This article contains phonetic transcriptions in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA). For an introductory guide on IPA symbols, see Help:IPA. For the distinction between [ ], / / and ⟨ ⟩, see IPA § Brackets and transcription delimiters.

These are lists of spelling-to-sound correspondences in the Catalan language. The two main standard forms (Standard Catalan and Standard Valencian) are used as primary transcriptions norms of their respective spelling forms.

Spelling patterns and pronunciation in Catalan and Valencian

Consonants and combinations of consonant letters
Spelling Main values (IPA) Examples Other values (IPA) Examples
Cat. (IEC) Va. (AVL) Cat. (IEC) Va. (AVL)
b initially and medially (elsewhere) /b/ blau, roba /p/ Baotou
medially before a lateral /bː/ /b/ poble — —
medially before a nasal /mː/[a] submarins — —
/nː/[b] obnoxi — —
medially before a voiceless cons. /p/ absolut — —
finally cub  Ø  Ø amb
/p/ tomb
bb /bː/ abbàssida /b/ lobby
bh /b/ subhasta — —
bs /ps/[c] abstracte — —
bv /bː/[d] /bv/[e] obvietat — —
ç final before vowels or a voiced cons. /z/ feliçment — —
elsewhere /s/ açò — —
c before e, i ciri /t͡ʃ/ Versace
initially and medially (elsewhere) /k/ casa /t͡s/ Cao Zhi
finally rec  Ø /k/ banc
medially before a voiced cons. /ɡ/ ècdisi — —
medially before a nasal /ŋ/[f] tècnics — —
cc before e, i /ks/ acció /t͡ʃ/ Gucci
*ch[1] (old form and loanwords) /k/ Lluch Alborch
/ʃ/ quiche
/x/ Bach (Ge. surname)
cch (in loanwords) Crecchio — —
cht (in loanwords) /t/ yacht — —
ck (in loanwords) /k/ hacker — —
cks (in loanwords) /ks/ snacks — —
cs dacsa — —
ct initially /t/ ctònic — —
medially /kt/ acte — —
cz before e, i /gz/[g] èczema — —
d initially and medially /d/ dolç, cada /t/ Dalian
finally /t/ sord  Ø /t/ rotund
dd /dː/ adduir — —
dg before e, i /dʒ/ /dd͡ʒ/ pidgin /t͡ʃ/[h] bridge
elsewhere /dɡ/[i] Edgar — —
dh /d/ adhesiu — —
dj /d͡ʒ/ Django — —
/dʒ/ /dd͡ʒ/ adjunt — —
dm /dm/[j] cadmi — —
dn /dn/[k] adnat — —
ds /t͡s/[c] adscriure — —
dv /db/[l] /dv/[m] ludvígia — —
f medially before a voiced cons. /v/ hafni — —
elsewhere /f/ fars — —
ff (in loanwords) /fː/ affidavit /f/ office
fh /f/ sulfhídric — —
g before e, i /ʒ/ /d͡ʒ/ gens /ʃ/[n] collage
/ɡ/ bagel
initially and medially (elsewhere) /ɡ/ gana, àgab /k/ Gansu
medially before a lateral /ɡː/ /ɡ/ regla — —
medially and finally after i (see ig) /t͡ʃ/ mig /ɡ/ amígdala
/d͡ʒ/ migdia
finally /k/ reg  Ø /k/ sang
gg[2] before e, i /ʒː/ /d͡ʒ/ suggerir — —
elsewhere /ɡː/[o] burggravi /ɡ/ ziggurat
gh (in loanwords) /ɡ/ oghuz — —
ght (in loanwords) /t/ light — —
gm /ŋm/[p] estigma — —
gn initially /n/ gnom — —
medially /ŋn/[q] cigne /ɲ/ cognac
gs /ks/ regs — —
/t͡ʃ/[r] migs — —
h  Ø hivern /h/ hàmster
j /ʒ/ /d͡ʒ/ jocs /ʒ/ /j/ ja
/j/ Jotti
/x/ jota (d.)
