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Comparisons Introductory guides
The charts below show the way in which the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) represents Belarusian language pronunciations in Wikipedia articles.
See Belarusian phonology for a more thorough look at the sounds of Belarusian.
Consonants
IPA Examples
IPA Examples[ 1]
English approximation
b б
bʲ б
b oot; b eautiful
d д
d o
d͡z дз
d͡zʲ дз
birds , adz e
d͡ʐ дж
j ug
f ф
fʲ ф
f ool; f ew
ɣ г
ɣʲ г
k к
kʲ к
c ooter; c ute
l л [ 2] lʲ л
l oot; l ute (for some dialects )
m м
mʲ м
m oot; m ute
n н
ɲ н
n oon; cany on (for some dialects )
p п
pʲ п
p aw; p ew
r р
trilled r , like in Spanish
s с
sʲ с
s oup; s uper (for some dialects )
ʂ ш
sh ore
t т
t ool
t͡s ц
t͡sʲ ц
cats ; quartz
t͡ʂ ч
ch ild
v в [ 2] vʲ в
v oodoo; v iew
x х
xʲ х
bach ; h uge (for some dialects ).
z з
zʲ з
z oo; amaz ing
ʐ ж
roug e
Marginal consonants
ɡ г , ґ
ɡʲ г , ґ
g oo; ag ue
Other symbols
IPA
Explanation
ˈ Stress (placed before the stressed syllable)
ː
Gemination [ 6]
^ Belarusian makes contrasts between palatalized ("soft") and unpalatalized ("hard") consonants. Palatalized consonants, denoted by a superscript j, ‹ ʲ › , are pronounced with the body of the tongue raised toward the hard palate , in a manner similar to the articulation of the y sound in yes . /j/ is also considered soft. /d, t, d͡ʐ, t͡ʂ, r, ʂ, ʐ/ are always hard.
^ a b c /v/ and /l/ merge into /w/ ‹ў› when in the syllable coda .^ a b c Unstressed /ɛ/ and /ɔ/ are reduced to [a] . Unlike Russian, this is reflected in writing.
^ a b [i] and [ɨ] are in complementary distribution : [i] occurs word-initially and after soft consonants; [ɨ] occurs after hard consonants.^ The "soft" vowel letters ‹я, е, і, ё, ю› represent a /j/ plus a vowel when initial or following other vowels.
^ Nine Belarusian consonants can be contrastively geminated: /d͡zʲː, lʲː, nʲː, sʲː, ʂː, t͡sʲː, t͡ʂː, zʲː, ʐː/ .
