Help:IPA/Czech

The charts below show the way in which the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) represents Czech language pronunciations in Wikipedia articles. For a guide to adding IPA characters to Wikipedia articles, see {{IPA-cs}} and Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Pronunciation § Entering IPA characters.

See Czech phonology for a more thorough look at the sounds of Czech.

Consonants
IPA Examples Nearest English equivalent
b byl bill
c lať, těšit, ticho, teď stew (UK)
d délka, modlitba delta
dz podzim, noc byla[1] heads
dʒ džbán jab
f foukat, záchvěv, kavka focus
ɡ kdo, gril gag
ɦ hořet ahead
j jenom yellow, boy
ɟ ďas, děda, dík dew (UK)
k kolo, ping-pong scald
l lak lack
l̩ Vltava little
m mouka mocha
m̩ sedm rhythm
n nyní ninny
ɲ laň, koně, nyní canyon
ŋ Hanka sing
p pyl, nadrob, kobka spill
r robot robot (trilled)
r̩ vrba lover (US, trilled)
r̝ řeka simultaneous [r] and [ʒ]
r̝̊ chřest simultaneous [r̥] and [ʃ]
s stůl, mráz stole
ʃ šelest shell
t ten, led stand
ts cena bats
tʃ čas chase
v vítr wave
x chomout, práh loch
z zima zoo
ʒ žár sabotage
Vowels
IPA Examples Nearest English equivalent
a matka hatter (UK)
aː máma father
ɛ let let
ɛː létat square (UK)
ɪ klid, byl kid
iː klít, být clean
o pod pot (UK)
oː móda thought (UK)
u kup full, bull
uː úroda, kůlna fool
Diphthongs
IPA Examples Nearest English equivalent
au auto out
ɛu euro say oo
ou louka local (US)
IPA Stress
ˈ Stress falls on the first syllable of a word.

Notes

  1. ^ [dz] occurs only in loanwords and as an allophone of /ts/ before voiced consonants. The word podzim is usually pronounced with [dz], but a careful speaker would pronounce the two letters separately.

Bibliography

  • Dankovičová, Jana (1999), "Czech", Handbook of the International Phonetic Association: A guide to the use of the International Phonetic Alphabet, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 70–74, ISBN 0-521-65236-7
  • Šimáčková, Šárka; Podlipský, Václav Jonáš; Chládková, Kateřina (2012), "Czech spoken in Bohemia and Moravia" (PDF), Journal of the International Phonetic Association, 42 (2): 225–232, doi:10.1017/S0025100312000102