The 36 letters
Single letters first. Each letter names one sound — the sound guide is an English approximation, the audio examples below are the real thing.
| Letter | Sounds like |
|---|---|
| a | a in 'father' |
| b | b |
| c | ts in 'cats' |
| ç | ch in 'church' |
| d | d |
| e | e in 'bed' |
| ë | a in 'sofa' (schwa) |
| f | f |
| g | always g in 'go' |
| h | h |
| i | i in 'machine' |
| j | y in 'yes' |
| k | k |
| l | light l |
| m | m |
| n | n |
| o | o in 'north' |
| p | p |
| q | between k and ch — no English twin |
| r | a single tap of the tongue |
| s | s |
| t | t |
| u | u in 'rule' |
| v | v |
| x | ds in 'adds' (dz) |
| y | French 'u' / German 'ü' |
| z | z |
Letters are listed for reading practice — the audio buttons below carry the real sounds.
Nine digraphs — two letters, one sound
These count as separate letters of the alphabet: sort order and spelling both treat them as one.
| Digraph | Sounds like |
|---|---|
| dh | th in 'this' (voiced) |
| gj | a voiced palatal — think 'duke' squeezed together |
| ll | dark l, like English 'all' |
| nj | ny in 'canyon' |
| rr | a rolled trill |
| sh | sh in 'ship' |
| th | th in 'think' (voiceless) |
| xh | j in 'jam' |
| zh | s in 'measure' |
The pairs English speakers mix up
Listen to each pair until the difference is obvious. Every word is canonical with real audio.
| Pair | Albanian | English |
|---|---|---|
| c — /ts/ | pecetë | a napkin — hear the 'ts' |
| ç — /tʃ/ | çaj | tea — hear the 'ch' |
| x — /dz/ | lexoj | to read — hear the x in the middle |
| xh — /dʒ/ | xhaketë | a jacket |
| dh — voiced th | dhëmb | a tooth |
| th — voiceless th | thikë | a knife |
| gj — voiced palatal | gjë | a thing |
| q — voiceless palatal | qepë | an onion |
| l — light l | limon | a lemon |
| ll — dark l | llambë | a lamp |
| r — tap | erë | wind |
| rr — trill | birrë | beer |
| nj — 'ny' | një | one |
| sh — 'sh' | shqip | Albanian |
| zh — 'zh' | zhurmë | noise |
| y — French u | sy | an eye |
ë in real words
ë shows up everywhere — inside words and at the end. Keep it in your spelling even when fast speech reduces it.
| Albanian | English |
|---|---|
| shtëpi | house — ë inside the word; the word ends in i |
| ëmbëlsirë | dessert; sweets |
| vajzë | daughter; girl |
| qumësht | milk |
| qumësht | milk — ë inside |
| ëmbëlsirë | dessert — ë inside |
Talking about pronunciation
Si thuhet kjo shqip?
How do you say this in Albanian?
Si shqiptohet?
How is it pronounced?
Ju lutem, flisni ngadalë.
Please speak slowly.
Ju lutem, përsëriteni.
Please repeat.
Mini practice
Q1. Which letter is /ts/, as in 'cats'?
- c
- ç
- x
- q
Answer: c
Q2. Which digraph is /dʒ/, as in 'jam'?
- x
- xh
- gj
- zh
Answer: xh
Q3. Which letter is the voiced 'th' of 'this'?
- d
- th
- dh
- zh
Answer: dh
Q4. In fast, unstressed speech, the letter ë …
- is a long 'e' like in 'bee'
- is always silent, in every word
- is a spelling mistake — drop it
- may weaken or drop in pronunciation but is always written
Answer: may weaken or drop in pronunciation but is always written
Q5. Someone says: “Si shqiptohet?” — what do they mean?
- How much does it cost?
- How is it pronounced?
- Where is it?
- Can you repeat that?
Answer: How is it pronounced?
