Eastern Dialect

Alphabet & Pronunciation

Learn the Eastern Adyghe / Kabardian alphabet with clear sounds, example words, meanings, and listening practice.

59 lettersHear the soundsLearn with words

Selected sound

А / а

Sound

Long A

IPA

[aː]

Example

адакъэ

Meaning

rooster

Alphabet Library

59 / 59 letters

Sound

Long A

IPA

[aː]

🐓

Example

адакъэ

Meaning

rooster

Sound

Between A and E

IPA

[a]

👩

Example

анэ

Meaning

mother

Sound

IPA

[b]

🐝

Example

бжьэ

Meaning

bee

Sound

IPA

[v]

⭐

Example

вагъуэ

Meaning

star

Sound

Soft Gh

IPA

[ɣ]

🌳

Example

жыг

Meaning

tree

Sound

IPA

[ɡʷ]

❤️

Example

гу

Meaning

heart

Sound

Hard Gh

IPA

[ʁ]

📅

Example

гъэ

Meaning

year

Sound

Hard Ghu

IPA

[ʁʷ]

🛤️

Example

гъуэгу

Meaning

road

Sound

IPA

[d]

✨

Example

дахэ

Meaning

beautiful

Sound

IPA

[d͡ʒ]

🐔

Example

джэд

Meaning

chicken

Sound

IPA

[d͡z]

🦷

Example

дзэ

Meaning

tooth

Sound

E / Ye

IPA

[ja / aj]

🥤

Example

ефэн

Meaning

to drink

Sound

IPA

[jo]

🎄

Example

ёлк

Meaning

Christmas tree

Sound

IPA

[ʒ]

🌙

Example

жэщ

Meaning

night

Sound

Hard Zh

IPA

[ʑ]

👄

Example

жьэ

Meaning

mouth

Sound

IPA

[z]

☝️

Example

зы

Meaning

one

Sound

I / Yi

IPA

[jə / əj]

🔵

Example

ин

Meaning

big

Sound

IPA

[j]

💰

Example

бей

Meaning

rich

Sound

IPA

[k]

🏫

Example

класс

Meaning

class

Sound

IPA

[kʷ]

➕

Example

куэд

Meaning

many

Sound

Hard Ch

IPA

[t͡ʃʼ]

🐕

Example

кӏэ

Meaning

tail / end

Sound

Hard Ku

IPA

[kʷʼ]

🚶

Example

кӏуэн

Meaning

to go

Sound

Hard K

IPA

[q]

🧼

Example

къабзэ

Meaning

clean

Sound

Hard Ku

IPA

[qʷ]

👦

Example

къуэ

Meaning

son

Sound

Hard Kh

IPA

[q͡χ]

🪦

Example

кхъэ

Meaning

grave

Sound

Hard Khu

IPA

[q͡χʷ]

🧀

Example

кхъуей

Meaning

cheese

Sound

IPA

[ɮ] / [l]

🥩

Example

лы

Meaning

meat

Sound

IPA

[ɬ]

🩸

Example

лъы

Meaning

blood

Sound

Hard Lh

IPA

[ɬʼ]

👨

Example

лӏы

Meaning

man / husband

Sound

IPA

[m]

🔥

Example

мафӏэ

Meaning

fire

Sound

IPA

[n]

👁️

Example

нэ

Meaning

eye

Sound

IPA

[aw / wa]

🎭

Example

оперэ

Meaning

opera

Sound

IPA

[p]

💧

Example

псы

Meaning

water

Sound

Hard P

IPA

[pʼ]

🛏️

Example

пӏэ

Meaning

bed

Sound

IPA

[r]

📻

Example

радио

Meaning

radio

Sound

IPA

[s]

🙋

Example

сэ

Meaning

I / me

Sound

IPA

[t]

☀️

Example

тхьэ

Meaning

god

Sound

Hard T

IPA

[tʼ]

✌️

Example

тӏу

Meaning

two

Sound

U / Wu

IPA

[w / əw]