/ʃ/ /t͡ʃ/ Rijkov
k (in loanwords) /k/ kiwi  Ø knock-out
kh (in loanwords) /x/ abkhaz /k/ kha
ks (in loanwords) /ks/ quarks — —
l /l/ laca /l/  Ø altre
ł (in loanwords) /w/ Wojtyła — —
ll[1] /ʎ/ llac, cella, ell /ʎ/ /l/ estrel(l)a
/l/ ballet
/lː/ allegro
ŀl[1] /lː/ ceŀla — —
lh /l/ alhora /lh/ coolhunter
/ʎ/ Vielha
lj /ʎʒ/ /ʎd͡ʒ/ aljub Ljubljana
m initially and finally /m/ mut, em — —
before f or v /ɱ/ nimfa, tramvia (Va.) — —
mm[1] /mː/ immens — —
mn initially /n/ mnemòtic — —
medially /mn/ somni — —
Mc (in loanwords) /mək/ /mak/ McCain — —
mh /m/ amhàric — —
n initially and finally /n/ nou, ens — —
before f or v /ɱ/ ínfim, canvi (Va.) — —
before a labial cons. /m/ benparlat — —
before a palatal cons. /ɲ/ menja, àngel — —
before a velar cons. /ŋ/ vincle, fang — —
nn[1] /nː/ innat /n/ sonne
ng (in loanwords) /ŋ/ víking — —
nh /n/ anhel /nh/ skinhead
/ɲ/ caipirinha
nj /ɲʒ/ /ɲd͡ʒ/ penjar oranje
nm /mː/ enmig — —
ny[1] /ɲ/ any — —
ñ (in loanwords) El Niño — —
p initially and finally /p/ pont, cup  Ø /p/ camp
before a voiced cons. /b/ capbaix — —
before a nasal /mː/[a] capmàs — —
pp /pː/ proppassat /p/ hippy
ph (in compounds and classical terms) /p/ caphuitada (Va.) /f/ pholis
pn initially /n/ pneuma — —
medially /bn/[s] apnea — —
ps initially /s/ psicòleg — —
medially /ps/ capsa — —
pt initially /t/ ptilosi — —
medially /pt/ apte /t/ comptar
q (see qu) /k/ Qatar /t͡ʃ/ Qinghai
r initially /r/ ratolí — —
medially after l, n, s folro — —
medially (elsewhere) /ɾ/ però /r/ infraroig
 Ø[t] prendre
finally mar  Ø  Ø dimarts
/ɾ/ córrer
rr[1] /r/ marró — —
rh initially rhodesià — —
medially /ɾ/ superhome /ɾh/ dírham
s initially /s/ sac /z/ Saarland (Ge.)
medially next to a cons. estimar esma
after a nasal institut trànsit
most cases between two vowels /z/ rosa /s/ contrasenya
finally /s/ dins, repòs /ʃ/ ells
ss[1] rossa — —
sc[1] before e, i ascens /ʃ/ crescendo
elsewhere /sk/ escriure /ʃk/[u] visca
-scs /sks/[v] boscs — —
sch (in loanwords) /sk/[w] scherzo — —
/ʃ/ jiddisch — —
sh (in compounds and loanwords) /z/ deshora /ʃ/ sushi
/ʒ/[x] flashback
-st /st/ est /t/ /st/ aquest
-sts /sts/[y] gusts /ts/[y] /sts/[y] aquests
sx /(s)ʃ/ /st͡ʃ/[z] desxifrat — —
sz (in loanwords) /s/ Szolnok — —
/ʃ/ Tomasz — —
szcz (in loanwords) /t͡ʃ/[aa] Szczecin — —
t initially and medially /t/ tamís — —
finally sort  Ø /t/ font
tt /tː/ posttònic /t/ dittografia
tb (in loanwords) /db/[ab] futbol — —
tg[1] before e, i /d͡ʒ/ fetge — —
th (in compounds and loanwords) /t/ tothom /θ/ theta
/ð/ The Times
/th/ apartheid
ti /ti/ ties /ʃ/ National Mall (En.)
