Phoneme guide: cyrillic group¶
Every phoneme token of mbfa-cyrillic (127 tokens: 123 phonemes, 3 special tokens and the model's internal blank). The web interface shows the same text when you hover a phoneme.
How to read the tables:
- Sounds like is an approximation. The example words are the real thing: they are the most frequent words containing the token in the FLEURS test sentences (dev split) of 8 languages (Belarusian, Bulgarian, Croatian, Kazakh, Macedonian, Russian, Serbian, Ukrainian), written in the G2P's own tokens, which is exactly what the aligner sees.
- Used most in gives the languages that use the token most, as a share of all the phonemes of that language.
- Also used for: IPA the G2P wrote that has no token of its own in this model, so it was mapped to this one.
- Rare tokens never appear in those sentences: they come from untrained languages (Adyghe, Bashkir, Tatar) or are very rare.
Soft (palatalised) consonants are tokens of their own: tʲ is not t. Place their boundaries like those of the plain consonant; the soft colour belongs to the consonant. Croatian (hbs, Latin script) is aligned with this model too, and its accent marks (â, ǎ, ô …) are pitch accents: separate tokens, placed like the plain vowel.
Where boundaries go¶
Suggested conventions. Agree on them before annotating, so that every annotator places boundaries the same way.
- Stops (p t k b d g …). A stop starts where the closure starts: energy drops to a near-silent gap, and the formants of the vowel before it end. It ends after its burst (and after its aspiration, for ʰ tokens), where the next sound begins.
- Vowels. Start at the first regular glottal pulse with clear formants; end where the formants fade or the next consonant's closure or noise begins.
- Fricatives (s ʃ f x …). The span of the noise: start and end where the high-frequency noise starts and stops.
- Nasals (m n ŋ …). A steady, low murmur with weak upper formants. The edges are usually sudden changes in energy.
- Glides, laterals, r (j w l ɹ …). Edges are smooth formant transitions: put the boundary at the middle of the transition.
- Diphthongs (a͡ɪ …). One token for both parts: from the start of the first vowel to the end of the second. Do not split it.
- Pauses. Leave a short pause between words as a gap, or insert SIL where the speaker clearly stops.
Diacritics¶
Marks added to a base symbol change it as follows.
| mark | name | meaning |
|---|---|---|
| ◌̃ | nasalised | air also flows through the nose (French “an”, Portuguese “não”) |
| ◌̯ | non-syllabic | the weak, glide-like half of a diphthong; it is not a syllable on its own |
| ◌̩ | syllabic | forms a syllable with no vowel, as the n of “button” |
| ◌̥ | voiceless | said without vocal-fold vibration, as if whispered |
| ◌̪ | dental | the tongue tip touches the upper teeth |
| ◌̠ | retracted | made a little further back in the mouth |
| ◌̝ | raised | a little closer (tongue higher) than the plain symbol |
| ◌̞ | lowered | a little more open; a lowered fricative is a smooth approximant with no friction |
| ◌̺ | apical | made with the very tip of the tongue |
| ◌̻ | laminal | made with the blade of the tongue, just behind the tip |
| ◌̆ | extra-short | a very short version of the vowel |
| ◌́ | accent ´ (high) | the G2P's dictionary marks a pitch accent or stress here |
| ◌̀ | accent ` (low) | the G2P's dictionary marks a pitch accent or stress here |
| ◌̂ | accent ˆ (falling) | the G2P's dictionary marks a falling pitch accent |
| ◌̌ | accent ˇ (rising) | the G2P's dictionary marks a rising pitch accent |
| ʲ | palatalised | said with the tongue body raised toward the palate: a y-like colour (“soft” consonants) |
