Basque Alphabet And Pronunciation Rules
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The Basque alphabet is based on the standard Latin script.
It looks very familiar to English speakers, but some letters make entirely different sounds.
Learning how to pronounce these letters correctly is your first step to speaking Basque clearly.
I’ll explain the exact pronunciation rules you need to know to read and speak Basque.
Table of Contents:
The Basque alphabet (euskal abezedarioa)
The modern Basque alphabet consists of 27 letters.
It includes the standard 26 letters of the basic English alphabet plus the letter ñ.
Letters like c, q, v, w, and y aren’t native to the Basque language.
You’ll only ever see these specific letters used in foreign loanwords.
Here’s the complete Basque alphabet along with the names of each letter.
| Letter | Basque Name | Letter | Basque Name |
|---|---|---|---|
| A, a | a | Ñ, ñ | eñe |
| B, b | be | O, o | o |
| C, c | ze | P, p | pe |
| D, d | de | Q, q | ku |
| E, e | e | R, r | erre |
| F, f | efe | S, s | ese |
| G, g | ge | T, t | te |
| H, h | hatxe | U, u | u |
| I, i | i | V, v | uve |
| J, j | jota | W, w | uve bikoitza |
| K, k | ka | X, x | ixa |
| L, l | ele | Y, y | igrezikoa |
| M, m | eme | Z, z | zeta |
| N, n | ene |
Basque vowels and how to pronounce them
Basque has five standard vowels: a, e, i, o, and u.
These vowels are pure and short.
This means they don’t change sound or glide into other vowels like they often do in English.
If you’ve studied Spanish before, Basque vowels are pronounced exactly the same way.
| Vowel | Pronunciation | English Equivalent |
|---|---|---|
| A | /a/ | ”a” in father |
| E | /e/ | ”e” in pet |
| I | /i/ | ”ee” in see |
| O | /o/ | ”o” in port |
| U | /u/ | ”oo” in boot |
Basque consonants and unique sounds
Most Basque consonants sound exactly like their English equivalents.
Letters like b, d, f, k, l, m, n, p, and t won’t give you any trouble.
The letter h is usually silent in standard Basque, just like in Spanish.
However, Basque has three distinct “s” sounds that you must learn to tell apart.
The letter z is pronounced like the standard English “s” in “sea”.
Zuri
The letter s is pronounced with the tip of the tongue against the roof of the mouth.
It sounds like a slightly whistling “s”, similar to how people speak in central Spain.
Su
The letter x is pronounced exactly like the English “sh” in “shoe”.
Xaboi
Basque digraphs (two-letter sounds)
Basque frequently combines two consonants to create a new, distinct sound.
These pairs of letters are called digraphs.
The most common digraphs involve the letter t combining with the Basque “s” sounds.
The digraph tx is pronounced like the English “ch” in “church”.
Txakur
The digraph tz sounds exactly like the “ts” in the English word “cats”.
Hotz
The digraph ts is very similar to tz, but it’s pronounced with the same whistling tongue position as the standalone letter s.
Itsaso
Double consonants also exist, specifically tt, dd, ll, and rr.
The letters tt and dd are palatalized, meaning they sound like you’re adding a slight “y” sound after them.
The double rr is rolled strongly, just like in Spanish.
Gorria
Regional variations in Basque pronunciation
Basque is spoken across different regions, and some letters change their sound depending on where you are.
The most noticeable regional difference is the pronunciation of the letter j.
In Standard Basque (Batua) and northern regions, j is pronounced like the English “y” in “yes”.
Jan
In the Gipuzkoa region, j is pronounced with a harsh, throaty “h” sound.
This sounds exactly like the Spanish “j”.
Jan
Another major variation happens in the Zuberoa region in the French Basque Country.
Speakers here use a sixth vowel sound, written as ü.
It’s pronounced exactly like the French “u” or the German “ü”.