tj[1] /d͡ʒ/ mitjà — —
tl[1] — /lː/ vetl(l)a /dl/[ac] atles
tll[1] /ʎː/ — /ʎː/ /ʎ/ bitllet
tm[1] initially /m/ tmesi — —
medially /mː/[ad] sotmetre /dm/[j] ritme
tn[1] /nː/ cotna /dn/[k] ètnic
tch (in loanwords) /t͡ʃ/ sketch — —
tsch (in loanwords) kitsch — —
ts initially /t͡s/[ae] tsar — —
medially and finally potser, bits — —
tx[1] /t͡ʃ/ cotxe — —
tz[1] /d͡z/ dotze /d͡z/ /z/ utilitzar
/t͡s/ hertz — —
tzsch (in loanwords) /t͡ʃ/ nitzscheà — —
v initially and medially /b/[af] /v/[ag] vila /f/ von (Ge.)
finally /p/[ah] /f/[ai] salv Kíev
w (in loanwords) /w/ western /b/[af] /v/[ag] watt
/f/ Bukowski
wh (in loanwords) whisky /h/ The Who
x initially /ʃ/ /t͡ʃ/ xiular /ʃ/ Xàtiva
next to a voiceless cons. /ks/ expert — —
medially (elsewhere) /ɡz/ examen /ks/ fixar
medially and finally after i (see ix) /ʃ/ guix mix
/ʒ/ guix verd — —
finally /ks/ índex — —
xc before e, i excel·lent — —
elsewhere /(k)sk/ excavar — —
xh /gz/ exhaust — —
xs /ks/ exsudar — —
-xt /(k)st/ mixt — —
-xts /(k)sts/[aj] texts — —
y (in loanwords, except the digraph ny) /j/ yuppie — —
/i/ husky /ai̯/ bypass
yy (in loanwords) /j/ Hudaybiyya — —
z most cases /z/ zona /d͡z/ scherzo
/t͡s/ Zemin
finally /s/ brunz /θ/[ak] López
zz (in loanwords) /d͡z/ mezzo /z/ jacuzzi
/t͡s/ pizza /s/ jazz
zh (in loanwords) /z/ alzhèimer /d͡ʒ/ Zhou
 
Vowels and combinations of vowel letters
Spelling Main values (IPA) Examples Other values (IPA) Examples
Cat. (IEC) Va. (AVL) Cat. (IEC) Va. (AVL)
a, à, â stressed position /a/ /a/ arc, àtom, pâ (Va.) /ei̯/ /ei̯/ lady
/ɔ/ yacht
unstressed position /ə/ anís, mitja /a/ allegretto
/ə/ /ɛ ~ ɔ/ terra, dona
/e/ artista (m.)
 Ø mitja hora
/o/ Quartet (En.)
unstressed position
(in contact with rhotics)		  Ø barana /e/ software
/eə/ /ea/ Square
ä (in loanwords) /ɛ/ Händel — —
aa stressed position /əˈa/ /aˈa/ Isaac — —
unstressed position /əː/ /aː/ aalenià — —
ae stressed position (open) /əˈɛ/ /aˈɛ/ aeri — —
stressed position (closed) /əˈe/ /aˈe/ graella — —
unstressed position /əe/ /ae/ aeròbic /i/ reggae
/ə/ /e/ Michael
/ai̯/[al] taekwondo
aé /əˈe/ /aˈe/ tacaé — —
ai stressed position /ai̯/ /ai̯/ aigua /e/ affaire
/ei̯/ container
unstressed position /əi̯/ airós — —
aï stressed position /əˈi/ /aˈi/ raïm — —
unstressed position /ə.i/ /a.i/ aïllat — —
aí /əˈi/ /aˈi/ país — —
ao /au/ /ao/ caos — —
/əˈo/ /aˈo/ graons — —
aó raó — —
au stressed position /au̯/ /au̯/ caus /o/ Foucault
unstressed position /əu̯/ haurà Faubourg
aü stressed position /əˈu/ /aˈu/ taüt /ɔi̯/ fräulein
