Reference: Letters to words

This quick reference lists an example word for each letter of the Nuu-chah-nulth alphabet. This can be useful for people who are already speakers of Nuu-chah-nulth, but are still learning to read the alphabet. To remind yourself how a letter is pronounced, find the letter below. The word that follows it gives you an example of that letter in context.

Letter	Name	Nuu-chah-nulth	English
a	short a	patpat	inboard motor boat
aa	long a	waa	say
c	plain c	caapin	sawbill duck
c̓	hard c	c̓awaak	one
č	c wedge	čakup	man, husband
č̓	hard c wedge	č̓apic	canoe
e	short e	čuu wey	okay, goodbye
ee	long e	—	—
h	h	husmin	kelp
ḥ	back h	ḥayu	ten
i	short i	hisit	sockeye salmon
ii	long i	tiičma	heart
k	k	kaapap	like
kʷ	round k	kʷistuup	different
k̓	hard k	k̓aaʔin	crow
k̓ʷ	hard round k	k̓ʷiis	snow
ł	barred l	łuucma	woman, wife
ƛ	barred lambda	ƛanit	splitting wedge
ƛ̓	hard barred lambda	ƛ̓isuk	white
m	m	muu	four
m̓	hard m	m̓aaya	salmonberry shoots
n	n	nunuuk	sing
n̓	hard n	n̓aas	day
o	short o	—	—
oo	long o	hink̓ooʔs	dog salmon
p	p	paasak	damp
p̓	hard p	p̓ap̓ii	ear
q	q	qawii	salmonberry
qʷ	round q	qʷinii	seagull
s	s	saasin	hummingbird
š	s wedge	šuukʷaa	sugar
t	t	tupkak	black
t̓	hard t	t̓at̓uus	star
u	short u	tukuuk	sea lion
uu	long u	tuunuu	win
w	w	witwaak	warrior
w̓	hard w	w̓aaʔak	shy
x	front x	xaaʔumin	ladder
xʷ	round front x	tuxʷii	earring
x̣	back x	x̣utay	knife
x̣ʷ	round back x	mux̣ʷaškin	soapberry
y	y	yačaa	dogfish
y̓	hard y	y̓am̓a	salal berry
ʔ	glottal stop	ʔaʔaatuu	ask
ʕ	pharyngeal stop	ʕaanis	heron

Letter	Name	Nuu-chah-nulth	English
a	short a	patpat	inboard motor boat
aa	long a	waa	say
c	plain c	caapin	sawbill duck
c̓	hard c	c̓awaak	one
č	c wedge	čuu	okay, goodbye
č̓	hard c wedge	č̓apac	canoe
e	short e	—	—
ee	long e	ƛ̓eekoo	thank you
h	h	husmin	kelp
ḥ	back h	ḥayu	ten
i	short i	hisit	sockeye salmon
ii	long i	tiičma	heart
k	k	kaapap	like
kʷ	round k	kʷistuup	different
k̓	hard k	k̓aaʔin	crow
k̓ʷ	hard round k	k̓ʷiis	snow
ł	barred l	łuucma	woman, wife
ƛ	barred lambda	ƛanat	splitting wedge
ƛ̓	hard barred lambda	ƛ̓eekoo	thank you
m	m	muu	four
m̓	hard m	m̓aayi	salmonberry shoots
n	n	nunuuk	sing
n̓	hard n	n̓aas	day
o	short o	—	—
oo	long o	ƛ̓eekoo	thank you
p	p	paasak	damp
p̓	hard p	p̓ap̓ii	ear
q	q	qawii	salmonberry
qʷ	round q	qʷinii	seagull
s	s	saasin	hummingbird
š	s wedge	šaapšaapš	umbrella
t	t	tupkak	black
t̓	hard t	t̓at̓uus	star
u	short u	tukuuk	sea lion
uu	long u	tuunuu	win
w	w	wik	no, not
w̓	hard w	w̓aaʔak	shy
x	front x	xaaʔamin	ladder
xʷ	round front x	xʷakak	swollen
x̣	back x	x̣ax̣ašk̓uk	pilot biscuit
x̣ʷ	round back x	x̣ʷitaayu	knife
y	y	yačaa	dogfish
y̓	hard y	y̓am̓a	salal berry
ʔ	glottal stop	ʔaʔaatu	ask
ʕ	pharyngeal stop	ʕaanis	heron