Slovak Pronunciation Guide

Slovak alphabet:

a (á) (ä) b c c^ d (d^) e (é) f g h ch i (í) j k l (l^) (l') m n (n^) o (ó) (ô) p (q) r (r') s s^ t (t^) u (ú) v (w) x y (ý) z z^

ch is considered to be a single letter, letters in brackets are not considered separate letters (but have these positions for sorting purposes), q and w are not part of an alphabet and are found only in loanwords.

The stress is always on the first syllable.

• Vowels:

  • a: as u in cup
  • e: as e in bet
  • i,y: as ea in please, but short
  • o: as a in talk, but short; British (not American) o in stop is a good approximation.
  • u: as u in bush

  Vowels with acute accents are pronounced the same, except they are long:

  • á: as a in father
  • é: as a in care (without r or schwa)
  • í ý: as ee in see
  • ó: as a in talk
  • ú: as oo in tool

  
  

  • ä: either almost as American a in bat or (usually) the same as e

• Consonants:

  • b: b in bed
  • c: ts in tse-tse (one consonant)
  • c^: ch in church
  • d: d in dog
  • f: f in finger
  • g: g in good
  • h: h in hello
  • ch: ch in German Bach or X in Russian CTPAX (except compound words: viachlas read as viac-hlas)
  • j: y in yes
  • k: c in clown
  • l: l in let
  • m: m in mother
  • n: n in next
  • p: p in please
  • r: thrilled, much like the spanish r
  • s: s in step
  • s^: sh in ship
  • t: t in batman
  • v: v in van
  • x: x in taxi or exist
  • z: z in zebra
  • z^: zh in Zhirinovsky
  • dz: as dz in Shevarnadze (one sound), except for compound words, where it is pronounced as two sounds d+z, e.g. podzemný
  • dz^: as j in Jack, except for compound words, where it is pronounced as two sounds d+z^, e.g. nadz^ivotný
  • w: only in loanwords, usually pronounced as v
  • d^, t^, n^, l^ are palatalized (softened) consonants. To pronounce them, say d+y together. E.g. d^ sounds almost like English d'y in How d'ya, n^ is like spanish ñ
    • i and e after d,t,n also makes these consonants palatalized (and in oficial pronunciation also l, but nobody speaks that way), but there are many exceptions (especially in loanwords).
    • ia, ie, iu read as ja, je, ju (diet^a is pronounced d^jet^a) in words of Slovak origin, and as ija, ije, iju in loanwords. (diakon is pronounced dijakon, d is not palatalized)
    • p,t,k are never aspirated (p in park is pronounced like English p in please, not like p in English park)
    • l,r can also serve as wovels: dl in dlh&yascute; pronounce like English dl in handle
      They could be also long: l', r': vr'ba pronounce vrrrba (vith thrilled r)

• Semiwovel:

  • ô: pronounced halfway betweeen wo- and vuo-