unstressed position /ə.u/ /a.u/ aüllar — —
aú /əˈu/ /aˈu/ Esaú — —
e, é, è stressed position (open/closed) /ɛ/ dens, èxit /ɛ/ /e/ alè/alé, què
stressed position (closed/open) /e/ ella, bé
stressed position (closed) — — /i/[am] reggae
unstressed position /ə/ /e/ en, rere /e/ ídem
/ə/ /a/ espill
/i/ naixement
/i/ reality
 Ø fanzines
no el té
unstressed position
(in contact with rhotics)		  Ø /e/ veritat — —
ea stressed position /eˈa/ crear /i/ beat
/ɛ/ spread
/e(i̯)ə/ /ea/ idea /ɔ/ Sean
unstressed position /eə/ àrea /ə/ /e/ bearnesa
eà /eˈa/ oceà — —
eau (in loanwords) /o/ Rousseau — —
ee stressed position /əˈɛ/ /eˈe/ creença
/i/ jeep
/e(i̯)ə/ /eː/ idees — —
unstressed position /eə/ àrees — —
/əː/ reeixir — —
ei stressed position (open/closed) /ɛi̯/ oleic /ɛi̯/ /ei̯/ remei
stressed position (closed/open) /ei̯/ /ei̯/ reina
unstressed position /əi̯/ eivissenc — —
stressed position (in loanwords) /ai̯/ eingang — —
eï stressed position /əˈi/ /eˈi/ obeït — —
unstressed position /ə.i/ /e.i/ veïnat — —
èi /ɛi̯/ plèiade — —
eo stressed position (open) /əˈɔ/ /eˈɔ/ beoci — —
stressed position (closed) /əˈo/ /eˈo/ eons — —
unstressed position /əu/ /eo/ teoria /eo/ vídeo
eò /əˈɔ/ /eˈɔ/ eòlic — —
eu stressed position (open) /ɛu̯/ peu /ɔi̯/ Bayreuth
stressed position (closed) /eu̯/ /eu̯/ seu /e/[an] amateur
unstressed position /əu̯/ europea — —
eü /əˈu/ /eˈu/ peüc — —
i, í, ï stressed position /i/ illa, ací /ai̯/ copyright
/ɛ/[ao][ap] Rodin, birdie
unstressed position  Ø business
after vowels (hiatus) /ˈi/ naïf — —
after vowels (unstressed position) /i̯/ creies — —
ia stressed position /i̯a/ /i̯a/ iaio — —
unstressed position /i̯ə/ veia — —
ie stressed position /i̯e/ /i̯e/ veient (Cat.) /i/ briefing
unstressed position /i̯ə/ feien — —
ii /iː/ xiisme — —
iï /iˈi/ xiïta — —
io stressed position (open) /i̯ɔ/ iode — —
stressed position (closed) /i̯o/ /i̯o/ io-io — —
unstressed position /i̯u/ iogurt — —
iu /i̯u/ iuguslau — —
o, ó, ò stressed position (open) /ɔ/ bo, allò — —
stressed position (closed) /o/ /o/ mot, ós /ou̯/ pincode
/u/ Guangdong
unstressed position /u/ ferro /o/ ego
/u/ cobert
/u̯/ posa-ho
/ə/ /a/ Ogariov
oa stressed position /uˈa/ /oˈa/ poal /uˈa/ Joan
/ou̯/ coach
/oə/ /oa/ quinoa /o/ snowboard
unstressed position /uə/ lloador /uə/ /ua/ Joaquim
oe stressed position (open/closed) /uˈɛ/ /oˈe/ coet — —
stressed position (closed) /uˈe/ poeta — —
unstressed position /uə/ /oe/ àloe — —
oi (see ix) stressed position (open) /ɔi̯/ boira /u̯a/ foie
stressed position (closed) — /oi̯/ coix — —
