The Slovak Alphabet - Vowels, Consonants, Diacritics & Special Characters

Q: How many letters are in the Slovak alphabet?

The Slovak alphabet consists of 46 letters , making it one of the longest Latin-based alphabets in Europe. It includes 14 vowels, 27 consonants, and the digraph "ch" which is treated as a single letter.

Q: What are the special diacritical marks in Slovak?

Slovak uses two main diacritical marks : Háčik (caron/wedge ˇ): • č, ď, ľ, ň, š, ť, ž - softens or changes the consonant sound Dĺžeň (acute accent ´): • á, é, í, ĺ, ó, ŕ, ú, ý - lengthens the vowel or consonant Additionally, Slovak has unique letters like ä (a with umlaut) and ô (o with circumflex).

Q: What makes Slovak unique compared to Czech?

While Slovak and Czech are mutually intelligible , Slovak has several unique features: • Letter ô - represents the diphthong /uo/, unique to Slovak • Letter ä - represents a sound between "a" and "e" • Syllabic consonants ĺ and ŕ - can form syllables with length marks • Different vocabulary - though related, many words differ These differences reflect Slovak's distinct linguistic development .

Q: Why is "ch" considered a single letter in Slovak?

In Slovak, "ch" is treated as a single letter for several reasons: • It represents a single sound - the voiceless velar fricative /x/ • It appears in the alphabet between h and i • Words are sorted alphabetically with "ch" as one unit This is similar to how "ll" was treated in Spanish or "dz" in Polish alphabets.

Q: How do you type Slovak characters on a keyboard?

There are several ways to type Slovak characters: Slovak keyboard layout: • Set your system to Slovak QWERTZ layout • Accented letters have dedicated keys Dead keys method: • Press the accent key, then the letter • Example: ´ + a = á, ˇ + c = č Unicode input: • Use character codes (e.g., U+010D for č) Pro tip: Most modern devices support long-press for accented characters!

Slovak Alphabet at a Glance

46 letters: 14 vowels (including á, ä, é, í, ó, ô, ú, ý) and 27 consonants (including ch as single letter)
Spoken by approximately 5.5 million people, primarily in Slovakia ^[2]
West Slavic language closely related to Czech, forming the Czech-Slovak language group ^[1]
Features two types of diacritics: háčik (caron: č, ď, ľ, ň, š, ť, ž) and dĺžeň (acute: á, é, í, ĺ, ó, ŕ, ú, ý)
Unique letter ô (o with circumflex) represents a diphthong /uo/ found only in Slovak
Official language of Slovakia and one of the 24 official languages of the European Union ^[3]
The digraph "ch" is considered a single letter, sorted between h and i ^[4]

Slovak Vowels (Uppercase)

[A]

[DLHÉ A]

[PREHLASOVANÉ A]

[E]

[DLHÉ E]

[I]

[DLHÉ I]

[O]

[DLHÉ O]

[VOKÁŇ]

[U]

[DLHÉ U]

[YPSILON]

[DLHÉ Y]

[A]

Uppercase short A

[DLHÉ A]

Uppercase long A

[PREHLASOVANÉ A]

Uppercase A with umlaut

[E]

Uppercase short E

[DLHÉ E]

Uppercase long E

[I]

Uppercase short I

[DLHÉ I]

Uppercase long I

[O]

Uppercase short O

[DLHÉ O]

Uppercase long O

[VOKÁŇ]

Uppercase O with circumflex

[U]

Uppercase short U

[DLHÉ U]

Uppercase long U

[YPSILON]

Uppercase short Y

[DLHÉ Y]

Uppercase long Y

Slovak Vowels (Lowercase)

[A]

[DLHÉ A]

[PREHLASOVANÉ A]

[E]

[DLHÉ E]

[I]

[DLHÉ I]

[O]

[DLHÉ O]

[VOKÁŇ]

[U]

[DLHÉ U]

[YPSILON]

[DLHÉ Y]

[A]

Short A, like "a" in "father" but shorter

[DLHÉ A]

Long A, held approximately twice as long

[PREHLASOVANÉ A]

A with umlaut, between "a" and "e", unique to Slovak

[E]

Short E, like "e" in "bed"