| ʰ | aspirated | followed by a puff of breath before the vowel starts (English “top” has one, “stop” does not) |
| ʷ | labialised | said with rounded lips |
| ʼ | ejective | a pop made by the throat, with no breath from the lungs |
| ʱ | breathy-voiced | voiced, then released with a breathy, murmured puff (Hindi “bh”, “gh”) |
| ˤ | pharyngealised (emphatic) | said with the tongue root pulled back: a darker, “heavy” sound (Arabic ط, ص) |
| ◌̚ | unreleased | a final stop with no audible burst: the closure is held and the sound ends silently |
| ◌̈ | centralised | said closer to the centre of the mouth than the plain vowel |
Special tokens¶
| token | meaning |
|---|---|
SIL |
silence. A pause: no speech. Use it for a pause the speaker makes inside a segment. |
noise |
noise. A non-speech sound: a breath, cough, laugh or click. |
<unk> |
unknown. The G2P wrote a sound this model has no token for. Keep its time span; the label cannot say what it is. |
Vowels¶
| token | name | sounds like | examples | used most in |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| a | open front unrounded vowel. Also used for j͡a. | a as in Spanish “casa” | Belarusian можна /m o ʐ n a/; Macedonian на /n a/; Croatian na /n a/ | Belarusian 13%, Macedonian 13%, Croatian 7.2%, Bulgarian 5.7% |
| i | close front unrounded vowel | ee as in “see” | Macedonian и /i/; Bulgarian и /i/; Croatian i /i/ | Macedonian 9.7%, Bulgarian 9.5%, Croatian 7.6%, Ukrainian 6.8% |
| e | close-mid front unrounded vowel | e as in Spanish or Italian “de”; the start of English “say” | Kazakh және /ʒ æ n e/; Ukrainian були /b u ɫ e/; Croatian koje /k ô j e/ | Kazakh 7.9%, Ukrainian 7.7%, Croatian 5.4%, Russian 3.8% |
| o | close-mid back rounded vowel | o as in Spanish or Italian “no” | Serbian od /o d/; Bulgarian от /o t̪/; Croatian kao /k â o/ | Serbian 9.5%, Bulgarian 5.7%, Croatian 5.2%, Russian 3.4% |
| u | close back rounded vowel | oo as in “food” | Belarusian у /u/; Croatian u /u/; Serbian u /u/ | Belarusian 3.3%, Croatian 3%, Serbian 2.2%, Macedonian 2.2% |
| ɪ | near-close front unrounded vowel | i as in “sit” | Russian или /i lʲ ɪ/; Serbian ili /i l ɪ/; Kazakh бірінші /b ɪ ɾ ɪ n ʃ ɪ/ | Russian 8.9%, Serbian 6.5%, Kazakh 5%, Ukrainian 2% |
| ə | mid central vowel (schwa) | the weak vowel of “about”, “sofa” | Kazakh оның /o n ə ŋ/; Russian это /ɛ t ə/; Bulgarian са /s ə/ | Kazakh 8.7%, Russian 7.5%, Bulgarian 7.4%, Serbian 0.12% |
| ɛ | open-mid front unrounded vowel | e as in “bed” | Macedonian се /s ɛ/; Bulgarian се /s ɛ/; Serbian se /s ɛ/ | Macedonian 8.9%, Bulgarian 8.4%, Serbian 7.5%, Belarusian 5.7% |
| ɑ | open back unrounded vowel. Also used for ɑʲ. | a as in “father” | Kazakh арасындағы /ɑ ɾ ɑ s ə n d ɑ ʀ ə/; Belarusian на /n ɑ/; Ukrainian на /n ɑ/ | Kazakh 13%, Belarusian 5.3%, Ukrainian 5%, Serbian 1.1% |
| ɔ | open-mid back rounded vowel | o as in British “thought” | Macedonian во /v ɔ/; Ukrainian що /ʃ t͡ʃ ɔ/; Bulgarian много /m n ɔ ɡ o/ | Macedonian 11%, Ukrainian 8.5%, Bulgarian 1.6%, Belarusian 0.41% |
| ʊ | near-close back rounded vowel | oo as in “book” | Ukrainian стверджують /s t ʋ ɛ r d͡ʒ ʊ j ʊ tʲ/; Serbian nisu /n i s ʊ/; Russian поскольку /p ɐ s k o k ʊ/ | Ukrainian 3.1%, Serbian 2.4%, Russian 1.8%, Kazakh 0.62% |
| ɯ | close back unrounded vowel | oo said with spread lips (Turkish “ı”) | rare | |
| ɐ | near-open central vowel | a short, relaxed “uh” (Portuguese “cama”, German “-er” endings) | Serbian populacija /p o p ʊ l ɐ t͡s ɪ j ɐ/; Ukrainian також /t ɐ k ɔ ʒ/; Russian к /kʲ ɪ ɫ ɐ mʲ e t r/ | Serbian 5.9%, Ukrainian 5.8%, Russian 5.2%, Bulgarian 1.2% |