unstressed position /ui̯/ joiós /uə/ /ua/ croissant
oï /uˈi/ /oˈi/ roïns — —
oo /oː/ zoo /u/ zoom
/uˈo/ /oˈo/ microones — —
ou stressed position (open) /ɔu̯/ bou /au̯/ cloud
/ɔ/ final four
stressed position (closed) /ou̯/ /ou̯/ sou (v.) /u/ tour
/w/ ouija
unstressed position /ɵu̯/[aq] clourà — —
u, ú, ü stressed position /u/ tu, ús /i/ business
/y/[ar] déjà vu, Müller
/a/ punk
/iu̯/ duty-free
/ɛ/[ap] return
after vowels (hiatus) /ˈu/ reüll — —
after vowels (unstressed position) /u̯/ creua — —
ua stressed position /uˈa/ suat — —
unstressed position /uə/ /ua/ cua — —
ue stressed position (open) /uˈɛ/ /uˈɛ/ duel /u/ blues
/y/[ar] fondue
stressed position (open/closed) /uˈe/ fuet — —
unstressed position /uə/ /ue/ duen — —
ui /ui̯/ /ui̯/
(in. /u̯i/)		 buit /u̯ei̯/ Anhui
uï /uˈi/ fluït — —
uo stressed position (open) /uˈɔ/ cuot — —
stressed position (closed) /uˈo/ suor — —
unstressed position /uː/ — suo /uo/ duo
uu /uː/ lluu — —
 
Combinations of vowel and consonant letters
Spelling Main values (IPA) Examples Other values (IPA) Examples
Cat. (IEC) Va. (AVL) Cat. (IEC) Va. (AVL
aha /əː/ /aː/ bahamià /əha/ /aha/ Kalahari
ahà /əˈa/ /aˈa/ sahàric — —
ahe /əe/ /ae/ sahelians — —
/əˈe/ /aˈe/ subtrahend — —
ahi /əi/ /ai/ Tahití — —
/əˈi/ /aˈi/ ahir — —
ahí tahírida — —
aho /əˈo/ /aˈo/ Mahoma /aho/ navaho
/əu/ /ao/ mahometà — —
ahò /əˈɔ/ /aˈɔ/ mahònia — —
ahu /əu/ /au/ infrahumans — —
aw (in loanwords) /ɔ/ Law — —
ay (old form and loanwords) /ai̯/ faraday /ɛ/ /e/ Quai d'Orsay
/ei̯/ play — —
ci (in loanwords) /t͡ʃ/ ciao — —
cci (in loanwords) carpaccio — —
cqu (in loanwords) /k/ jacquard — —
dqu before e, i /tk/[as] adquirir — —
eha /eə/ /ea/ rehabilitar — —
ehe /əˈɛ/ /eˈe/ aprehendre — —
/əː/ /eː/ vehement — —
ehi /əˈi/ /eˈi/ vehicle — —
/əi/ /ei/ dehiscent — —
ehí /əˈi/ /eˈi/ aldehídic — —
eho /əu/ /eo/ prehomínids — —
ehu /eu/ sobrehumà — —
ew (in loanwords) /iu̯/ newton /u/ crew
ey (old form and loanwords) /ei̯/ keynesià /i/ bogey
gi (in loanwords) /d͡ʒ/ adagio — —
ggi (in loanwords) appoggiatura — —
gu[1] before a, o /ɡw/ guant — —
before a cons. /ɡu/ agut — —
before e, i /ɡ/ guitza — —
gü /ɡw/ pingüí — —
iha /iə/ /ia/ polihalita /iha/ jihad
ihe /iˈɛ/ periheli — —
/iə/ /ie/ antiheroi — —
ihè /iɛ/ dihèlia — —
ihi /iː/ anihilar — —
ihí /iˈi/ polihídric — —
iho /iu/ /io/ antihorari — —
ihu /iu/ antihumitat /iu̯/ marihuana
ig[1] finally /t͡ʃ/ reig — —
/it͡ʃ/ mig — —
before a vowel or voiced cons. /d͡ʒ/ reig blanc — —
/id͡ʒ/ migdia — —
igs /t͡ʃ/[at] reigs — —