[DLHÉ E]

Long E vowel

[I]

Short I, like "ee" in "see" but shorter

[DLHÉ I]

Long I vowel

[O]

Short O, like "o" in "more"

[DLHÉ O]

Long O vowel

[VOKÁŇ]

Diphthong /uo/, unique to Slovak, no English equivalent

[U]

Short U, like "oo" in "book"

[DLHÉ U]

Long U vowel

[YPSILON]

Short Y, same sound as short i

[DLHÉ Y]

Long Y, same sound as long í

Slovak Consonants (Uppercase)

[BÉ]

[CÉ]

[ČÉ]

[DÉ]

[ĎÉ]

[EF]

[GÉ]

[HÁ]

[CHÁ]

[JÉ]

[KÁ]

[EL]

[MÄKKÉ EĽ]

[DLHÉ EL]

[EM]

[EN]

[EŇ]

[PÉ]

[ER]

[DLHÉ ER]

[ES]

[EŠ]

[TÉ]

[ŤÉ]

[VÉ]

[ZET]

[EŽ]

Slovak Consonants (Lowercase)

[BÉ]

[CÉ]

[ČÉ]

[DÉ]

[ĎÉ]

[EF]

[GÉ]

[HÁ]

[CHÁ]

[JÉ]

[KÁ]

[EL]

[MÄKKÉ EĽ]

[DLHÉ EL]

[EM]

[EN]

[EŇ]

[PÉ]

[ER]

[DLHÉ ER]

[ES]

[EŠ]

[TÉ]

[ŤÉ]

[VÉ]

[ZET]

[EŽ]

Slovak-Specific Letters (Lowercase)

[DLHÉ A]

[PREHLASOVANÉ A]

[ČÉ]

[ĎÉ]

[DLHÉ E]

[DLHÉ I]

[MÄKKÉ EĽ]

[DLHÉ EL]

[EŇ]

[DLHÉ O]

[VOKÁŇ]

[DLHÉ ER]

[EŠ]

[ŤÉ]

[DLHÉ U]

[DLHÉ Y]

[EŽ]

[DLHÉ A]

Long A vowel, held longer than short a

[PREHLASOVANÉ A]

A with umlaut, sounds between a and e, unique to Slovak

[ČÉ]

C with háčik, sounds like "ch" in "church"

[ĎÉ]

Soft D, palatalized d sound

[DLHÉ E]

Long E vowel

[DLHÉ I]

Long I vowel

[MÄKKÉ EĽ]

Soft L, palatalized l sound

[DLHÉ EL]

Syllabic long L, can form syllables alone

[EŇ]

Soft N, like "ny" in "canyon"

[DLHÉ O]

Long O vowel

[VOKÁŇ]

O with circumflex, diphthong /uo/, unique to Slovak

[DLHÉ ER]

Syllabic long R, can form syllables alone

[EŠ]

S with háčik, sounds like "sh" in "ship"

[ŤÉ]

Soft T, palatalized t sound

[DLHÉ U]

Long U vowel

[DLHÉ Y]

Long Y vowel, similar to long i

[EŽ]

Z with háčik, sounds like "s" in "pleasure"

Slovak-Specific Letters (Uppercase)

[DLHÉ A]

[PREHLASOVANÉ A]

[ČÉ]

[ĎÉ]

[DLHÉ E]

[DLHÉ I]

[MÄKKÉ EĽ]

[DLHÉ EL]

[EŇ]

[DLHÉ O]

[VOKÁŇ]

[DLHÉ ER]

[EŠ]

[ŤÉ]

[DLHÉ U]

[DLHÉ Y]

[EŽ]

[DLHÉ A]

Uppercase long A

[PREHLASOVANÉ A]

Uppercase A with umlaut

[ČÉ]

Uppercase C with háčik

[ĎÉ]

Uppercase soft D

[DLHÉ E]

Uppercase long E

[DLHÉ I]

Uppercase long I

[MÄKKÉ EĽ]

Uppercase soft L

[DLHÉ EL]

Uppercase syllabic long L

[EŇ]

Uppercase soft N

[DLHÉ O]

Uppercase long O

[VOKÁŇ]