| æ | near-open front unrounded vowel | a as in “cat” | Kazakh және /ʒ æ n e/; Russian является /j ɪ v lʲ æ j ɪ t͡s ə/; Serbian cvetanja /t͡s v ɛ t æ ɲ ɐ/ | Kazakh 0.82%, Russian 0.3%, Serbian 0.18% |
| y | close front rounded vowel | ee said with rounded lips (French “tu”, German “über”) | Croatian shyamu /s x y ǎ m u/ | Croatian 0.02% (rare: 7×) |
| ɨ | close central unrounded vowel | between ee and oo, lips spread (Polish “y”, Welsh “u”) | Belarusian яны /j a n ɨ/; Russian было /b ɨ ɫ ə/ | Belarusian 4.8%, Russian 3.3% |
| ɵ | close-mid central rounded vowel | a rounded vowel between e and o (Swedish short u) | Kazakh көп /k ɵ p/; Russian всё /f sʲ ɵ/ | Kazakh 0.88%, Russian 0.2% |
| œ | open-mid front rounded vowel | e as in “bed” said with rounded lips (French “neuf”, German “können”) | Russian number /n œ m b ə r/ | (rare: 3×) |
| ʉ | close central rounded vowel | a rounded vowel between ee and oo (Norwegian and Swedish “du”) | Russian окружающей /ɐ k r ʊ ʐ a j ʉ ɕ ɪ j/; Ukrainian примушують /p r e m u ʃ ʊ j ʉ tʲ/ | Russian 0.23%, Ukrainian 0.01% |
| ɒ | open back rounded vowel | a rounded “ah” (British “lot”, Hungarian “a”) | rare | |
| ɤ | close-mid back unrounded vowel | o said with spread lips (Estonian “õ”) | Bulgarian към /k ɤ m/ | Bulgarian 0.83% |
| ʌ | open-mid back unrounded vowel | u as in “cup” | Belarusian таго /t ɑ ɣ ʌ/ | Belarusian 1.6% |
| o̝ | close-mid back rounded vowel, raised | o as in Spanish or Italian “no”; raised: a little closer (tongue higher) than the plain symbol | Bulgarian които /k o i t̪ o̝/ | Bulgarian 1.8% |
| ǎ | open front unrounded vowel, accent ˇ (rising) | a as in Spanish “casa”; accent ˇ (rising): the G2P's dictionary marks a rising pitch accent | Croatian iako /i ǎ k o/ | Croatian 1.9% |
| ǒ | close-mid back rounded vowel, accent ˇ (rising) | o as in Spanish or Italian “no”; accent ˇ (rising): the G2P's dictionary marks a rising pitch accent | Croatian koji /k ǒ j i/ | Croatian 2% |
| ě | close-mid front unrounded vowel, accent ˇ (rising) | e as in Spanish or Italian “de”; the start of English “say”; accent ˇ (rising): the G2P's dictionary marks a rising pitch accent | Croatian tijekom /t j ě k o m/ | Croatian 1.6% |
| ǐ | close front unrounded vowel, accent ˇ (rising) | ee as in “see”; accent ˇ (rising): the G2P's dictionary marks a rising pitch accent | Croatian većina /ʋ e t͡ɕ ǐ n a/ | Croatian 1.3% |
| î | close front unrounded vowel, accent ˆ (falling) | ee as in “see”; accent ˆ (falling): the G2P's dictionary marks a falling pitch accent | Croatian ili /î l i/ | Croatian 1.3% |
| ê | close-mid front unrounded vowel, accent ˆ (falling) | e as in Spanish or Italian “de”; the start of English “say”; accent ˆ (falling): the G2P's dictionary marks a falling pitch accent | Croatian je /j ê/ | Croatian 2.5% |
| â | open front unrounded vowel, accent ˆ (falling) | a as in Spanish “casa”; accent ˆ (falling): the G2P's dictionary marks a falling pitch accent | Croatian da /d â/ | Croatian 2% |
| ǔ | close back rounded vowel, accent ˇ (rising) | oo as in “food”; accent ˇ (rising): the G2P's dictionary marks a rising pitch accent | Croatian međutim /m e d͡ʑ ǔ t i m/ | Croatian 0.63% |
| ô | close-mid back rounded vowel, accent ˆ (falling) | o as in Spanish or Italian “no”; accent ˆ (falling): the G2P's dictionary marks a falling pitch accent | Croatian od /ô d/ | Croatian 1.8% |
| û | close back rounded vowel, accent ˆ (falling) | oo as in “food”; accent ˆ (falling): the G2P's dictionary marks a falling pitch accent | Croatian su /s û/ | Croatian 0.98% |
| uʲ | close back rounded vowel, palatalised | oo as in “food”; palatalised: said with the tongue body raised toward the palate: a y-like colour (“soft” consonants) | Belarusian дзякуючы /d zʲ ɪ k uʲ u ʈ ʂ ɨ/ | Belarusian 0.2% |
