Alphabet & spelling
Letter names, digraphs, accents, and how to spell names aloud.
How spelling works
Catalan uses the Latin alphabet plus ç. The combinations ll, ny, qu, gu, ig, and tx represent important sound patterns but are not separate alphabet letters. K, W, and Y mainly occur in international words and names.
Letter names
| Letter | Catalan name | Example |
|---|---|---|
| A a | a | amor |
| B b | be | barri |
| C c | ce | casa / ciutat |
| Ç ç | ce trencada | plaça |
| D d | de | dia |
| E e | e | estació |
| F f | efa | família |
| G g | ge | gat / gent |
| H h | hac | hotel |
| I i | i | illa |
| J j | jota | jardí |
| K k | ca | kiwi |
| L l | ela | llibre |
| M m | ema | mercat |
| N n | ena | nit |
| O o | o | oli |
| P p | pe | pa |
| Q q | cu | quatre |
| R r | erra | restaurant |
| S s | essa | setmana |
| T t | te | tren |
| U u | u | universitat |
| V v | ve baixa | vi |
| W w | ve doble | web |
| X x | ics / xeix | taxi / xarxa |
| Y y | i grega | nylon |
| Z z | zeta | zona |
Accents, apostrophes, and the middle dot
- Acute accents mark close é, ó; grave accents mark à, è, ò. Both mark unexpected stress.
- The apostrophe joins el/la/de to a following vowel: l’amiga, d’Europa. It also appears in clitics: m’agrada.
- The middle dot keeps two l sounds separate: col·legi, il·lusió. It is not the same as ll.
- The diaeresis marks a pronounced u in qüestió or separate vowels in veïna.
Examples you can use
Com s’escriu el teu cognom?
How is your surname spelled?
Escriu “Júlia” amb accent a la u.
Write “Júlia” with an accent on the u.
El meu correu és nom, punt, cognom.
My email is first name, dot, surname.
“Catalunya” s’escriu amb ena i i grega.
“Catalunya” is spelled with n and y.
L’adreça té un punt volat a “col·legi”.
The address has a middle dot in “col·legi”.
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