Czech Alphabet and Pronunciation
Czech uses a Latin alphabet with the addition of diacritics and special characters, making its orthography highly phonetic and consistent. This guide will introduce you to the Czech alphabet, its pronunciation, and special rules that govern the language's phonetic system.
Fun fact: Czech orthography originated in the early 15th century. It was influenced notably by Jan Hus through his work "Orthographia bohemica."
The Czech Alphabet
The Czech alphabet consists of 42 letters. It includes letters from the standard Latin alphabet, plus several letters with diacritics and three additional characters (ch, ř, ů).
Below is a table including each letter's uppercase and lowercase forms, their Czech names, IPA symbols, and a brief pronunciation guide.
Alphabet Table
| Uppercase Lowercase | Czech Name | IPA | Pronunciation Guide |
|---|---|---|---|
| A a | á | /a/ | as in 'father' |
| Á á | dlouhé á | /aː/ | longer, as in 'car' |
| B b | bé | /b/ | as in 'bat' |
| C c | cé | /ts/ | as in 'cats' |
| Č č | čé | /tʃ/ | as in 'chips' |
| D d | dé | /d/ | as in 'dog' |
| Ď ď | ďé | /ɟ/ | softer 'd', similar to British 'during' |
| E e | é | /ɛ/ | as in 'bed' |
| É é | dlouhé é | /ɛː/ | longer, as in 'café' |
| Ě ě | ije | /ɛ/ or /jɛ/ | as 'ye' in 'yes' |
| F f | ef | /f/ | as in 'fair' |
| G g | gé | /ɡ/ | as in 'go' |
| H h | há | /ɦ/ | as in 'here' |
| Ch ch | chá | /x/ | as 'ch' in Scottish 'loch' |
| I i | í; měkké i | /ɪ/ | as in 'sit' |
| Í í | dlouhé í | /iː/ | as in 'machine' |
| J j | jé | /j/ | as 'y' in 'yes' |
| K k | ká | /k/ | as in 'cat' |
| L l | el | /l/ | as in 'lip' |
| M m | em | /m/ | as in 'man' |
| N n | en | /n/ | as in 'no' |
| Ň ň | eň | /ɲ/ | similar to 'ñ' in Spanish 'niño' |
| O o | ó | /o/ | as in 'not' |
| Ó ó | dlouhé ó | /oː/ | longer, as in 'more' |
| P p | pé | /p/ | as in 'pen' |
| Q q | kvé | /kv/ | used in foreign words |
| R r | er | /r/ | rolled 'r' |
| Ř ř | eř | /r̝/ | unique; rolled 'r' combined with 'ž' |
| S s | es | /s/ | as in 'sun' |
| Š š | eš | /ʃ/ | as in 'shoe' |
| T t | té | /t/ | as in 'top' |
| Ť ť | ťé | /c/ | softer 't', similar to 'nature' |
| U u | ú | /u/ | as in 'food' |
| Ú ú | dlouhé ú | /uː/ | longer, as in 'rude' |
| Ů ů | ů s kroužkem | /uː/ | same as 'ú' |
| V v | vé | /v/ | as in 'van' |
| W w | dvojité vé | /v/ | used in foreign words |
| X x | iks | /ks/ | as in 'box' |
| Y y | ypsilon | /ɪ/ | same as 'i' |
| Ý ý | dlouhé ý | /iː/ | same as 'í', but historical |
| Z z | zet | /z/ | as in 'zoo' |
| Ž ž | žet | /ʒ/ | as in 'vision' |
Pronunciation
Mouth Placement
You may be tempted to speak Czech deep in your throat as you would Russian, but Czech is pronounced quite forward in the mouth.
Palatalization
Certain consonants (d, t, n) become palatalized (softer sounding) when followed by i or ě, which is indicated in their pronunciation rather than spelling. For example, dě sounds similar to ďe.
Devoicing of Final Consonants
In Czech, voiced consonants (b, d, g, v, z, ž) at the end of a word are devoiced to their voiceless counterparts (p, t, k, f, s, š). This rule also applies to consonants before a pause or another voiceless consonant.
Vowel Length
Long vowels in Czech, indicated by an acute accent (á, é, í, ó, ú, ý) or a ring (ů), are held approximately twice as long as their short counterparts. The lengthening of vowels can change the meaning of a word, making vowel length a significant phonemic feature.
Ú vs Ů
The letters "ú" and "ů" are pronounced the same way, like the "oo" in "food." Typically, "ú" is used at the beginning of words and "ů" in the middle. There are some exceptions for compound words (e.g. "trojúhelník" - triangle) and loanwords (e.g. "kúra" - cure).
I vs Y
The letters "i" and "y" are often pronounced the same way in Czech. But in some dialects, "y" has a slightly different pronunciation, similar to the short "i" in "bit" as opposed to the long "ee" in "beet." This distinction is more common in Moravian dialects.
Punctuation
Czech punctuation largely follows the conventions of other European languages using the Latin script. Here are a few key points to remember:
- Dates: day and month are separated by a dot (e.g. 1. 1. 2023)
- Time: when you're talking about a specific time of day, you may use a dot (e.g. 5.30), but when you're talking about a duration, use a colon (e.g. 5:30)
Capitalization
Czech capitalization rules are notoriously tricky, but here's a short overview:
- Proper nouns are capitalized
- The first word of a sentence is capitalized
- Pronouns for "you" (Ty, Vy, Tvůj, Váš) are traditionally capitalized (less common now)
- Titles and headings capitalize the first word
- Respectful address forms (e.g. Doktor) are capitalized
In Czech, month and day names are not capitalized, unlike in English. For example, "leden" (January) and "pondělí" (Monday) are written in lowercase.