The Czech Alphabet

The Czech alphabet has 42 letters: the basic 26, ch, and 15 letters with a háček (ˇ), čárka (´) or kroužek (˚). The čárka and the kroužek mark long vowels. Tap any letter to hear its name in Czech.

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All 42 letters

Tap any letter to hear its name in Czech.

á say “ah” a as in “father”, but short
dlouhé á say “DLOH-heh ah” the same “ah”, held twice as long
bé say “beh” b as in “bed”
cé say “tseh” ts as in “cats”
čé say “cheh” ch as in “church”
dé say “deh” d as in “dog”
Ď ď ďé say “dyeh” a soft d, like the d in British “duke” (dyook)
é say “eh” e as in “bed”
dlouhé é say “DLOH-heh eh” e as in “bed”, held long
é s háčkem say “eh s HAHCH-kem” ye as in “yes” after b, p, v, f; softens d, t, n before it (dě = “dye”); mě = “mnye”
ef f as in “fun”
gé say “geh” g as in “go”
há say “hah” a voiced, breathy h, deeper than English h
chá say “khah” ch as in Scottish “loch”
měkké í say “MNYEK-keh ee” ee as in “see”
dlouhé í say “DLOH-heh ee” ee as in “see”, held long
jé say “yeh” y as in “yes”
ká say “kah” k as in “skip” (no puff of air)
el l as in “let”
em m as in “man”
en n as in “no”
eň say “eny” ny as in “canyon”
ó say “oh” a short, pure o (no “oh-oo” glide)
dlouhé ó say “DLOH-heh oh” a long, pure “oh” (mostly in loanwords)
pé say “peh” p as in “spin” (no puff of air)
kvé say “kveh” kv (only in foreign words)
er rolled r, as in Spanish “perro”
Ř ř eř say “erzh” a rolled r and a “zh” said at the same time, as in “Dvořák” (no English equivalent)
es s as in “sun”
eš say “esh” sh as in “shop”
té say “teh” t as in “stop” (no puff of air)
ťé say “tyeh” a soft t, like the t in British “tune” (tyoon)
ú say “oo” oo as in “food”, but short
dlouhé ú say “DLOH-heh oo” a long “oo”, as in “food”; ú and ů sound the same (ú at the start of a word, ů inside)
ú s kroužkem say “oo s KROUZH-kem” a long “oo”, as in “food”; ú and ů sound the same (ú at the start of a word, ů inside)
vé say “veh” v as in “van”
dvojité vé say “DVOY-ee-teh veh” v (only in foreign words)
iks ks as in “box”
ypsilon say “IP-si-lon” the same as i: a short ee (y is written after hard consonants)
dlouhé ypsilon say “DLOH-heh IP-si-lon” the same as í: a long ee
zet z as in “zoo”
žet say “zhet” s as in “pleasure”

7 letters that sound different for English speakers

Never k or s: always ts, as in “cats” cena · price
Sounds like the y in “yes” jaro · spring
A rolled r and “zh” at once: the famous Czech sound řeka · river
Not a plain e: it adds a y-glide (země = “zem-nyeh”) země · country
One letter, said like ch in Scottish “loch” chodba · hall
A voiced, breathy h, not the light English one hodina · hour
The ring means a long “oo”, not an o dům · house

Ch, ř, ě, ů and the accents

Letters	Example	Sound
ch		One letter, after h in the alphabet: ch as in Scottish “loch”
ř		A rolled r with a “zh” buzz at the same time; after p, t, k it sounds more like “rsh”
dě · tě · ně · mě		ě softens d, t, n (dyeh, tyeh, nyeh); mě sounds “mnyeh”; bě, pě, vě = bye, pye, vye
ď · ť · ň		The háček softens the letter: d, t, n with a y-glide, as in teď (now) and oheň (fire)
á é í ó ú ý		The čárka makes a vowel long; length can change the meaning
ů · ú		Both are a long “oo”: ú starts a word, ů comes inside or at the end

A word for every letter

Each letter below has its name and a real word from the Flashcardly course (starting with the letter where one exists), with a picture and native audio.