The Flemish Alphabet - Letters, Vowels, Consonants & Digraphs

Q: How many letters are in the Flemish alphabet?

The Flemish alphabet contains 26 letters , from A to Z, the same as English. However, Flemish also uses the IJ digraph , which is sometimes treated as a single letter in alphabetization.

Q: What makes the Flemish IJ special?

The IJ (or ij) is a unique feature of Flemish: • It's often written as a ligature (ĳ or Ĳ) • When capitalizing, both letters become capital : IJsselmeer • It's pronounced like "ay" in English • Found in common words like "wij" (we) and "fijn" (nice)

Q: Does Flemish use diacritics or accent marks?

Yes, but mainly in loanwords and names : • é, è, ë - as in "café" or "geëerd" • ï - indicates separate pronunciation, like "reünie" • The diaeresis (¨) is most common • Used to prevent vowel combinations from becoming diphthongs

Q: How is Flemish pronunciation different from English?

Flemish has several distinctive sounds : • The guttural "g" - like clearing your throat • "ui" sound - unique to Flemish, no English equivalent • The "w" is between English "w" and "v" • "r" can be rolled or guttural depending on region

Q: Where is Flemish spoken?

Flemish is spoken in Flanders, Belgium : • Flanders region - approximately 6.5 million speakers • Official language of the Flanders region of Belgium • Part of the Dutch language family About 6.5 million people speak Flemish as their native language!

Q: Is Flemish similar to English or German?

Flemish is a West Germanic language , closely related to both: • More similar to English in vocabulary - many cognates • Similar grammar to German - but simpler case system • English speakers can recognize words like "water", "appel", "boek" • Often called "the bridge between English and German"

Flemish Alphabet at a Glance

26 letters: 5 vowels (a, e, i, o, u) and 21 consonants
Spoken by approximately 6.5 million native speakers in Flanders, Belgium
Official language in Flanders region of Belgium
Uses Latin script for writing ^[1]
Features the distinctive IJ digraph often treated as a single letter
West Germanic language (Low Franconian branch) closely related to Dutch
Language standards coordinated by Nederlandse Taalunie (Dutch Language Union) ^[2]

Flemish Vowels (Uppercase)

[ah]

[eh]

[ee]

[oh]

[ue]

Flemish Vowels (Lowercase)

[ah]

[eh]

[ee]

[oh]

[ue]

Flemish Consonants (Uppercase)

[beh]

[seh]

[deh]

[eff]

[guttural-h]

[hah]

[yeh]

[kah]

[ell]

[emm]

[enn]

[peh]

[kuh]

[err]

[ess]

[teh]

[veh]

[weh]

[iks]

[ey]

[zett]

[beh]

The letter "B" as in "Belgie" (Belgium).

[seh]

The letter "C" as in "Computer".

[deh]

The letter "D" as in "Duitsland" (Germany).

[eff]

The letter "F" as in "Frankrijk" (France).

[guttural-h]

The letter "G" as in "Groningen".

[hah]

The letter "H" as in "Holland".

[yeh]

The letter "J" as in "Jan" (John).

[kah]

The letter "K" as in "Karel" (Charles).

[ell]

The letter "L" as in "Leiden".

[emm]

The letter "M" as in "Maastricht".

[enn]

The letter "N" as in "Nederland" (Flanders, Belgium).

[peh]

The letter "P" as in "Peter".

[kuh]

The letter "Q" as in "Qatar".

[err]

The letter "R" as in "Rotterdam".

[ess]

The letter "S" as in "Suriname".

[teh]

The letter "T" as in "Tilburg".

[veh]

The letter "V" as in "Vincent".

[weh]

The letter "W" as in "Willem".

[iks]

The letter "X" as in "Xanten".

[ey]

The letter "Y" as in "Ypsilon".

[zett]

The letter "Z" as in "Zeeland".

Flemish Consonants (Lowercase)

[beh]

[seh]

[deh]

[eff]

[guttural-h]

[hah]

[yeh]

[kah]

[ell]

[emm]

[enn]

[peh]

[kuh]

[err]

[ess]

[teh]

[veh]

[weh]

[iks]

[ey]

[zett]

[beh]

The letter "b" as in "boek" (book).

[seh]

The letter "c" as in "computer" (computer).

[deh]

The letter "d" as in "dag" (day).

[eff]

The letter "f" as in "fiets" (bicycle).

[guttural-h]

The letter "g" as in "goed" (good), pronounced with a guttural sound.

[hah]

The letter "h" as in "huis" (house).

[yeh]

The letter "j" as in "ja" (yes).

[kah]

The letter "k" as in "kind" (child).

[ell]

The letter "l" as in "land" (country).

[emm]

The letter "m" as in "man" (man).

[enn]

The letter "n" as in "naam" (name).

[peh]

The letter "p" as in "pen" (pen).

[kuh]

The letter "q" as in "quiz" (quiz).

[err]

The letter "r" as in "rood" (red).

[ess]

The letter "s" as in "stad" (city).

[teh]

The letter "t" as in "tijd" (time).

[veh]

The letter "v" as in "vader" (father).

[weh]

The letter "w" as in "water" (water).

[iks]

The letter "x" as in "xylofoon" (xylophone).

[ey]

The letter "y" as in "yoga" (yoga).

[zett]

The letter "z" as in "zon" (sun).

[ah]

[beh]

[seh]

[deh]

[eh]

[eff]

[gheh]

[hah]

[ih]

[yeh]

[kah]

[ell]

[emm]

[enn]

[oh]

[peh]

[kuh]

[err]

[ess]

[teh]

[uh]

[veh]

[weh]

[iks]

[ey]

[zett]

Flemish Diacritics (Lowercase)

[ay]

[eh]

[ay]

[ee]

[oh]

[ue]

Flemish Diacritics (Uppercase)

Flemish Digraph IJ

[ay]

The digit zero (nul).

The digit one (een).

The digit two (twee).

The digit three (drie).

The digit four (vier).

The digit five (vijf).

The digit six (zes).

The digit seven (zeven).

The digit eight (acht).

The digit nine (negen).

;

–

€

Period (punt) - sentence terminator in Flemish writing.

Comma (komma) - used for separating clauses and items in Flemish.

;

Semicolon (puntkomma) - connects related clauses in Flemish.

Colon (dubbele punt) - introduces lists or explanations in Flemish.

Question mark (vraagteken) - marks questions in Flemish.

Exclamation mark (uitroepteken) - expresses strong emotion in Flemish.

Apostrophe (apostrof) - indicates possession or contraction.

Quotation mark (aanhalingsteken) - generic quotation mark.

Hyphen (koppelteken) - connects compound words in Flemish.

–

En dash (en-streepje) - used for ranges in Flemish.

€

Euro symbol (euroteken) - European currency symbol used in the Flanders, Belgium.

Percent sign (procent) - represents percentages.

Ampersand (en-teken) - represents "and" in Flemish.

At sign (apenstaartje) - used in email addresses.

Hash symbol (hekje) - used for hashtags and numbering.

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How many letters are in the Flemish alphabet?

What makes the Flemish IJ special?

Does Flemish use diacritics or accent marks?

How is Flemish pronunciation different from English?

Where is Flemish spoken?

Is Flemish similar to English or German?

References:

[1] Unicode Consortium. "Basic Latin Unicode Block (U+0000-U+007F)". Retrieved from Unicode Basic Latin
[2] Nederlandse Taalunie (Dutch Language Union). "Official Dutch Language Information". Retrieved from Dutch Language Union