Glides and non-syllabic vowels¶
| token | name | sounds like | examples | used most in |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| j | palatal approximant. Also used for j͡a. | y as in “yes” | Russian является /j ɪ v lʲ æ j ɪ t͡s ə/; Croatian je /j ê/; Kazakh дейін /d e j ɪ n/ | Russian 4.2%, Croatian 3.8%, Kazakh 3.5%, Serbian 3.3% |
| w | labial-velar approximant | w as in “we” | Belarusian ў /w ɛ/; Kazakh аулау /ɑ w ɫ ɑ w/; Ukrainian вони /w ɔ n ɪ/ | Belarusian 2%, Kazakh 1.8%, Ukrainian 0.78%, Croatian 0.02% |
| ʋ | labiodental approximant | a soft v without friction (Dutch w, Slovenian v) | Croatian sve /s ʋ ê/; Ukrainian в /ʋ/ | Croatian 3.5%, Ukrainian 1.9% |
| i̯ | close front unrounded vowel, non-syllabic | ee as in “see”; non-syllabic: the weak, glide-like half of a diphthong; it is not a syllable on its own | Ukrainian й /i̯/; Bulgarian дейвид /d ɛ i̯ v i t/ | Ukrainian 0.88%, Bulgarian 0.01% |
| u̯ | close back rounded vowel, non-syllabic | oo as in “food”; non-syllabic: the weak, glide-like half of a diphthong; it is not a syllable on its own | Ukrainian представників /p r e d͡z s t ɐ u̯ n e kʲ i u̯/ | Ukrainian 1.4% |
| ʋʲ | labiodental approximant, palatalised | a soft v without friction (Dutch w, Slovenian v); palatalised: said with the tongue body raised toward the palate: a y-like colour (“soft” consonants) | Ukrainian він /ʋʲ i n/ | Ukrainian 0.88% |
| ʍ | voiceless labial-velar approximant | a breathy w (“wh” in some accents) | Ukrainian все /ʍ s ɛ/ | Ukrainian 0.22% |
Stops¶
| token | name | sounds like | examples | used most in |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| t | voiceless alveolar stop | t as in “ten” | Macedonian од /ɔ t/; Kazakh айтты /ɑ j t t ə/; Croatian što /ʃ t ô/ | Macedonian 8.4%, Kazakh 5.8%, Croatian 5.1%, Serbian 4.7% |
| k | voiceless velar stop | k as in “key” | Macedonian како /k a k ɔ/; Serbian kako /k a k o/; Croatian kako /k â k o/ | Macedonian 3.7%, Serbian 3.6%, Croatian 3.5%, Belarusian 3.2% |
| d | voiced alveolar stop | d as in “dog” | Kazakh деп /d e p/; Serbian da /d a/; Belarusian да /d ɑ/ | Kazakh 4.8%, Serbian 3.3%, Belarusian 3.2%, Macedonian 2.9% |
| b | voiced bilabial stop | b as in “bed” | Kazakh бұл /b ʊ ɫ/; Ukrainian або /ɐ b ɔ/; Macedonian биле /b i l ɛ/ | Kazakh 2.3%, Ukrainian 1.5%, Macedonian 1.4%, Croatian 1.4% |
| p | voiceless bilabial stop | p as in “pen” | Serbian populacija /p o p ʊ l ɐ t͡s ɪ j ɐ/; Macedonian по /p ɔ/; Croatian prema /p r ě m a/ | Serbian 3.1%, Macedonian 3.1%, Croatian 2.9%, Bulgarian 2.9% |
| ɡ | voiced velar stop | g as in “go” | Macedonian го /ɡ ɔ/; Croatian mogu /m ǒ ɡ u/; Kazakh негізгі /n e ɡ ɪ z ɡ ɪ/ | Macedonian 1.4%, Croatian 1.4%, Kazakh 1.3%, Serbian 1.3% |
| ʔ | glottal stop | the catch in the throat in “uh-oh” | Kazakh ньют /n ʔ j u t/ | Kazakh 0.13% |
| q | voiceless uvular stop | a k made further back, at the uvula (Uzbek “q”) | Kazakh бірақ /b ɪ ɾ ɑ q/ | Kazakh 2.8% |
| tʲ | voiceless alveolar stop, palatalised | t as in “ten”; palatalised: said with the tongue body raised toward the palate: a y-like colour (“soft” consonants) | Russian есть /j e sʲ tʲ/; Ukrainian потім /p o tʲ i m/; Bulgarian тя /tʲ a/ | Russian 1.8%, Ukrainian 1.1%, Bulgarian 0.09% |
| ʈ | voiceless retroflex stop. Also used for ʈ͡ʂ. | t with the tongue tip curled back (Swedish and Norwegian “rt”) | Belarusian час /ʈ ʂ ɑ s/ | Belarusian 1.3% |
| t̪ | voiceless alveolar stop, dental | t as in “ten”; dental: the tongue tip touches the upper teeth | Bulgarian от /o t̪/ | Bulgarian 6.7% |
| c | voiceless palatal stop | a k made against the hard palate, close to “ty” (Hungarian “ty”, Czech “ť”) | Macedonian ќе /c ɛ/ | Macedonian 0.27% |
