Alphabet & Pronunciation
The Louisiana Creole alphabet shares most letters with English (omitting c, q, and x), but several are pronounced differently. Three additional letters — Æ (a-e ligature), Œ (o-e ligature), and Ç (cedilla) — together with accent marks over the five vowels, round out the alphabet.
Click a letter to hear it
Vowel pronunciations
Each vowel group covers the accented variants of that base vowel. Use “All Vowels” to hear the full set in order.
Vowels — quick reference
| Letter | IPA | Example | Sound like… |
|---|---|---|---|
| a | /a/ | lakay (home) | Like "a" in "father" |
| e | /e/ | mé (May) | Like "ay" in "say" |
| è | /ɛ/ | frèt (cold) | Like "e" in "bed" |
| i | /i/ | dife (fire) | Like "ee" in "see" |
| o | /o/ | bokou (much) | Like "o" in "go" |
| ò | /ɔ/ | kréyòl (Creole) | Like "o" in "cot" |
| u | /u/ | ou (you) | Like "oo" in "moon" |
| w | /w/ | dlo (water) | Glide consonant, like English "w" |
| y | /j/ | yé (they) | Glide consonant, like English "y" |
Nasal Vowels
Like French, Louisiana Creole has nasal vowels — vowels pronounced with air flowing through the nose. They occur before n or m in many words.
| Spelling | IPA | Example | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| an | /ɑ̃/ | san (blood/hundred) | Nasal, like French "an" |
| en | /ɛ̃/ | venn (twenty) | Nasal, like French "in" |
| in | /ɛ̃/ | mwin (me, variant) | Nasal vowel |
| on | /ɔ̃/ | bonjou (hello) | Nasal, like French "on" |
| oun | /ũ/ | doumi (sleep) | Nasal u sound |
Notable Consonant Clusters
| Cluster | IPA | Example | Sound like… |
|---|---|---|---|
| ch | /ʃ/ | chyen (dog) | Like "sh" in "shoe" |
| j | /ʒ/ | jou (day) | Like "s" in "measure" |
| k | /k/ | kat (four) | Like "k" in "key" |
| g | /ɡ/ | gran (big) | Hard "g" as in "go" |
| r | /ʁ/ | rizi (rice) | French-style uvular "r" |
| tch | /tʃ/ | tchao (bye) | Like "ch" in "chair" |
| dj | /dʒ/ | djab (devil) | Like "j" in "judge" |
Alt Codes for Special Characters (Windows)
On Windows, hold Alt and type the number on the numeric keypad (Num Lock on) to produce accented characters that don't have a dedicated key — useful for typing words like kréyòl, mési, or Æ.
| Grave Capital | À 0192 | È 0200 | Ì 0204 | Ò 0210 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grave lower | à 0224 | è 0232 | ì 0236 | ò 0242 | |
| Acute Capital | Á 0193 | É 0201 | Í 0205 | Ó 0211 | |
| Acute lower | á 0225 | é 0233 | í 0237 | ó 0243 | |
| Circumflex Capital | Â 0194 | Ê 0202 | Î 0206 | Ô 0212 | Û 0219 |
| Circumflex lower | â 0226 | ê 0234 | î 0238 | ô 0244 | û 0251 |
| Diaeresis Capital | Ë 0203 | Ï 0207 | Ö 0214 | Ÿ 0159 | |
| Diaeresis lower | ë 0235 | ï 0239 | ö 0246 | ÿ 0255 | |
| Special Capital | Ç 128 | Æ 146 | Œ 0140 | » 175 | |
| Special lower | ç 135 | æ 145 | œ 0156 | « 174 |
macOS tip
On a Mac or iOS device, press and hold a letter key to see a popup of accented variants — for example, holding a offers à, á, â, ä, æ. Release the key only after selecting.
A note on stress
In Louisiana Creole, stress generally falls on the last syllable of a word, following French patterns. For example: bo-JOU, la-KAY, ma-NJÉ. However, speakers vary considerably, so listening to native speakers is the best guide.