Lesson 1
Alphabet & pronunciation
The 28 letters, one sound each, stress always on the second-to-last syllable.
Listen & repeat
Alphabet
| Letter | Sound | Listen & repeat |
|---|---|---|
| A a | as in father | Forvo |
| B b | as in boy | Forvo |
| C c | ts as in tsar | Forvo |
| Ĉ ĉ | ch as in church | Forvo |
| D d | as in do | Forvo |
| E e | as in met | Forvo |
| F f | as in fine | Forvo |
| G g | always hard g | Forvo |
| Ĝ ĝ | j as in jam | Forvo |
| H h | as in house | Forvo |
| Ĥ ĥ | ch in Scottish loch | Forvo |
| I i | as in machine | Forvo |
| J j | y as in yes | Forvo |
| Ĵ ĵ | s in pleasure | Forvo |
| K k | as in kite | Forvo |
| L l | as in love | Forvo |
| M m | as in mother | Forvo |
| N n | as in no | Forvo |
| O o | as in more | Forvo |
| P p | as in pen | Forvo |
| R r | rolled or tapped r | Forvo |
| S s | as in sun | Forvo |
| Ŝ ŝ | sh as in ship | Forvo |
| T t | as in top | Forvo |
| U u | as in rule | Forvo |
| Ŭ ŭ | w in cow (diphthong) | Forvo |
| V v | as in very | Forvo |
| Z z | as in zero | Forvo |
One letter, one sound
Esperanto uses the Latin alphabet plus six letters with hats (circumflex): ĉ, ĝ, ĥ, ĵ, ŝ, ŭ. Each letter is pronounced the same way in every word — there are no silent letters and almost no exceptions.
Stress rule
Stress always falls on the second-to-last syllable: es-pe-RAN-to, salu-TON, DAN-kon. Say the table aloud, letter by letter.
Vocabulary
Exercises
Exercise 1
Where does stress fall in 'saluton'?
- SA-lu-ton
- sa-LU-ton
- sa-lu-TON
Exercise 2
La vorto '___' havas akcenton sur la antepaŭultima silabo.
Exercise 3
Good day
Exercise 4
Which letter sounds like 'sh' in English?
- ŝ
- s
- ĵ
Exercise 5
Spell your name using Esperanto letter names aloud three times.
Try it yourself first — no auto marking for written answers.