| dʲ | voiced alveolar stop, palatalised | d as in “dog”; palatalised: said with the tongue body raised toward the palate: a y-like colour (“soft” consonants) | Russian среди /s rʲ ɪ dʲ i/; Ukrainian для /dʲ lʲ ɑ/; Bulgarian седящи /s ɛ dʲ a ʃ t̪ i/ | Russian 0.9%, Ukrainian 0.57%, Bulgarian 0.05% |
| pʲ | voiceless bilabial stop, palatalised | p as in “pen”; palatalised: said with the tongue body raised toward the palate: a y-like colour (“soft” consonants) | Russian оперение /ɐ pʲ ɪ rʲ e nʲ ɪ j e/; Belarusian першыя /pʲ ɛ r ʂ ɨ a/; Ukrainian під /pʲ i d/ | Russian 0.36%, Belarusian 0.31%, Ukrainian 0.27% |
| kʲ | voiceless velar stop, palatalised | k as in “key”; palatalised: said with the tongue body raised toward the palate: a y-like colour (“soft” consonants) | Russian к /kʲ ɪ ɫ ɐ mʲ e t r/; Ukrainian років /r ɔ kʲ i u̯/; Bulgarian малки /m a ɫ kʲ i/ | Russian 0.5%, Ukrainian 0.36%, Bulgarian 0.34%, Belarusian 0.03% |
| d̪ | voiced alveolar stop, dental | d as in “dog”; dental: the tongue tip touches the upper teeth | Bulgarian да /d̪ a/ | Bulgarian 2% |
| bʲ | voiced bilabial stop, palatalised | b as in “bed”; palatalised: said with the tongue body raised toward the palate: a y-like colour (“soft” consonants) | Ukrainian більш /bʲ i lʲ ʃ/; Russian себя /sʲ ɪ bʲ a/; Belarusian сябе /sʲ j a bʲ ɛ/ | Ukrainian 0.3%, Russian 0.29%, Belarusian 0.12%, Bulgarian 0.03% |
| ɟ | voiced palatal stop | a g made against the hard palate, close to “dy” (Hungarian “gy”, Czech “ď”) | Macedonian луѓе /ɫ u ɟ ɛ/ | Macedonian 0.12% |
| ɡʲ | voiced velar stop, palatalised | g as in “go”; palatalised: said with the tongue body raised toward the palate: a y-like colour (“soft” consonants) | Russian многих /m n o ɡʲ ɪ x/; Bulgarian ги /ɡʲ i/ | Russian 0.25%, Bulgarian 0.1% |
| tʼ | voiceless alveolar stop, ejective | t as in “ten”; ejective: a pop made by the throat, with no breath from the lungs | rare | |
| pʼ | voiceless bilabial stop, ejective | p as in “pen”; ejective: a pop made by the throat, with no breath from the lungs | rare | |
| kʷ | voiceless velar stop, labialised | k as in “key”; labialised: said with rounded lips | rare | |
| ɡʷ | voiced velar stop, labialised | g as in “go”; labialised: said with rounded lips | rare |
Affricates¶
| token | name | sounds like | examples | used most in |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| t͡s | voiceless alveolar affricate. Also used for t̻͡s. | ts as in “cats” | Belarusian з'яўляецца /zʲ ɪ w ɭ ɪ ɛ t͡s t͡s a/; Russian является /j ɪ v lʲ æ j ɪ t͡s ə/; Croatian znanstvenici /z n a n s t ʋ ě n i t͡s i/ | Belarusian 2.7%, Russian 1.1%, Croatian 1.1%, Serbian 0.94% |
| t͡ʃ | voiceless postalveolar affricate | ch as in “church” | Ukrainian що /ʃ t͡ʃ ɔ/; Croatian često /t͡ʃ ê s t o/; Macedonian често /t͡ʃ ɛ s t ɔ/ | Ukrainian 1.6%, Croatian 1%, Macedonian 0.96%, Serbian 0.83% |
| t͡ɕ | voiceless alveolo-palatal affricate | a soft ch (Polish “ć”, Bosnian “ć”) | Russian часто /t͡ɕ a s t ə/; Serbian će /t͡ɕ ɛ/; Croatian većina /ʋ e t͡ɕ ǐ n a/ | Russian 1%, Serbian 0.56%, Croatian 0.55% |
| d͡ʒ | voiced postalveolar affricate | j as in “judge” | Ukrainian стверджують /s t ʋ ɛ r d͡ʒ ʊ j ʊ tʲ/; Macedonian џорџ /d͡ʒ ɔ r d͡ʒ/; Serbian džordž /d͡ʒ o r d͡ʒ/ | Ukrainian 0.13%, Macedonian 0.06%, Serbian 0.05%, Croatian 0.02% |
| d͡ʑ | voiced alveolo-palatal affricate | a soft j (Polish “dź”) | Serbian takođe /t a k o d͡ʑ ɛ/; Croatian također /t â k o d͡ʑ e r/ | Serbian 0.24%, Croatian 0.18% |
| d͡z | voiced alveolar affricate | ds as in “beds” | Ukrainian представників /p r e d͡z s t ɐ u̯ n e kʲ i u̯/; Macedonian ѕвонче /d͡z v ɔ n t͡ʃ ɛ/; Russian буффало-питсбург /b ʊ f a ɫ ɐ pʲ i d͡z b ʊ r k/ | Ukrainian 0.12%, Macedonian 0.02% |
