ž | /ʒ/ | žaluď (acorn) | vision |
Diphthongs
| Letter | Sound | Example in Slovak word | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| IA ia | /ia/ | piatok (friday) | |
| IE ie | /iε/ | nie (no) | |
| IU iu | /iu/ | menšiu | |
| Ô ô | /uo/ | kôň (horse) |
Diacritics
acute - á, é, í, ĺ, ó, ŕ, ú, ý
caron - č, ď, ľ, ň, š, ť, ž
umlaut - ä
circumflex - ô
Accent
Slovak words have accent mostly on the first syllable of the word (slovenský jazyk). Acute does not indicate accent. Acutes indicate long sound (twice as long as the short sound).
Soft pronunciation of de, te, ne, le, di, ti, ni, li
Consonants d, t, n, l in combination with vowels e, i should have a soft pronunciation (like ďe, ťe, ňe, ľe, ďi, ťi, ňi, ľi). Although most people often break the rule and do not pronounce le, li softly.
The rule of soft pronunciation does not apply to the words of foreign origin.