Azerbaijani is written with 32 Latin letters, and nine of them are vowels. Four of them, c, j, q and x, don't sound like the same letters in English.
| Letter | Sounds Like |
|---|---|
| A a | the a in father |
| B b | the b in bed |
| C c | the j in jam |
| Ç ç | the ch in chair |
| D d | the d in dog |
| E e | the e in bet |
| Ə ə | the a in cat |
| F f | the f in fun |
| G g | the g in give, with the tongue a little farther forward |
| Ğ ğ | a soft gargle, like a French r |
| H h | the h in hat |
| X x | the ch in Scottish loch |
| I ı | like oo, but with your lips spread flat |
| İ i | the ee in see |
| J j | the s in vision |
| K k | the k in key |
| Q q | the g in go |
| L l | the l in lamp |
| M m | the m in moon |
| N n | the n in net |
| O o | the o in more |
| Ö ö | like the e in her, with rounded lips |
| P p | the p in pen |
| R r | a tapped r, as in Spanish |
| S s | the s in sun |
| Ş ş | the sh in ship |
| T t | the t in top |
| U u | the oo in moon |
| Ü ü | like ee, with rounded lips |
| V v | the v in van |
| Y y | the y in yes |
| Z z | the z in zoo |
W is the only English letter that Azerbaijani doesn't use.
Azerbaijani has nine vowels. Five are said at the front of the mouth and four at the back, and most words use vowels from only one group.
| Front Vowels | Back Vowels |
|---|---|
| e, ə, i, ö, ü | a, ı, o, u |
Endings follow that rule too, so one ending can have two spellings. The plural ending is -lər after front vowels and -lar after back vowels: it (dog) becomes itlər, and dağ (mountain) becomes dağlar.
The Azerbaijani alphabet is the Turkish alphabet with three more letters: ə, x and q. If you already read Turkish, those three are the only new shapes. Ə came back into the alphabet on 16 May 1992, after a few months when Azerbaijani used ä for the same sound. Our guide to ə, ğ, x and q shows how to type them.
Free Azerbaijani Alphabet Course
- Audio for Every Word
- Real Example Words
0 of 2 Chapters Complete
The Azerbaijani Alphabet course starts with the seven letters English doesn't have, then moves on to the letters whose English sound is different.
When you can sound out new words, Poppy, your AI tutor, writes Azerbaijani lessons for your level in the Bubblegum app.
How Many Letters Are in the Azerbaijani Alphabet?
There are 32 letters: 9 vowels and 23 consonants. The two i letters count separately, so ı without a dot and i with a dot are two of the 32.
Which Azerbaijani App Should a Beginner Choose?
If you are serious about learning Azerbaijani, start with Bubblegum. Poppy writes lessons at your level about things you like. Our Azerbaijani app comparison covers more choices and what each one is good for.
Is Bubblegum Free?
Yes. The lesson library is free for everyone, because we believe everyone should be able to learn. It holds lessons that other learners asked Poppy for. A new custom lesson costs us real money to make, so your first one is free, and Bubblegum Pro gives you unlimited custom lessons.
Sources
- Wikipedia, Azerbaijani alphabet (the 32 letters in order; the same as the Turkish alphabet except Ə, X and Q; nine vowels and twenty-three consonants; vowel harmony with it, itlər and dağ, dağlar; Ä replaced by Ə on 16 May 1992)
- Mokari and Werner, Azerbaijani, Illustrations of the IPA, Journal of the International Phonetic Association 47 (2017) (the nine vowels in front and back groups and the tapped r, described from the Tabriz variety)
- Unicode CLDR, Azerbaijani locale data (the 32 letters, with x after h and q after k)