/it͡ʃ/[r] migs — —
ix[1] finally /ʃ/ /i̯ʃ/ coix — —
/iʃ/ guix — —
before a vowel or voiced cons. /ʒ/ /i̯ʒ/ coix i cec — —
/iʒ/ guix verd — —
ïx finally /iʃ/ reïx — —
before a vowel or voiced cons. /iʒ/ reïx bé — —
le (in loanwords) /əl/ /el/ paddle surf — —
oha /uə/ /oa/ cohabitar — —
ohà /uˈa/ /oˈa/ bohàiric — —
ohe /uə/ /oe/ cohesió — —
ohè /uɛ/ /oɛ/ bohèmia — —
ohi /ui/ /oi/ prohibir — —
ohí /uˈi/ /oˈi/ microhílids — —
oho /uˈɔ/ /oˈɔ/ cohort — —
/uː/ /oː/ cohobació — —
ohò /uˈɔ/ /oˈɔ/ alcohòlic — —
ohu /uː/ /ou/ argiŀlohumífer — —
ow (in loanwords) /ou̯/ flow — —
/au̯/ cowboy — —
oy (old form and loanwords) /ɔi̯/ Roy /u̯a/ Troyes
qu[1] before a, o /kw/ quan — —
before e, i /k/ quina — —
qü /kw/ qüestió — —

Notes

  1. ^ a b (or /b+m/, /p+m/: /bm/)
  2. ^ (or /b+n/: /bn/)
  3. ^ a b (or simply /s/)
  4. ^ (or /bv/)
  5. ^ (or /bː/)
  6. ^ (or /ɡ/)
  7. ^ (or /ks/, in Valencian)
  8. ^ (or /dʒ/)
  9. ^ (or /ɡ/, after a nasal: /ŋɡ/)
  10. ^ a b (or /mː/)
  11. ^ a b (or /nː/)
  12. ^ (or /dv/)
  13. ^ (or /db/)
  14. ^ (or /ʒ/)
  15. ^ (or simply /ɡ/, in Valencian)
  16. ^ (or /ɡm/)
  17. ^ (or /ɡn/)
  18. ^ a b (it varies with /-d͡ʒus/ and /-d͡ʒos/ (mitjos))
  19. ^ (or /nː/)
  20. ^ (or /r/)
  21. ^ (or /sk/)
  22. ^ (it varies with /-skus/ and /-skos/ (boscos))
  23. ^ (or /esk/ in loanwords with initial s+consonant)
  24. ^ (or /ʃ/)
  25. ^ a b c (it varies with /-stus/ and /-stos/ (gustos, aquestos))
  26. ^ (or /(s)ʃ/)
  27. ^ (or /ʃt͡ʃ/)
  28. ^ (or /bː/)
  29. ^ (or /lː/)
  30. ^ (or simply /m/, in Valencian)
  31. ^ (or initially /s/)
  32. ^ a b (or /v/)
  33. ^ a b (or /b/)
  34. ^ (or /f/)
  35. ^ (or /p/)
  36. ^ (it varies with /-(k)stus/ and /-(k)stos/ (textos))
  37. ^ (or /s/)
  38. ^ (or /ae/)
  39. ^ (or /ɛ/)
  40. ^ (it corresponds to French /œ/)
  41. ^ (it corresponds to French /ɛ̃/)
  42. ^ a b (it corresponds to English /ɜː/)
  43. ^ (/əu̯/, /ou̯/ or /u/)
  44. ^ a b (usually replaced with /i/ or /u/)
  45. ^ (or /kː/)
  46. ^ (it varies with /-(d͡)ʒus/ (lletjos with /d͡ʒ/, but rejos with /ʒ/) and /-d͡ʒos/ (both lletjos and rejos with /d͡ʒ/))

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u Ortografia. Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua (AVL). p. 37-46. ((cite book)): |website= ignored (help)
  2. ^ "Dictamen, llistat 27 (grup gg)" (PDF). La veu de les ones | Butlletí electrònic de la plataforma reSOLC-mitjansCAT. Laboratori de Tecnologies Lingüístiques, Universitat Pompeu Fabra (UPF).

Bibliography

Categories