Coptic Alphabet

ⲙⲉⲧⲣⲉⲙⲛⲕⲏⲙⲉ — 32 letters

Vowels Voiceless Stops Voiced Stops Aspirated Stops Fricatives Nasals Liquids Compound Demotic-derived Practice All

Vowels▶ Practice

LowerUpperNameSoundDescription
ⲁ Ⲁ ˈɑlfɑ [ɑ] open back unrounded vowel /ɑ/
ⲉ Ⲉ eɪ [e] close-mid front unrounded vowel /e/
ⲏ Ⲏ ˈhɑːte [eː] long close-mid front vowel /eː/
ⲓ Ⲓ jɑʊdɑ [i] close front unrounded vowel /i/
ⲟ Ⲟ oː [o] close-mid back rounded vowel /o/
ⲩ Ⲩ wɑ [w~u] labial approximant or vowel /w~u/
ⲱ Ⲱ oːʊ [oː] long close-mid back vowel /oː/

Voiceless Stops▶ Practice

LowerUpperNameSoundDescription
ⲕ Ⲕ ˈkɑpɑ [k] voiceless velar stop /k/
ⲡ Ⲡ piː [p] voiceless bilabial stop /p/
ⲧ Ⲧ tɑʊ [t] voiceless alveolar stop /t/

Voiced Stops

LowerUpperNameSoundDescription
ⲃ Ⲃ ˈvidɑ [v] voiced labiodental fricative /v/ (Bohairic)
ⲅ Ⲅ ˈɣɑmmɑ [ɡ~ɣ] voiced velar stop or fricative /ɡ~ɣ/
ⲇ Ⲇ ˈdɑldɑ [d] voiced alveolar stop /d/

Aspirated Stops

LowerUpperNameSoundDescription
ⲑ Ⲑ ˈtʰetʰe [tʰ] voiceless dental aspirated stop /tʰ/
ⲫ Ⲫ fiː [f] voiceless labiodental fricative /f/ (< /pʰ/)
ⲭ Ⲭ kʰiː [kʰ] voiceless velar aspirated stop /kʰ/

Fricatives▶ Practice

LowerUpperNameSoundDescription
ⲍ Ⲍ ˈzɑtɑ [z] voiced alveolar fricative /z/
ⲥ Ⲥ ˈsimɑ [s] voiceless alveolar fricative /s/

Nasals

LowerUpperNameSoundDescription
ⲙ Ⲙ miː [m] bilabial nasal /m/
ⲛ Ⲛ niː [n] alveolar nasal /n/

Liquids

LowerUpperNameSoundDescription
ⲗ Ⲗ ˈlɑʊlɑ [l] alveolar lateral approximant /l/
ⲣ Ⲣ roː [r] alveolar trill /r/

Compound▶ Practice

LowerUpperNameSoundDescription
ⲝ Ⲝ ˈeksi [ks] voiceless velar+alveolar cluster /ks/
ⲯ Ⲯ ˈepsi [ps] bilabial+alveolar cluster /ps/
ⲋ Ⲋ soʊ [s] numeral letter (=6), archaic /s/

Demotic-derived▶ Practice

LowerUpperNameSoundDescription
ϣ Ϣ ʃɑɪ [ʃ] voiceless postalveolar fricative /ʃ/
ϥ Ϥ fɑɪ [f] voiceless labiodental fricative /f/
ϧ Ϧ xɑɪ [x] voiceless velar fricative /x/ (Bohairic only)
ϩ Ϩ hoːri [h] voiceless glottal fricative /h/
ϫ Ϫ ǰɑnǰɑ [ǰ] voiced postalveolar affricate /ǰ/
ϭ Ϭ čimɑ [č] voiceless postalveolar affricate /č/
ϯ Ϯ tiː [ti] alveolar stop+vowel cluster /ti/

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