| t͡ʂ | voiceless retroflex affricate | a hard ch (Polish “cz”) | Russian джордж /d͡ʐ ʐ o r t͡ʂ ʂ/ | Russian 0.04% (rare: 16×) |
| t͡sʲ | voiceless alveolar affricate, palatalised. Also used for t̻͡sʲ. | ts as in “cats”; palatalised: said with the tongue body raised toward the palate: a y-like colour (“soft” consonants) | Ukrainian році /r ɔ t͡sʲ i/; Belarusian цягам /t͡sʲ j a ɣ a m/; Bulgarian цяло /t͡sʲ a ɫ o/ | Ukrainian 0.73%, Belarusian 0.29%, Bulgarian 0.03% |
| d͡ʐ | voiced retroflex affricate | a hard j (Polish “dż”) | Russian джордж /d͡ʐ ʐ o r t͡ʂ ʂ/ | Russian 0.04% (rare: 14×) |
| t͡sʼ | voiceless alveolar affricate, ejective | ts as in “cats”; ejective: a pop made by the throat, with no breath from the lungs | rare | |
| t͡ʃʼ | ejective postalveolar affricate | ch said with a pop from the throat, no breath | rare | |
| d͡zʲ | voiced alveolar affricate, palatalised | ds as in “beds”; palatalised: said with the tongue body raised toward the palate: a y-like colour (“soft” consonants) | Ukrainian дзвінок /d͡zʲ ʋʲ i n ɔ k/; Russian надзиратели /n ə d͡zʲ zʲ ɪ r a tʲ ɪ lʲ ɪ/ | Ukrainian 0.04% (rare: 14×) |
| t͡ʃʲ | voiceless postalveolar affricate, palatalised | ch as in “church”; palatalised: said with the tongue body raised toward the palate: a y-like colour (“soft” consonants) | Ukrainian тисячі /t ɪ sʲ ɐ t͡ʃʲ i/ | Ukrainian 0.09% |
Fricatives¶
| token | name | sounds like | examples | used most in |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| s | voiceless alveolar fricative | s | Bulgarian се /s ɛ/; Croatian se /s ê/; Serbian se /s ɛ/ | Bulgarian 5.7%, Croatian 4.8%, Serbian 4.7%, Macedonian 4.6% |
| f | voiceless labiodental fricative | f | Russian всего /f sʲ ɪ v o/; Macedonian всушност /f s u ʃ n ɔ s t/; Bulgarian все /f s ɛ/ | Russian 0.84%, Macedonian 0.69%, Bulgarian 0.69%, Serbian 0.35% |
| v | voiced labiodental fricative | v | Macedonian во /v ɔ/; Bulgarian в /v/; Serbian verovatno /v ɛ r o v ɐ t n o/ | Macedonian 4.1%, Bulgarian 3.7%, Serbian 3.7%, Russian 3.3% |
| z | voiced alveolar fricative | z | Belarusian з /z ɛ/; Croatian za /z a/; Ukrainian з /z/ | Belarusian 2.2%, Croatian 2.1%, Ukrainian 2%, Serbian 1.9% |
| ʃ | voiceless postalveolar fricative | sh as in “ship” | Bulgarian че /t ʃ ɛ/; Kazakh үшін /u ʃ ɪ n/; Ukrainian що /ʃ t͡ʃ ɔ/ | Bulgarian 2.1%, Kazakh 1.3%, Ukrainian 1.2%, Macedonian 1.1% |
| h | voiceless glottal fricative | h as in “hat” | Serbian којих /k o j ɪ h/; Bulgarian nhk /ɛ n ɛ h k ɛ/; Ukrainian nhk /ɛ n h ɛ k/ | Serbian 0.45% |
| ʁ | voiced uvular fricative | the r of French and German | rare | |
| x | voiceless velar fricative | ch as in Scottish “loch”, German “Bach” | Belarusian іх /i x/; Ukrainian яких /j ɐ k ɪ x/; Russian их /i x/ | Belarusian 1.4%, Ukrainian 1.3%, Russian 1.1%, Croatian 0.77% |
| ʒ | voiced postalveolar fricative | s as in “measure” | Kazakh және /ʒ æ n e/; Ukrainian також /t ɐ k ɔ ʒ/; Bulgarian може /m ɔ ʒ ɛ/ | Kazakh 1.8%, Ukrainian 0.74%, Bulgarian 0.73%, Serbian 0.67% |
| ʂ | voiceless retroflex fricative. Also used for ʈ͡ʂ. | a hard sh with the tongue tip back (Polish “sz”) | Belarusian што /ʂ t o/; Russian что /ʂ t o/ | Belarusian 2.2%, Russian 0.89% |
| ɣ | voiced velar fricative | a g where the tongue does not close (Dutch g, Spanish g between vowels) | Belarusian таго /t ɑ ɣ ʌ/ | Belarusian 1.7% |
| ħ | voiceless pharyngeal fricative | a strong h squeezed in the throat (Arabic ح) | rare | |
| ɕ | voiceless alveolo-palatal fricative | a soft sh, with the tongue body raised (Polish “ś”) | Russian еще /j ɪ ɕ e/; Croatian većinska /ʋ ě t ɕ i n s k a/ | Russian 0.48% |
