IPA | listen | VLACH | phonetic description | example (translation) |
a | ▶ | Aa | near-open central unrounded | cásă (house) |
b | ▶ | Bb | voiced bilabial plosive | bag (I put) |
c | ▶ | Kʲkʲ | voiceless palatal plosive | kʲári (he/she loses) |
ç | ▶ | Hʲhʲ | voiceless palatal fricative | hʲári, hʲḙári (gall) |
ɕ | ▶ | Śś | voiceless alveolo-palatal sibilant | ind. úśă (door) |
d | ▶ | Dd | voiced alveolar plosive | dínti (tooth) |
ð | ▶ | Δδ | voiced dental fricative | líγδă (animal fat) |
d͡z | ▶ | Dzʣ | voiced alveolar sibilant affricate | ʣḙána (at the top) |
d͡ʒ | ▶ | Dždž | voiced palato-alveolar affricate | bilidžíc (bracelet) |
d͡ʑ | ▶ | Dźdź | voiced alveolo-palatal affricate | dźḙána (at the top) |
e | ▶ | Ee | close-mid front unrounded vowel | meš (months) |
ə | ▶ | Ăă | mid central vowel | cásă (house), reg., ind. pắni (bread) |
ɛ | ▶ | Ɛɛ | open-mid front unrounded vowel | r. pέni (bread) |
f | ▶ | Ff | voiceless labiodental fricative | áflu (find) |
ɟ | ▶ | Gʲgʲ | voiced palatal plosive | gʲáʦă (ice) |
g | ▶ | Gg | voiced velar plosive | grec (Greek) |
ɣ | ▶ | Γγ | voiced velar fricative | aγónʲa (fast) |
h, χ | ▶, ▶ | Hh | voiceless glottal (uvular) fricative | reg. hránă (food) |
i | ▶ | Ii | close front unrounded vowel | dínti (tooth) |
j | ▶ | Ĭĭ | palatal approximant or semivowel | ĭásti (he/she is), ĭo (I) |
ʲ | ʲ | palatalization of previous sound | kʲári (he/she loses), gʲíză (cottage cheese) | |
ʝ | ▶ | Γʲγʲ | voiced palatal fricative | γʲíngʲiʦ (twenty), r. γʲínγʲiʦ (twenty) |
k | ▶ | Cc | voiceless velar plosive | cásă (house) |
l | ▶ | Ll | alveolar lateral approximant | lup (wolf) |
ɫ | ▶ | Ɫɫ | velarized alveolar lateral approx. | ind., reg. ɫup (wolf) |
ʎ | ▶ | Lʲlʲ | palatal lateral approximant | hʲílʲu (son) |
m | ▶ | Mm | bilabial nasal | mári (big) |
n | ▶ | Nn | alveolar nasal | nári (nose) |
ɲ | ▶ | Nʲnʲ | palatal nasal | armî́nʲ (Aromanians) |
o | ▶ | Oo | (close-)mid back rounded vowel | foc (fire) |
ɔ | ▶ | ɔƆ | open-mid back rounded vowel | r. ùn-ɔ́ra (a time) |
ɤ | ▶ | Îî | close-mid back unrounded | a. pî́ni (bread) |
p | ▶ | Pp | voiceless bilabial plosive | lup (wolf) |
r | ▶ | Rr | alveolar trill | ráʦi (cold) |
ʀ | ▶ | Ʀʀ | uvular fricative or trill | r. ʀáʦi (cold) |
s | ▶ | Ss | voiceless alveolar sibilant | cásă (house) |
ʃ | ▶ | Šš | voiceless palato-alveolar sibilant | úšă (door) |
t | ▶ | Tt | voiceless alveolar plosive | tétă (aunt) |
θ | ▶ | Θθ | voiceless dental fricative | cáθi (every) |
t͡s | ▶ | ʦʦ | voiceless alveolar sibilant affricate | ʦap (he-goat) |
t͡ʃ | ▶ | Čč | voiceless palato-alveolar affricate | fičór (boy) |
t̠͡ɕ | ▶ | Ćć | voiceless alveolo-palatal affricate | ind., reg. fićór (boy) |
u | ▶ | Uu | close back rounded vowel | bun (good) |
ᵘ | ᵘ | faintly audible u | omᵘ (man) | |
v | ▶ | Vv | voiced labiodental fricative | váli (valley) |
w | ▶ | Ŭŭ | voiced labio-velar approximant | nḙáŭă (snow) |
z | ▶ | Zz | voiced alveolar sibilant | χázi (joke, pleasure) |
ʑ | ▶ | Źź | voiced alveolo-palatal sibilant | ind., reg. źuźunár (cicada) |
ʒ | ▶ | Žž | voiced palato-alveolar sibilant | žužunár (cicada) |
Diphthongs and triphthongs vs. semivowels
The diphthongs ḙa/i̭a and o̭a/ṷa contrast with ĭa (IPA /ja/) and ŭa (IPA /wa/) respectively, though they sound similar and they do not form minimal pairs. We usually note them as diphthongs (ḙa/i̭a, o̭a/ṷa) and use ĭ and ŭ only when the approximant has a clear consonantal character; both may appear according region, speaker and phonetical surroundings (e.g. i̭ásti/ĭásti, bi̭ui̭/bĭui̭, aṷá/aŭá, nḙáṷă/nḙáŭă).
Abbreviations
a. | armînḙášti (Southern varieties: Pindus, Gramos et al.) |
r. | ʀămănέšti (Northern varieties: Farsherot et al.) |
ind. | individual |
reg. | regional |