BosanskiThe Bosnian alphabet, letter by letter
30 letters, and every one is always pronounced the same way.
The Bosnian Latin alphabet has 30 letters. Bosnian is written exactly as it sounds: one letter, one sound, no silent letters. Learn the 30 sounds and you can read any Bosnian word out loud.
All 30 letters
| Letter | Sounds like | Hear it in a word |
|---|---|---|
| A a | a as in father | auto avion ananas |
| B b | b as in bed | beba banana brat |
| C c | ts as in cats | cvijeće cvijet cesta |
| Č č | ch as in church, hard | čaj čarape ključ |
| Ć ć | a softer ch, tongue near the teeth | ćevapi voće kuća |
| D d | d as in dog | dom daleko drvo |
| Dž dž | j as in jam, hard | džem džep narudžba |
| Đ đ | a softer j, tongue near the teeth | rođak doviđenja leđa |
| E e | e as in bed | evo ekran evo me |
| F f | f as in fun | fudbal flaša farba |
| G g | g as in go | grad glava garaža |
| H h | h, a little breathier, like the end of Bach | hljeb hvala hajmo! |
| I i | ee as in see | ime igra iglu |
| J j | y as in yes | jaje jabuka jutro |
| K k | k as in kite | kuća kruh kafić |
| L l | l as in lamp | lopta luk lampa |
| Lj lj | lli as in million | ljeto ljubav ljut |
| M m | m as in mom | mama mlijeko mačka |
| N n | n as in no | nos navijač narandža |
| Nj nj | ny as in canyon | njiva doviđenja godišnjica |
| O o | o as in more | oko odlično olovka |
| P p | p as in pen | paprika papuče put |
| R r | a rolled r | ruka riba ruža |
| S s | s as in sun | sankanje sapun sedmica |
| Š š | sh as in shoe | šešir škola šuma |
| T t | t as in top | tata torba trava |
| U u | oo as in moon | ulica uho usta |
| V v | v as in van | voda vrata vjetar |
| Z z | z as in zoo | zub zdravlje zvijezda |
| Ž ž | s as in measure | žena žaba žuto |
The letters English does not have
Eight letters will be new: č, ć, dž, đ, š, ž, lj, nj. Three of them (dž, lj, nj) are written with two characters but count as one letter. The pairs that trip people up are č and ć, and dž and đ. See the pronunciation guide for how to tell them apart.
Do Bosnians also use Cyrillic?
Bosnian is officially written in both Latin and Cyrillic script, but in everyday life, in the diaspora, and in this app, Latin is what you will see. This page and the whole Bosanski course use Latin.
Questions
How many letters are in the Bosnian alphabet?
30. Dž, lj and nj are each one letter, written with two characters.
Is Bosnian spelled the way it sounds?
Yes. Every letter always makes the same sound, so once you know the 30 sounds you can read any word.