Voicing Assimilation

Level 1

Slovak spelling stays the same, but some consonants change in speech: dub (oak) sounds like dup, vták (bird) like fták and pravda (truth) like prauda.

How It Works

Sound pairs. These consonants come in voiced and voiceless pairs: b–p, d–t, ď–ť, dz–c, dž–č, g–k, h–ch, z–s, ž–š, v–f. Voicing assimilation (spodobovanie) swaps one member of a pair for the other.

1. At the end, before a pause: voiceless. dub sounds like dup, sneh (snow) like snech, mráz (frost) like mrás.

2. In a group of consonants, the last one decides. babka (grandma) sounds like bapka, and kde (where) like gďe, because d is voiced. This also happens between words: loď pláva (the ship sails) sounds like loť pláva.

3. Before a vowel or l, r, m, n, j in the next word: voiced. This rule is typical of Slovak, and standard Czech does not have it:

  • tak ako (just as) sounds like tag ako
  • brat Ivana (Ivana's brother) sounds like brad Ivana
  • vlak mešká (the train is late) sounds like vlag mešká
  • s nami (with us) sounds like z nami

The letter v. Before a vowel, l or r, v is a normal v: voda (water). At the end of a syllable or word, it sounds like a short u, similar to English w: pravda (prauda), krv (blood), chlapcov. At the start of a word before a voiceless consonant, it sounds like f: vták (fták), včera (fčera, yesterday), všetko (fšetko, everything).

Spelling does not change. Write each word the way it looks in its other forms: dub, because you say duba; kde, never gde. The prepositions s and z follow the same sound rules; see s and so and z and zo.

Examples (6)

  1. V parku rastie starý dub.

    An old oak grows in the park.

    Dub ends before a pause, so it sounds like dup.

  2. Na strome sedí vták.

    A bird is sitting in the tree.

    Vták sounds like fták.

  3. To je pravda.

    That's true.

    Word by Word: That is truth.

    Pravda sounds like prauda.

  4. Kde bývaš?

    Where do you live?

    Kde sounds like gďe.

  5. Urobím to tak ako vždy.

    I'll do it the same way as always.

    Tak ako sounds like tag ako.

  6. Ideš s nami?

    Are you coming with us?

    S before n sounds like z: z nami.

Common Mistakes

  • Spelling a word the way it sounds.

    Gde je pošta?
    Kde je pošta?

    Kde sounds like gďe, but the spelling never changes.

  • Writing the voiceless sound at the end of a word.

    V parku rastie starý dup.
    V parku rastie starý dub.

    Dub sounds like dup at the end, but other forms like duba show the b, so you always write b.

  • Keeping a final consonant voiceless before a vowel.

    tak ako [tak ako]
    tak ako [tag ako]

    In standard Slovak, a final consonant becomes voiced before a vowel in the next word. This is a key difference from Czech.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

Voicing AssimilationLevel 1

Learn This First

Before Voicing Assimilation, learn The Slovak Alphabet. Assimilation changes how written consonants sound, so the letters come first.