Diphthongs and Other Letter Pairings
Diphthongs
Certain vowel and semi-vowel combinations (
diphthongs ) are pronounced differently in Filipino than in English.
Here are the diphthong pronunciations you should learn:
Examples:
"aw" is pronounced like the vowels in the English words "loud" or "proud" or "cow"
"ey" is pronounced as in the English word "stay" or "play" or "tray"
"iw" at the end of a word is pronounced as in the English sound "ee-oo"
"uy" at the end of a word is pronounced as in the English word "oo-ee"
kasúy badúy "oy" is pronounced like the vowels in the English words "boy" or "toy" or "soy"
Examples:
"ay" is pronounced like the vowels in the English words "sky" or "tie" or "try"
kaway
bantay
ayaw
bahay
pamaypay
tatay
"aw" is pronounced like the vowels in the English words "loud" or "proud" or "cow"
"ey" is pronounced as in the English word "stay" or "play" or "tray"
"iw" at the end of a word is pronounced as in the English sound "ee-oo"
"uy" at the end of a word is pronounced as in the English word "oo-ee"
kasuy
baduy
"oy" is pronounced like the vowels in the English words "boy" or "toy" or "soy"
Other Letter Pairings:
Other letter pairings where the Filipino pronunciation is different than in English:
Examples:
"ts" is pronounced similar to "ch" in the English word "teacher"
titser
tsek
tsokolate
tsinelas
"sy" and "siy" is pronounced similar to "sh" in the English word "shout"
siya
siyete
siyam
siyokoy
"dy" and "diy" are pronounced similar to "j" in the English word "jeep"
dyipni
dyakpat
dyak en poy
diyaryo
diyos