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:
“Sir, more than kisses, letters mingle souls.
For, thus friends absent speak.”
—John Donne (c. 1572–1631)
“A man who publishes his letters becomes a nudist—nothing shields him from the world’s gaze except his bare skin. A writer, writing away, can always fix himself up to make himself more presentable, but a man who has written a letter is stuck with it for all time.”
—E.B. (Elwyn Brooks)