Letters
When Q, V and X are excluded, there are 32 letters in the Polish alphabet: 9 vowels and 23 consonants.
The following table lists the letters of the alphabet, their Polish names (see also Names of letters below), the Polish phonemes which they usually represent, rough English (or other) equivalents to the sounds of those phonemes, and other possible pronunciations. For more information about the sounds, see Polish phonology.
| Upper case |
Lower case |
Polish name | Usual value | Rough English (or other) equivalent |
Other values |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A | a | a | /a/ | large | |
| Ą | ą | ą | /ɔ̃/ | nasal o as French bon | /ɔn/, /ɔm/ (see Nasal vowels) |
| B | b | be | /b/ | bed | /p/ when devoiced |
| C | c | ce | /t͡s/ | pits | For ch, ci, cz see Digraphs |
| Ć | ć | cie | /t͡ɕ/ | cheap (alveolo-palatal) | |
| D | d | de | /d/ | dog | /t/ when devoiced. For dz etc. see Digraphs |
| E | e | e | /ɛ/ | bed | |
| Ę | ę | ę | /ɛ̃/ | nasal e | /ɛn/, /ɛm/ (see Nasal vowels) |
| F | f | ef | /f/ | fat | |
| G | g | gie | /ɡ/ | go | /k/ when devoiced. For gi see Digraphs |
| H | h | ha | /x/ | Scots loch | For ch and (c)hi see Digraphs |
| I | i | i | /i/ | meet | /j/, or palatization (see Spelling rules) |
| J | j | jot | /j/ | yes | |
| K | k | ka | /k/ | scant | /ɡ/ if voiced. For ki see Digraphs |
| L | l | el | /l/ | light | |
| Ł | ł | eł | /w/ | will | |
| M | m | em | /m/ | men | |
| N | n | en | /n/ | not | For ni see Digraphs |
| Ń | ń | eń | /ɲ/ | canyon (alveolo-palatal) | |
| O | o | o | /ɔ/ | British English long | |
| Ó | ó | o (or u) z kreską | /u/ | boot | |
| P | p | pe | /p/ | spot | /b/ if voiced |
| R | r | er | /r/ | trilled r | For rz see Digraphs |
| S | s | es | /s/ | sea | For sz, si see Digraphs |
| Ś | ś | eś | /ɕ/ | sheep (alveolo-palatal) | /ʑ/ (cf. Ź) if voiced |
| T | t | te | /t/ | start | /d/ if voiced |
| U | u | u | /u/ | boot | Sometimes /w/ after vowels |
| W | w | wu | /v/ | vow | /f/ when devoiced |
| Y | y | igrek | /ɨ/ | between fit and put | |
| Z | z | zet | /z/ | zoo | /s/ when devoiced. For digraphs see Digraphs |
| Ź | ź | ziet | /ʑ/ | vision, alveolo-palatal | /ɕ/ when devoiced. For dź see Digraphs |
| Ż | ż | żet | /ʐ/ | vision | /ʂ/ when devoiced. For dż see Digraphs |
The letters q, v, and x do not belong to the Polish alphabet, but are used in some foreign words and commercial names. In loanwords they are often replaced by kw, w, and ks, respectively (as in kwarc "quartz", weranda "veranda", ekstra "extra").
For digraphs and other rules about spelling and the corresponding pronunciations, see Polish orthography.
Read more about this topic: Polish Alphabet
Famous quotes containing the word letters:
“This is the Night Mail crossing the Border,
Bringing the cheque and the postal order,
Letters for the rich, letters for the poor,
The shop at the corner, the girl next door.”
—W.H. (Wystan Hugh)
“Most personal correspondence of today consists of letters the first half of which are given over to an indexed statement of why the writer hasn’t written before, followed by one paragraph of small talk, with the remainder devoted to reasons why it is imperative that the letter be brought to a close.”
—Robert Benchley (1889–1945)
“When griefs are genuine, I find, there is nothing more vacuous, more burdensome, or even more impertinent, than letters of consolation.”
—Philip Dormer Stanhope, 4th Earl Chesterfield (1694–1773)