The Czech Alphabet (Česká abeceda)
The Czech alphabet is based on the Latin script and consists of 42 letters. It uses diacritics to extend the basic Latin set.
The Letters
| Letter | Name | IPA | Approx. English Sound | Example | Translation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A a | á | /a/ | u in cup | auto | car |
| Á á | dlouhé á | /aː/ | a in father | máma | mom |
| B b | bé | /b/ | b in bus | banán | banana |
| C c | cé | /t͡s/ | ts in cats | co | what |
| Č č | čé | /t͡ʃ/ | ch in check | čaj | tea |
| D d | dé | /d/ | d in dog | dům | house |
| Ď ď | ďé | /ɟ/ | d in dew (British) | ďábel | devil |
| E e | é | /ɛ/ | e in bet | element | element |
| É é | dlouhé é | /ɛː/ | ai in air | léto | summer |
| Ě ě | ije | /jɛ/ | ye in yes | město | city |
| F f | ef | /f/ | f in food | film | film |
| G g | gé | /ɡ/ | g in go | gauč | couch |
| H h | há | /ɦ/ | h in ahead (voiced) | hrad | castle |
| Ch ch | chá | /x/ | ch in Loch (Scottish) | chleba | bread |
| I i | měkké í | /ɪ/ | i in sit | internet | internet |
| Í í | dlouhé měkké í | /iː/ | ee in feet | víno | wine |
| J j | jé | /j/ | y in yes | jáhody | strawberries |
| K k | ká | /k/ | k in key | káva | coffee |
| L l | el | /l/ | l in love | lampa | lamp |
| M m | em | /m/ | m in mother | maso | meat |
| N n | en | /n/ | n in no | noc | night |
| Ň ň | eň | /ɲ/ | n in onion | ňadra | bosom |
| O o | ó | /o/ | o in off | oko | eye |
| Ó ó | dlouhé ó | /oː/ | aw in law | móda | fashion |
| P p | pé | /p/ | p in pen | pivo | beer |
| Q q | kvé | /kv/ | qu in quest | quiz | quiz |
| R r | er | /r/ | trilled r (Spanish r) | ruka | hand |
| Ř ř | erž | /r̝/ | trilled r + zh | řeka | river |
| S s | es | /s/ | s in sun | sen | dream |
| Š š | eš | /ʃ/ | sh in she | škola | school |
| T t | té | /t/ | t in top | táta | dad |
| Ť ť | ťé | /c/ | t in tune (British) | ťukat | to knock |
| U u | ú | /u/ | u in put | ucho | ear |
| Ú ú | dlouhé ú | /uː/ | oo in moon | únor | February |
| Ů ů | kroužkované ú | /uː/ | oo in moon | dům | house |
| V v | vé | /v/ | v in very | voda | water |
| W w | dvojité vé | /v/ | v in very | Watt | Watt |
| X x | iks | /ks/ | x in box | text | text |
| Y y | ypsilon | /ɪ/ | i in sit | ypsilon | ypsilon |
| Ý ý | dlouhé ypsilon | /iː/ | ee in feet | sýr | cheese |
| Z z | zet | /z/ | z in zoo | zima | winter |
| Ž ž | žet | /ʒ/ | s in pleasure | žena | woman |
Notes on Sorting
In Czech dictionaries and lists, the alphabet has a specific sorting order:
- Č follows C.
- Ch is considered a single letter and follows H.
- Ř follows R.
- Š follows S.
- Ž follows Z.
- Vowels with diacritics (Á, É, Ě, Í, Ó, Ú, Ů, Ý) are usually sorted as their base letters (A, E, I, O, U, Y) unless the words are otherwise identical.