The Glottal Stop (puso)
The puso is a letter for a quick catch in the throat, written inside a word.
How It Works
The puso is the last of the 33 letters. Its name comes from pu “sound” and so “cut”, a cut in the sound.
To make it, stop the air in your throat for a moment, as you do in the middle of uh-oh. A very quiet cough makes the same stop. In quick speech it can almost vanish, so mbaʼe may sound like mbae. In writing it stays.
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| avañeʼẽ | the Guarani language |
| mbaʼe | thing |
| ñeʼẽ | word, language |
| hiʼára | his or her time |
A word that begins with a vowel also has a stop before the vowel, and it is usually not written. It shows up when a prefix is added: ára “time” becomes hiʼára “his or her time”.
Write the puso as the letter ʼ. It belongs to the word, so it is not a quotation mark and it does not split the word in two.
Examples (5)
- avañeʼẽ
the Guarani language
The puso sits between ñ and ẽ.
- mbaʼe
thing
The puso sits between a and e.
- ñeʼẽ
word, language
The puso sits between the nasal vowels.
- hiʼára
his or her time
Adding hi- brings out the puso that was hidden before ára.
- Mbaʼéichapa reiko?
How are you?
The puso is inside mbaʼéichapa, the word for how.
Common Mistakes
Leaving the puso out of a word.
avañeẽavañeʼẽFast speech may drop the stop, but the puso is a letter and stays in the written word.
How It Connects
Learn This First
The puso is a letter of the alphabet, so learners meet the alphabet before it.
Related Patterns
Words in This Pattern
Practice The Glottal Stop (puso) in Bubblegum
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