Key Tongan sounds, the fakau'a glottal stop, macron vowel length, and stress patterns for accurate pronunciation. Front: the sound pattern or example word. Back: meaning plus a plain-English pronunciation note.
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- Fakauʻa (glottal stop)
- Written as a reversed apostrophe ʻ; it is a full consonant in Tongan, and dropping it can change a word's meaning entirely.
- Macron (long vowel mark)
- A bar over a vowel (ā, ē, ī, ō, ū) showing the vowel is held about twice as long as a plain vowel.
- Ng sound
- Written as the two letters "ng" but pronounced as one sound, like the "ng" in English "singer". Example word: tangata (person).
- H sound
- Tongan has a clear "h" sound, pronounced like the English "h". Example word: haʻu (to come).
- No R sound
- Tongan has no native "r" sound; loanwords containing "r" are usually adapted using "l" instead.
- Open syllables
- Tongan words and syllables almost always end in a vowel, not a consonant.
- Five vowel qualities
- Tongan has five vowels, a, e, i, o, u, each with a short and a long version.
- Penultimate stress
- Word stress in Tongan typically falls on the second-to-last syllable.
- F sound
- Pronounced like the English "f".
- S sound
- Always a plain, voiceless "s" as in English "sun".
- V sound
- Pronounced like the English "v".
- Unaspirated P, T, K
- These sounds are crisper and less breathy than in English, with no puff of air released.
- M and N sounds
- Standard nasal sounds, as in English "man" and "no".
- L sound
- A clear, light "l" as in English "let".
- Diphthong "au"
- A vowel glide as in kaumeʻa (friend), similar to the "ow" in English "cow".
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