🏠

Example

унэ

Meaning

house

Sound

IPA

[f]

👩

Example

фыз

Meaning

woman

Sound

Hard F

IPA

[fʼ]

👍

Example

фӏы

Meaning

good

Sound

Soft Kh

IPA

[x]

🏔️

Example

хабзэ

Meaning

custom / tradition

Sound

Soft Khu

IPA

[xʷ]

🌡️

Example

хуабэ

Meaning

hot

Sound

IPA

[ħ]

🐕

Example

хьэ

Meaning

dog / barley

Sound

Hard Kh

IPA

[χ]

🍉

Example

хъарбыз

Meaning

watermelon

Sound

Hard Khu

IPA

[χʷ]

♂️

Example

хъу

Meaning

male

Sound

IPA

[t͡s]

🧶

Example

цы

Meaning

wool / feather

Sound

Hard Ts

IPA

[t͡sʼ]

🏷️

Example

цӏэ

Meaning

name

Sound

IPA

[t͡ʃ]

🥴

Example

чэф

Meaning

drunk

Sound

IPA

[ʃ]

🐎

Example

шы

Meaning

horse

Sound

Deep Sh

IPA

[ɕ]

🙂

Example

щхьэ

Meaning

head

Sound

Hard Sh

IPA

[ɕʼ]

🧑

Example

щӏалэ

Meaning

young man

Sound

Hard sign

IPA

[ˠ]

🔒

Example

гъ

Meaning

hardens the sound

Sound

I / Y

IPA

[ə]

👇

Example

мыр

Meaning

this

Sound

Soft sign

IPA

[ʲ]

🪶

Example

хь

Meaning

softens the sound

Sound

IPA

[ju]

👤

Example

Юсуф

Meaning

Yusuf

Sound

IPA

[jaː]

⚠️

Example

ябгэ

Meaning

cruel / traitor

Sound

Glottal / sharp sign

IPA

[ʔ]

✋

Example

ӏэ

Meaning

hand

Sound

Sharp U

IPA

[ʔʷ]

🛠️

Example

ӏуэху

Meaning

work

Guide

Alphabet Features

These notes explain pronunciation, special signs, letter combinations, and differences between written language and spoken usage.

Pronunciation is best learned by listening

Turkish letters do not fully represent Adyghe sounds. The best way to learn the alphabet is to listen to a fluent speaker and repeat the words carefully.

Special use of У

The letter У is pronounced partially with some consonants at the end of words. For this reason, combinations such as гу, гъу, ку, кӏу, къу, кхъу, хъу are treated as separate letters.

Some letters do not start native words

Except for loanwords, words do not usually begin with the letters э, к, о, р, ы.

How Е, И, and У are read

At the beginning of a word or syllable, Е is read as YE and И as YI. The letter У is read like VU at the beginning of a word or syllable.

The sound of Э

The letter Э is pronounced between e and a, but closer to a.

Special Signs

Some signs do not have a sound by themselves, but they change the sound of the letters they appear with.

Hardening sign

гъ, къ, лъ, хъ

Used with г, к, л, х. It makes these letters sound harder and deeper.

Softening sign

жь, хь

Used with ж and х. These combinations create special sound values.

Sharpening sign

кӏ, лӏ, пӏ, тӏ, фӏ, цӏ, щӏ

Used after consonants to make the sound sharper. Before vowels, it works similarly to the Arabic hamza.

Audio Practice

Listen, repeat, compare

Letter audio is managed from the admin audio manager. The alphabet text stays hardcoded; only audio URLs are loaded from Supabase.

Written Language and Spoken Dialect

In the spoken dialect used in Turkey, some sounds may shift compared with the written or literary form.

джг

джанэ → ганэ, джэд → гэд, джэду → гэду

кӏк

кӏыхь → кыхь, кӏэ → кэ, кӏапсэ → капсэ

чк

чэф → кэф, чэзу → кэзу, чыцӏ → кыцӏ, тепщэч → тепщэк