The Albanian alphabet
Albanian uses 36 letters, based on the Latin alphabet. Nine of them are digraphs that count as a single letter each, not two: dh, gj, ll, nj, rr, sh, th, xh, zh. Alphabetical order treats each of these as its own letter, not as two separate ones.
Letter | Pronunciation | Example |
a | like "a" in "father" | ai (he) |
b | like English "b" | bukë (bread) |
c | like "ts" in "cats" | cili (which) |
ç | like "ch" in "church" | çaj (tea) |
d | like English "d" | ditë (day) |
dh | like "th" in "this" | dhomë (room) |
e | like "e" in "bed" | erë (wind) |
ë | a schwa, like "a" in "sofa" | këmbë (leg) |
f | like English "f" | fjalë (word) |
g | like English "g" in "go" | gur (stone) |
gj | a soft "g" fused with "y", close to "dj" | gjumë (sleep) |
h | like English "h" | hënë (moon) |
i | like "ee" in "see" | ilaç (medicine) |
j | like "y" in "yes" — never like English "j" | jetë (life) |
k | like English "k" | kohë (time) |
l | like English "l" | lule (flower) |
ll | a darker, "heavier" l than the single l | llambë (lamp) |
m | like English "m" | mal (mountain) |
n | like English "n" | natë (night) |
nj | like "ny" in "canyon" | njeri (person) |
o | like "o" in "more" | orë (hour) |
p | like English "p" | punë (work) |
q | a soft palatal stop, roughly between "ky" and "ch" | qytet (city) |
r | a single tongue tap, lighter than rr | re (cloud) |
rr | a rolled/trilled r | rrugë (street) |
s | like English "s" | supë (soup) |
sh | like "sh" in "shoe" | shtëpi (house) |
t | like English "t" | tavolinë (table) |
th | like "th" in "think" | thikë (knife) |
u | like "oo" in "moon" | ujë (water) |
v | like English "v" | verë (summer) |
x | like "ds" in "beds" | xixë (spark) |
xh | like "j" in "jam" | xhaxha (uncle) |
y | a rounded vowel, like French "u" or German "ü" — no real English equivalent | ylber (rainbow) |
z | like English "z" | zog (bird) |
zh | like "s" in "measure" | zhurmë (noise) |
A handful of single letters are commonly mispronounced by an English speaker on first sight: c is "ts" (not "k"), j is "y" (not "j" as in "jam"), x is "dz", and y is a rounded vowel with no real English equivalent.