Alphabet & Pronunciation
In Filipino
The Filipino alphabet (Alpabetong Filipino) is based on the Latin script and consists of 28 letters. It includes all the letters of the English alphabet, plus the Spanish ñ and the digraph ng. While the letters are familiar, some are pronounced differently than in English. In this guide, you'll discover the letters of the Filipino alphabet and how each one is pronounced.
Alpabetong Filipino
Contents
Introduction
Filipino (Wikang Filipino), the national language of the Philippines, uses the Latin-based Alpabetong Filipino. Writing in the Philippines has a long history: Baybayin, an indigenous pre-colonial script, was used before Spanish colonization introduced the Latin alphabet in the 16th century. The modern Filipino alphabet was officially adopted in 1987 under the Philippine Constitution, replacing the earlier Abakada and establishing 28 letters — including ñ from Spanish influence and ng, a digraph representing a single sound.
The Filipino alphabet is written from left to right and is highly phonetic. Unlike English, there are no silent letters — every letter is pronounced. There are no tones. While the letters look familiar to English readers, some are pronounced differently (for example, c is often pronounced [s], and r is rolled). The digraph ng represents a single sound, as in the "ng" of "sing".