abc Alphabet and tones

The Fongbe alphabet: foundations and phonetics

The alphabet is the foundation of any written language. For fɔ̀ngbèvolume_up, it is the gateway to a rich, centuries-old culture. Adapted from the Latin alphabet, it includes special characters for its unique sounds.

schedule 8 min
signal_cellular_alt Beginner
abc 29 letters
1
Building numbers

The complete fɔ̀ngbè alphabet

The Fon alphabet has 29 letters, including 3 special characters (Ɖ, Ɛ, Ɔ) and 3 digraphs (GB, KP, NY) :

A
B
C
D
Ɖ
E
Ɛ
F
G
GB
H
I
J
K
KP
L
M
N
NY
O
Ɔ
P
S
T
U
V
W
X
Y
Z
2
Vowels

7 oral vowels + 5 nasal vowels

Fon has 7 oral vowels and 5 nasal vowels. Nasal vowels are marked by an “n” after the vowel.

Oral vowels:

a
as in “father”
e
as in “café”
ɛ
as in “bed”
i
as in “machine”
o
as in “go”
ɔ
as in “thought”
u
as in “food”

Nasal vowels:

an
nasalized a
ɛn
bread
in
nasalized i
ɔn
nasalized ɔ
un
nasalized u

This lesson on video, with a native speaker: Parlons Fongbe Academy — 79 video lessons with a native speaker.Discover

3
Consonants

Special consonants

Some Fon consonants have no direct equivalent in English:

ɖRetroflex D (tongue curled up)
gbG+B digraph pronounced as one sound
kpK+P digraph pronounced as one sound
hBreathy H (from the chest)
xLike the Spanish jota
nyLike “ny” in canyon
lightbulb

Allophones [b]/[m] and [ɖ]/[n]

[b] and [ɖ] appear before oral vowels. [m] and [n] before nasal vowels. This is an automatic rule that needs no special attention when speaking.

A first step into fɔ̀ngbè

The Fon alphabet captures all the melody and subtlety of the language. Mastering it is the fundamental step toward reading proverbs and tales and communicating with the millions of Fon speakers.

A fɔn ganji à ?
« Did you wake up well? » — lesson 1, free
Parlons Fongbe Academy
The full course

You’ve just read the lesson. Now listen to it.

This article gives you the forms. The Parlons Fongbe Academy gives you the voice: 79 video lessons with a native speaker from Cotonou, every tone pronounced, every sentence repeated until your ear can follow.

79 video lessons Native speaker from Cotonou Lifetime access, one payment
Access the course

Site offer · 80 000 instead of50,000 FCFA

One free trial lesson when you sign up.

Go further