The Czech Alphabet - Vowels, Consonants, Diacritics & more

Q: How many letters are in the Czech alphabet?

The Czech alphabet has 42 letters in total [1] . This includes 14 vowels (5 short + 9 long) and 28 consonants, many featuring distinctive diacritical marks.

Q: What makes Czech diacritics special?

Czech diacritics have specific functions : • Acute accent (´) - lengthens vowels (á, é, í, ó, ú, ý) • Caron (ˇ) - modifies consonants (č, ď, ň, ř, š, ť, ž) • Ring (°) - creates ů (long u sound) • They change both pronunciation and meaning !

Q: What is the difference between Ú and Ů in Czech?

Both represent long "u" sounds but have different uses : • Ú - appears at the beginning of words and roots • Ů - appears in the middle or end of words • Same pronunciation but different spelling rules • Example: úkol (task) vs. stůl (table)

Q: Where is Czech spoken today?

Czech is spoken in several places: • Czech Republic - where it's the official language • Slovak Republic - widely understood due to historical connection • Czech communities worldwide in countries like USA, Canada, Austria, Germany About 10.7 million people speak Czech as their native language [3] !

Q: Is Czech difficult to learn for English speakers?

Czech has some challenges but also advantages : • Challenges: complex grammar, diacritics, consonant clusters • Advantages: phonetic spelling, consistent pronunciation • Latin script makes reading easier than Cyrillic • Once you master diacritics, pronunciation becomes predictable !

Q: What are some unique features of Czech pronunciation?

Czech has several distinctive pronunciation features : • Ř - a unique rolled "rzh" sound found only in Czech • Syllabic consonants - r and l can form syllables without vowels • Fixed stress - always on the first syllable • Consonant clusters - like "zmrzlina" (ice cream)!

The Czech alphabet consists of 42 letters, with 14 vowels (including long vowels) and 28 consonants^[1]. Based on the Latin script with extensive diacritical marks, it was developed during the Czech National Revival in the 19th century. The basic vowels include A, E, I, O, U with their long counterparts Á, É, Í, Ó, Ú, Ů, while consonants feature distinctive letters such as Č, Ď, Ň, Ř, Š, Ť, Ž. These diacritical marks are essential for proper pronunciation and grammatical function. Czech is the official language of the Czech Republic and is spoken by approximately 10.7 million people worldwide^[3].

Czech Vowels (Uppercase)

[A]

[E]

[I]

[O]

[U]

[Y]

Czech Vowels (Lowercase)

[a]

[e]

[i]

[o]

[u]

[y]

Czech Consonants (Uppercase)

[B]

[C]

[D]

[F]

[G]

[H]

[J]

[K]

[L]

[M]

[N]

[P]

[Q]

[R]

[S]

[T]

[V]

[W]

[X]

[Z]

Czech Consonants (Lowercase)

[b]

[c]

[d]

[f]

[g]

[h]

[j]

[k]

[l]

[m]

[n]

[p]

[q]

[r]

[s]

[t]

[v]

[w]

[x]

[z]

Letters with Acute Accent (Čárka)

[a]

[A]

[e]

[E]

[i]

[I]

[o]

[O]

[u]

[U]

[y]

[Y]

Letters with Caron (Háček)

[c]

[C]

[d]

[D]

[e]

[E]

[n]

[N]

[r]

[R]

[s]

[S]

[t]

[T]

[z]

[Z]

Letter with Ring (Kroužek)

[u]

[U]

Common Consonant Clusters

[st]

[sk]

[sp]

str

[str]

spr

[spr]

škr

[skr]

tř

[tr]

dř

[dr]

[pr]

[br]

[kr]

[gr]

Syllabic Consonants

[r]

[l]

[r]

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]

;

„

“

–

—

(

)

€

Kč

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How many letters are in the Czech alphabet?

What makes Czech diacritics special?

What is the difference between Ú and Ů in Czech?

Where is Czech spoken today?

Is Czech difficult to learn for English speakers?

What are some unique features of Czech pronunciation?

References:

[1] Czech Language Institute. "Czech Orthography Rules". Retrieved from https://www.ujc.cas.cz/
[2] Unicode Consortium. "Latin Extended-A Unicode Block (U+0100-U+017F)". Retrieved from https://www.unicode.org/charts/PDF/U0100.pdf
[3] Czech Statistical Office. "Czech Republic in Figures". Retrieved from https://www.czso.cz/