Nahuatl Pronunciation and Spelling Guide

Vowels

Character We Use:	Sometimes Also Used:	IPA symbol:	How To Pronounce It:
a		a	Like the a in father.
aa	a·	a	Like a only held longer.
e		ε	Like the e in bet.
ee	e·	ε	Like e only held longer.
i		i	Like the i in police.
ii	i·	i	Like i only held longer.
o		o	Like the o in note.
oo	o·	o	Like o only held longer.
u		u	Like the u in flute.
uu	u·	u	Like u only held longer.

Diphthongs

Consonants

Character We Use:	Sometimes Also Used:	IPA symbol:	How To Pronounce It:
c	s, k	s ~ k	As in the Spanish alphabet (from which the Nahuatl alphabet was adapted), c represents both a 'hard c' (as in cold) and a 'soft c' (as in city). It is pronounced hard before a, o, or u and soft before e or i.
ch	ch	t	Like ch in chair.
cu	kw, qu	kw ~ kw	Like qu in English queen.
h		h	Like h in hay.
hu	w	w	Like w in way.
l		l	Like l in light.
m		m	Like m in moon.
n		n	Like n in night.
p		p	Like the p in pie.
qu	k	k	As in the Spanish alphabet (from which the Nahuatl alphabet was adapted), both qu and c can represent the k sound in English key.
t		t	Like the t in tell.
tl	ł	ł	This sound is a lateral fricative that doesn't really exist in English. It sounds like the "ll" in the Welsh name "Llewellyn." Some English speakers can pronounce it well if they try to pronounce the "breathy l" in the word clue without the c in front of it.
tz	ts	ts	Like ts in cats.
x	sh		Like sh in shell.
y		j	Like y in yes).
z	s	s	As in the Spanish alphabet (from which the Nahuatl alphabet was adapted), both z and c can represent both the s sound in English sun).

Nahuatl Pronunciation and Vocabulary Resources

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