1. Alphabet
Capital Letter Small Letter Pronunciation As in (English)
1. A - a - a = afternoon
2. B - b - ba = barter
3. C - c - ca = chapter
4. D - d - da = darling
5. E - e - e = egg
6. F - f - fa = father
7. G - g - ga = garden
8. H - h - ha = half
9. I - i - i = if
10. J - j - dzei = jean
11. K - k - ka = kabaddi
12. L - l - la = laugh
13. M - m - ma = mother
14. N - n - na = narcotic
15. O - o - o = olive
16. P - p - pa = pen
17. Q - q - qiu = queen
18. R - r - ra = ram
19. S - s - sa = Saturday
20. T - t - ta = target
21. U - u - u = urdu
22. V - v - va = varnish
23. W - w - wa = water
24. X - x - x = x-ray
25. Y - y - ya = yam
26. Z - z - zet = zebra
Vowels: a, e, i, o, u,
Consonants: b, c, d, f, g, h, j, k, l, m, n, p, q, r, s, t, v, w, x, y, z.
Diphthongs: ai, ao, au, eu, ia, oi, ou, ua ui,
Pronunciation Guide:
1. Three vowels, namely “a,” “o,” and “i” can sometimes stand alone.
E.g.: a = my; a pui = my mother; o! = o!; I = I
2. Four diphthongs, namely “ai”, “au”, “ei” and “eu” can either stand alone or form a separate syllable.
E.g.: ai = I (in Rongmei); au = is (in Zeme); “ei”= okay; “eu” = yes (in Zeme).
3. With the exception of the letters “m” and “n” all other consonants cannot stand alone. They form syllables only with the help of either vowels or diphthongs.
E.g.: bata = ba.ta; herakesia = he.ra.ke.sia; mina = mi.na
But mta = m.ta (free); mpet = m.pet (come out); kemtak = ke.m.tak (rest)
nda = n.da (in the past); nsung = n.sung (remember); nroi = n.roi (axe)
4. The nasal sound “ng” is written with the combination of the letters “n” and “g” = “ng”:
E.g.: nang = nang; hangna = hang.na; ngkap = ng.kap (lost/destroy)
5. If double consonants (other than “ng”) appear in word, the first consonant goes with the preceding vowel, and the second consonant goes with the following vowel.
E.g.: rampau = ram.pau; hangdeu = hang.deu (earth)
6. The letter “w” is used at the beginning of the syllable or word.
E.g., wang = come; wige = there
7. The letter “u” comes always after a consonant.
E.g., heguang = king; hekuak = plate.
8. Proper nouns will start with capital letter
E.g., Haingambe, Peren, Tening, Tamenglong, etc.) but all other nouns will be written in small letters.
9. We use the letter “e” when a word ends with a consonant
E.g., bam e; wang e; din e); but “ye” when a word ends with a vowel (sa ye; ke ye; wi ye; kambo ye; and ku ye).
Common Syllables.
a e i o u ai au eu ia oi ua
b = ba be bi bo bu bai bau beu bia boi bua
c = ca ce ci co cu cai cau ceu cia coi cua
d = da de di do du dai dau deu dia doi dua
f = fa fi fo fu fua
g = ga ge gi go gu gai gau geu gia goi gua
h = ha he hi ho hu hai hau heu hia hoi hua
j = ja Ji Jo Ju jai
k = ka ke ki ko ku kai kau keu kia koi kua
l = la le li lo lu lai lau leu lia loi lua
m = ma me mi mo mu mai mau meu mia moi mua
n = na ne ni no nu nai nau neu nia noi nua
p = pa pe pi po pu pai pau peu pia poi pua
q = qa qi qu
r = ra re ri ro ru rai rau reu ria roi rua
s = sa se si so su sai sau seu sia soi sua
t = ta te ti to tu tai tau teu tia toi tua
w = wa we wi wo wai wau
x = xa xi xu
y = ya ye yi yu yau yia
z = za ze zi zo zu zai zau zeu zia zoi zua