Uppercase O with circumflex

[DLHÉ ER]

Uppercase syllabic long R

[EŠ]

Uppercase S with háčik

[ŤÉ]

Uppercase soft T

[DLHÉ U]

Uppercase long U

[DLHÉ Y]

Uppercase long Y

[EŽ]

Uppercase Z with háčik

[A]

[DLHÉ A]

[PREHLASOVANÉ A]

[BÉ]

[CÉ]

[ČÉ]

[DÉ]

[ĎÉ]

[E]

[DLHÉ E]

[EF]

[GÉ]

[HÁ]

[CHÁ]

[I]

[DLHÉ I]

[JÉ]

[KÁ]

[EL]

[MÄKKÉ EĽ]

[DLHÉ EL]

[EM]

[EN]

[EŇ]

[O]

[DLHÉ O]

[VOKÁŇ]

[PÉ]

[ER]

[DLHÉ ER]

[ES]

[EŠ]

[TÉ]

[ŤÉ]

[U]

[DLHÉ U]

[VÉ]

[YPSILON]

[DLHÉ Y]

[ZET]

[EŽ]

[A]

[DLHÉ A]

[PREHLASOVANÉ A]

[BÉ]

[CÉ]

[ČÉ]

[DÉ]

[ĎÉ]

[E]

[DLHÉ E]

[EF]

[GÉ]

[HÁ]

[CHÁ]

[I]

[DLHÉ I]

[JÉ]

[KÁ]

[EL]

[MÄKKÉ EĽ]

[DLHÉ EL]

[EM]

[EN]

[EŇ]

[O]

[DLHÉ O]

[VOKÁŇ]

[PÉ]

[ER]

[DLHÉ ER]

[ES]

[EŠ]

[TÉ]

[ŤÉ]

[U]

[DLHÉ U]

[VÉ]

[YPSILON]

[DLHÉ Y]

[ZET]

[EŽ]

[BODKA]

[ČIARKA]

;

[BODKOČIARKA]

[DVOJBODKA]

[OTÁZNIK]

[VÝKRIČNÍK]

„

[ÚVODZOVKY]

[GUILLEMETS]

[SPOJOVNÍK]

–

[POMLČKA]

—

[DLHÁ POMLČKA]

(

[ZÁTVORKA]

)

[ZÁTVORKA]

[LOMKA]

[SPÄTNÁ LOMKA]

[ZAVINÁČ]

[KRÍŽIK]

€

[EURO]

[PARAGRAF]

[PERCENTO]

[BODKA]

Period - ends sentences

[ČIARKA]

Comma - separates clauses

;

[BODKOČIARKA]

Semicolon

[DVOJBODKA]

Colon

[OTÁZNIK]

Question mark

[VÝKRIČNÍK]

Exclamation mark

„

[ÚVODZOVKY]

Opening quotation mark

[ÚVODZOVKY]

Closing quotation mark

[GUILLEMETS]

Left guillemet

[GUILLEMETS]

Right guillemet

[SPOJOVNÍK]

Hyphen

–

[POMLČKA]

En dash

—

[DLHÁ POMLČKA]

Em dash

(

[ZÁTVORKA]

Left parenthesis

)

[ZÁTVORKA]

Right parenthesis

[LOMKA]

Forward slash

[SPÄTNÁ LOMKA]

Backslash

[ZAVINÁČ]

At symbol

[KRÍŽIK]

Hash sign

€

[EURO]

Euro currency symbol

[PARAGRAF]

Section sign

[PERCENTO]

Percent sign

Expand All Collapse All

How many letters are in the Slovak alphabet?

What are the special diacritical marks in Slovak?

What makes Slovak unique compared to Czech?

Why is "ch" considered a single letter in Slovak?

How do you type Slovak characters on a keyboard?

References:

[1] Glottolog. "Slovak". Retrieved from Glottolog: Slovak
[2] Statistical Office of the Slovak Republic. "Population and Housing Census 2021". Retrieved from Slovak Census 2021
[3] European Union. "EU Languages". Retrieved from EU Official Languages
[4] Unicode Consortium. "Unicode CLDR - Languages and Scripts". Retrieved from Unicode CLDR Scripts