| sʲ | voiceless alveolar fricative, palatalised | s; palatalised: said with the tongue body raised toward the palate: a y-like colour (“soft” consonants) | Ukrainian осіб /o sʲ i b/; Russian всего /f sʲ ɪ v o/; Belarusian сярод /sʲ j a r ʌ d/ | Ukrainian 1.3%, Russian 1.3%, Belarusian 0.69%, Bulgarian 0.04% |
| ʐ | voiced retroflex fricative | a hard zh (Polish “ż”, “rz”) | Russian также /t a ɡ ʐ ɨ/; Belarusian можна /m o ʐ n a/ | Russian 0.96%, Belarusian 0.77% |
| vʲ | voiced labiodental fricative, palatalised | v; palatalised: said with the tongue body raised toward the palate: a y-like colour (“soft” consonants) | Russian человек /t͡ɕ ɪ ɫ ɐ vʲ e k/; Belarusian жывёлы /ʐ ɨ vʲ ɔ ɭ ɨ/; Bulgarian вятър /vʲ a t ə r/ | Russian 0.8%, Belarusian 0.68%, Bulgarian 0.04% |
| ʑ | voiced alveolo-palatal fricative | a soft zh (Polish “ź”) | rare | |
| ɦ | voiced glottal fricative. Also used for ɦʲ. | a breathy, voiced h (Dutch and Czech h) | Ukrainian його /j ɔ ɦ ɔ/; Russian nhk /ɛ n ɦ a ɡ r ə/ | Ukrainian 1.4% |
| zʲ | voiced alveolar fricative, palatalised | z; palatalised: said with the tongue body raised toward the palate: a y-like colour (“soft” consonants) | Belarusian з'яўляецца /zʲ ɪ w ɭ ɪ ɛ t͡s t͡s a/; Russian земле /zʲ ɪ m lʲ e/; Ukrainian близько /b ɫ ɪ zʲ k ɔ/ | Belarusian 0.52%, Russian 0.25%, Ukrainian 0.23%, Bulgarian 0.01% |
| fʲ | voiceless labiodental fricative, palatalised | f; palatalised: said with the tongue body raised toward the palate: a y-like colour (“soft” consonants) | Russian финишировал /fʲ ɪ nʲ ɪ ʂ ɨ r ə v ə ɫ/; Ukrainian філіппін /fʲ i lʲ i pʲ i n/; Belarusian атмасфера /a t m a s fʲ ɛ r a/ | Russian 0.14%, Ukrainian 0.1%, Belarusian 0.05% |
| χ | voiceless uvular fricative | a rougher ch made at the uvula (Welsh “ch”) | rare | |
| ʃʲ | voiceless postalveolar fricative, palatalised | sh as in “ship”; palatalised: said with the tongue body raised toward the palate: a y-like colour (“soft” consonants) | Ukrainian більшість /bʲ i lʲ ʃʲ i sʲ tʲ/ | Ukrainian 0.1% |
| xʲ | voiceless velar fricative, palatalised | ch as in Scottish “loch”, German “Bach”; palatalised: said with the tongue body raised toward the palate: a y-like colour (“soft” consonants) | Ukrainian арахіс /ɐ r ɑ xʲ i s/; Russian сухим /s u xʲ ɪ m/ | Ukrainian 0.06%, Russian 0.03% |
| ɬ | voiceless alveolar lateral fricative | the Welsh “ll”: an l blown without voice | rare | |
| ʒʲ | voiced postalveolar fricative, palatalised | s as in “measure”; palatalised: said with the tongue body raised toward the palate: a y-like colour (“soft” consonants) | Ukrainian пляжів /p lʲ ɑ ʒʲ i u̯/ | Ukrainian 0.04% (rare: 13×) |
| ɣʲ | voiced velar fricative, palatalised | a g where the tongue does not close (Dutch g, Spanish g between vowels); palatalised: said with the tongue body raised toward the palate: a y-like colour (“soft” consonants) | Belarusian нігерыі /n i ɣʲ ɛ r ɨ i/ | Belarusian 0.04% (rare: 17×) |
| ʃʼ | voiceless postalveolar fricative, ejective | sh as in “ship”; ejective: a pop made by the throat, with no breath from the lungs | rare |
Nasals¶
| token | name | sounds like | examples | used most in |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| n | alveolar nasal | n | Kazakh және /ʒ æ n e/; Bulgarian на /n a/; Macedonian на /n a/ | Kazakh 6.8%, Bulgarian 6.7%, Macedonian 6.5%, Serbian 5.9% |
| m | bilabial nasal | m | Croatian može /m ô ʒ e/; Serbian ima /i m ɐ/; Ukrainian потім /p o tʲ i m/ | Croatian 3.4%, Serbian 3.2%, Ukrainian 2.9%, Belarusian 2.8% |
| ŋ | velar nasal | ng as in “sing” | Kazakh ең /e ŋ/; Bulgarian inc /i ŋ k/; Serbian jedinke /j e d ɪ ŋ k ɛ/ | Kazakh 1.3%, Bulgarian 0.1%, Serbian 0.1%, Macedonian 0.1% |
