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Welcome to our Ngabere alphabet page! The following charts show the pronunciation for the Ngabere orthography we have used on our site, as well as some alternate spellings that you may find in other books and websites.
Character We Use: |
Sometimes Also Used: |
IPA symbol: | Ngabere pronunciation: |
a | a | Like the a in father. | |
ä | a | ![]() |
Like the au in caught. |
e | e | Like the e sound in Spanish, similar to the a in gate. | |
ë | I | Like the i in bit. | |
i | i | Like the i in police. | |
o | o | Like the o in note. | |
ö | ![]() |
Like the oo in book. | |
u | u | Like the u in flute. | |
ü | |
Like the u in flute, only pronounced further to the front of the mouth. The Ngabere pronuncation resembles the u sounds in languages like Norwegian and Swedish. |
Character We Use: |
Sometimes Also Used: |
IPA symbol: |
ã | ã | |
ẽ | ẽ | |
ĩ | ĩ | |
õ | õ | |
ũ | ũ |
Character We Use: |
Sometimes Also Used: |
IPA symbol: | Ngabere pronunciation: |
b | b | Like b in boy. | |
ch | č | t![]() |
Like ch in chair. |
d | d | Like the d in day. | |
h | j | h | Like h in hay. |
g | g | Like the g in girl. | |
k | c, qu | k | Like the k in kiss. |
l | l | Like l in light. | |
ll | j, y | d![]() |
Like j in jar. |
m | m | Like m in moon. | |
n | n | Like n in night. | |
ng | ŋ | Like the ng in sing. | |
ñ | ñ | Like ny in canyon. | |
r | ![]() |
Like the r in Spanish pero, somewhat like the tt in American English butter. | |
s | s | Like s in sun. | |
t | t | Like the t in tell. | |
w | hu | w | Like w in way. |
y | j | Like y in yes. |
a | low tone |
á | high tone |
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