Tagalog Alphabet (A Ba Ka Da)

Tagalog (A Ba Ka Da)

The Tagalog alphabet consists of 28 letters, which include both the traditional letters and additional letters used for foreign words. Here’s a breakdown of the pronunciation of each letter:

A a	BA ba	KA ka	DA da	E e
GA ga	HA ha	I i	LA la	MA ma
NA na	NGA nga	O o	PA pa	RA ra
SA sa	TA ta	U u	WA wa	YA ya

Vowels (Pronunciation)

A - pronounced as /a/, similar to 'a' in "father"

E - pronounced as /ɛ/, similar to 'e' in "bed"

I - pronounced as /i/, similar to 'ee' in "see"

O - pronounced as /o/, similar to 'o' in "go"

U - pronounced as /u/, similar to 'oo' in "food"

Consonants

B - pronounced as /b/, like 'b' in "bat"

K - pronounced as /k/, like 'k' in "kite"

D - pronounced as /d/, like 'd' in "dog"

G - pronounced as /g/, like 'g' in "goat"

H - pronounced as /h/, like 'h' in "hat"

L - pronounced as /l/, like 'l' in "love"

M - pronounced as /m/, like 'm' in "man"

N - pronounced as /n/, like 'n' in "net"

NG - pronounced as /ŋ/, like 'ng' in "sing"

P - pronounced as /p/, like 'p' in "pen"

S - pronounced as /s/, like 's' in "sun"

T - pronounced as /t/, like 't' in "top"

R - pronounced as /ɾ/, similar to a tapped 'r' as in some dialects of Spanish

W - pronounced as /w/, like 'w' in "water"

Y - pronounced as /j/, like 'y' in "yes"

Additional Letters

C - used for foreign words, pronounced as /s/ before 'e' or 'i', and /k/ otherwise Ñ - used for Spanish words or names in the language, pronounced as /nj/, like 'ny' in "new"

F - used for foreign words, pronounced as /f/, like 'f' in "fish"

J - used for foreign words, pronounced as /dʒ/, like 'j' in "judge"

Q - used for foreign words, pronounced as /k/, like 'q' in "queen"

V - used for foreign words, pronounced as /v/, like 'v' in "van"

X - used for foreign words, pronounced as /ks/, like 'x' in "box"

Z - used for foreign words, pronounced as /z/, like 'z' in "zebra"

Understanding these pronunciations is essential for proper articulation and communication in Tagalog. The language is phonetic, meaning that words are generally pronounced as they are spelled.

Let's Practice!

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ABAKADA SONG

 Filipino alphabet

Tayo na at mag-aral Ng ating A-Ba-Ka-Da

Let's go and study Our own abakada

A-Ba-Ka-Da-E-Ga-Ha I-La-Ma-Na-Nga-O-Pa Ra-Sa-Ta-U-Wa-Ya

Ang ating A-Ba-Ka-Da 

Our own abakada

Kung ito'y alam n'yo na Tayo na at kumanta

If you know it already, Let's go and sing