Sounds — phonetic guide

Every letter has one sound. Below: IPA plus a plain-language phonetic description for each vowel and consonant.

How to read this page

Say every written vowel; never reduce unstressed vowels to schwa.
c is always [ts]; g is always hard [g]; s is always [s], never [ʃ].
r is a tap or light trill, not an English bunched r.

Letter → IPA → phonetic description → example word

Vowels

Five vowels only: a e i o u. Back harmony: a o u. Front harmony: e i.

Letter	IPA	Phonetic description	Harmony	Example
a	[a]	Open “ah” — like father, not like cat.	back	tomo — house
e	[e]	Clear “eh” — like Spanish/Italian e, or French été. Not a diphthong.	front	kere — garden
i	[i]	Bright “ee” — as in machine / see. Not like sit.	front	kiv — bicycle
o	[o]	Rounded “oh” — like Spanish o / note without a glide. Not “aw”.	back	hop — tent
u	[u]	Rounded “oo” — as in rule / food. Not like cup.	back	lumo — moon

Consonants

Twenty consonants. Special letters: c = [ts], x = [ks], j and y both = [j], w = [w].

Letter	IPA	Phonetic description	Manner	Example
b	[b]	Voiced “b” — as in book.	bilabial stop	bero — bread
c	[ts]	Always “ts” — as in cats / tsunami. Never like city or cat.	alveolar affricate	calo — warm
d	[d]	Voiced “d” — as in door.	alveolar stop	dona — give
f	[f]	Voiceless “f” — as in fun.	labiodental fricative	faro — light
g	[g]	Hard “g” — as in go. Never soft like giraffe.	velar stop	gora — mountain
h	[h]	Breathy “h” — as in house. Always pronounced.	glottal fricative	homa — person
j	[j]	“Y” glide — as in yes. Same sound as letter y.	palatal approximant	jaro — year
k	[k]	Voiceless “k” — as in kite. Always hard.	velar stop	kita — book
l	[l]	Clear “l” — as in lamp. Not a dark English “ull” sound.	alveolar lateral	lumo — moon
m	[m]	“M” — as in moon. Close the lips.	bilabial nasal	mara — sea
n	[n]	“N” — as in name. Tip of the tongue on the ridge.	alveolar nasal	nami — name
p	[p]	Voiceless “p” — as in pen. Soft aspiration is fine.	bilabial stop	pano — bread loaf
r	[r]	Tapped/trilled “r” — a single Spanish/Italian flap; not English “r”.	alveolar tap/trill	ramo — branch
s	[s]	Sharp “s” — as in sun. Never “sh”.	alveolar fricative	sola — sun
t	[t]	Voiceless “t” — as in top. Dental/alveolar, always clear.	alveolar stop	tomo — house
v	[v]	Voiced “v” — as in voice. Lower lip to upper teeth.	labiodental fricative	vato — water
w	[w]	“W” glide — as in water. Rounded lips; a full consonant in Aigramma.	labiovelar approximant	walo — valley
x	[ks]	Always “ks” — as in box / taxi. One letter, two sounds.	consonant cluster letter	nexa — link
y	[j]	Same as j — “y” in yes. Spelling variant; sound is identical.	palatal approximant	yuno — young one
z	[z]	Voiced “z” — as in zoo. Never “ts”.	alveolar fricative	zono — zone

Quick pairs to remember

Letters	Say it like…
c / k	c = [ts] (cats); k = [k] (kite)
s / z	s = [s] (sun); z = [z] (zoo)
j / y	Both = [j] as in yes
v / w	v = [v] (voice); w = [w] (water)
x	Always [ks] as in box