| ɲ | palatal nasal | ny, as Spanish “ñ” | Croatian životinje /ʒ i ʋ ǒ t i ɲ e/; Serbian životinje /ʒ i v o t ɪ ɲ e/; Macedonian учење /u t͡ʃ ɛ ɲ ɛ/ | Croatian 0.8%, Serbian 0.74%, Macedonian 0.37% |
| nʲ | alveolar nasal, palatalised | n; palatalised: said with the tongue body raised toward the palate: a y-like colour (“soft” consonants) | Russian не /nʲ e/; Ukrainian ніж /nʲ i ʒ/; Belarusian не /nʲ ɛ/ | Russian 2.3%, Ukrainian 1.9%, Belarusian 1.1%, Bulgarian 0.11% |
| mʲ | bilabial nasal, palatalised | m; palatalised: said with the tongue body raised toward the palate: a y-like colour (“soft” consonants) | Russian к /kʲ ɪ ɫ ɐ mʲ e t r/; Belarusian месца /mʲ ɛ s t͡s a/; Ukrainian між /mʲ i ʒ/ | Russian 1.1%, Belarusian 0.61%, Ukrainian 0.29%, Bulgarian 0.08% |
| ɱ | labiodental nasal | m made with the lower lip against the teeth, before f or v (“comfort”) | Macedonian информации /i ɱ f ɔ r m a t͡s i i/; Bulgarian инвазия /i ɱ v a z i j ə/ | Macedonian 0.05%, Bulgarian 0.02% |
Laterals¶
| token | name | sounds like | examples | used most in |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| l | alveolar lateral approximant | l as in “leaf” | Serbian bilo /b i l o/; Croatian ili /î l i/; Bulgarian или /i l i/ | Serbian 3.4%, Croatian 3.1%, Bulgarian 1.9%, Macedonian 1.6% |
| ɫ | velarised alveolar lateral | the dark l of “full” | Kazakh бұл /b ʊ ɫ/; Ukrainian були /b u ɫ e/; Macedonian супервелеслаломот /s u p ɛ r v ɛ l ɛ s ɫ a ɫ ɔ m ɔ t/ | Kazakh 4.2%, Ukrainian 2%, Macedonian 1.8%, Russian 1.6% |
| lʲ | alveolar lateral approximant, palatalised | l as in “leaf”; palatalised: said with the tongue body raised toward the palate: a y-like colour (“soft” consonants) | Russian для /d lʲ a/; Ukrainian для /dʲ lʲ ɑ/; Bulgarian определят /o̝ p r ɛ d̪ ɛ lʲ ɤ t̪/ | Russian 2.6%, Ukrainian 1.6%, Bulgarian 0.33% |
| ʎ | palatal lateral approximant | an l made with the tongue body, close to “ly” (Italian “gli”) | Croatian ljudi /ʎ û d i/; Serbian ljudi /ʎ u d ɪ/ | Croatian 0.76%, Serbian 0.52% |
| ɭ | retroflex lateral approximant. Also used for ɭʲ. | l with the tongue tip curled back | Belarusian для /d ɭ j a/ | Belarusian 3.7% |
Rhotics (r sounds)¶
| token | name | sounds like | examples | used most in |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| r | alveolar trill | a rolled r | Croatian prema /p r ě m a/; Serbian temperature /t ɛ m p ɛ r ɐ t ʊ r ɛ/; Belarusian сярод /sʲ j a r ʌ d/ | Croatian 4.8%, Serbian 4.8%, Belarusian 4.3%, Ukrainian 4.3% |
| ɾ | alveolar tap | one quick flap of the tongue, as in Spanish “pero” | Kazakh бар /b ɑ ɾ/; Macedonian поради /p ɔ ɾ a d i/; Bulgarian поради /p o̝ ɾ ɐ d̪ i/ | Kazakh 6%, Macedonian 1.1%, Bulgarian 0.5%, Serbian 0.04% |
| rʲ | alveolar trill, palatalised | a rolled r; palatalised: said with the tongue body raised toward the palate: a y-like colour (“soft” consonants) | Russian скорее /s k ɐ rʲ e j e/; Ukrainian товарів /t ɔ ʋ ɑ rʲ i u̯/; Bulgarian трябва /t̪ rʲ a b v ə/ | Russian 1.5%, Ukrainian 0.5%, Bulgarian 0.09%, Belarusian 0.04% |
| ʀ | uvular trill | an r rolled at the uvula (Luxembourgish r) | Kazakh болған /b o ɫ ʀ ɑ n/ | Kazakh 1.8% |
| r̩ | alveolar trill, syllabic | a rolled r; syllabic: forms a syllable with no vowel, as the n of “button” | Macedonian заврши /z a v r̩ ʃ i/ | Macedonian 0.42% |
| ř | alveolar trill, accent ˇ (rising) | a rolled r; accent ˇ (rising): the G2P's dictionary marks a rising pitch accent | Croatian svrhu /s ʋ ř x u/ | Croatian 0.05% (rare: 17×) |
| r̂ | alveolar trill, accent ˆ (falling) | a rolled r; accent ˆ (falling): the G2P's dictionary marks a falling pitch accent | Croatian prvi /p r̂ ʋ i/; Ukrainian рс /r̂ ə s ə/ | Croatian 0.22% |