The Basque Alphabet
The alphabet has 27 letters: the usual 26 plus ñ. Spelling is regular, so once you know the letters you can read any word aloud.
How It Works
These are the 27 letters with their Basque names:
a (a), b (be), c (ze), d (de), e (e), f (efe), g (ge), h (hatxe), i (i), j (jota), k (ka), l (ele), m (eme), n (ene), ñ (eñe), o (o), p (pe), q (ku), r (erre), s (ese), t (te), u (u), v (uve), w (uve bikoitza), x (ixa), y (i grekoa), z (zeta)
- Letters for Basque words. The k-sound is always written k: kafea (the coffee), Bizkaia, Gipuzkoa. The letter g always sounds as in English go: gela (room), gizon (man).
- Letters for foreign words. c, ç, q, v, w and y appear only in foreign names and a few loanwords: Quebec, Venezuela, Kuwait. Everyday borrowed words are respelled the Basque way: kafe, kilo. The letter v sounds just like b.
- Two letters, one sound. dd, ll, rr, ts, tt, tx and tz each write a single sound, but they are treated as pairs of letters. See z, s and x, tz, ts and tx, r and rr and ll, ñ, tt and dd.
- No accent marks. Basque spelling never marks stress. See Basque word stress.
- Read every letter. There are no silent final letters as in English or French. The one exception is h, which many speakers leave silent. See the letters h and j.
One small detail: in loanwords, x between vowels is read as ks, as in taxi. In Basque words it always sounds like English sh.
This spelling was set by Euskaltzaindia, the Basque Language Academy, as part of Euskara Batua. You will still see older spellings on signs and in surnames, such as Etcheverry for Etxeberri. See older spelling.
Examples (5)
- Gure etxea kale honetan dago.
Our house is on this street.
Word by Word: Our house-the street this-on is.
Etxea has tx, one sound like English ch. Kale is written with k.
- Kafe bat, mesedez.
A coffee, please.
Word by Word: Coffee one, please.
Borrowed words are respelled the Basque way: kafe, not café.
- Gipuzkoan bizi naiz.
I live in Gipuzkoa.
Word by Word: Gipuzkoa-in living I-am.
Place names use k as well. The Spanish spelling Guipúzcoa is not used in Basque.
- Iñaki taxi batean dator.
Iñaki is coming in a taxi.
Word by Word: Iñaki taxi one-in comes.
Ñ is a letter of its own. In the loanword taxi, x is read as ks.
- Nire laguna Venezuelakoa da.
My friend is from Venezuela.
Word by Word: My friend-the Venezuela-from-the is.
The letter v appears in foreign names like Venezuela, and it sounds like b.
Common Mistakes
Writing c or qu for the k-sound in Basque words.
Calean nago.Kalean nago.Basque words always use k for this sound: kalea, kafea, Bizkaia. The letters c and q are only for foreign names.
Adding Spanish-style accent marks.
Kafé bat, mesedez.Kafe bat, mesedez.Basque words never take accent marks, and everyday borrowed words like kafe drop them. Only some foreign names keep their own spelling, such as Cáceres.
Using the French-style spelling ch for the tx sound.
Gure etchea handia da.Gure etxea handia da.Standard Basque writes this sound tx. The spelling ch survives only in some older names and surnames.
How It Connects
Related Patterns
- z / s / xThe Sibilants Z, S and X
Explains the three s-like sounds and their letters.
Level 1 - tz / ts / txThe Affricates Tz, Ts and Tx
Covers three of the two-letter spellings that write one sound.
Level 1 - ll / ñ / tt / ddPalatal Sounds
Covers ñ and the other palatal spellings.
Level 1 - h / jThe Letters H and J
Explains the one letter many speakers do not pronounce.
Level 1 - Spelling Loanwords
Shows how borrowed words are respelled with Basque letters.
Level 2 - Older Spelling
Explains older spellings you will still see in names and on signs.
Level 6
Learn Next
Patterns that build on this one.
Practice The Basque Alphabet in Bubblegum
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