The Filipino alphabet (, formerly ) is the official alphabet of Filipino, the national language of the Philippines, and the de facto alphabet of all other Philippine languages. The standard Filipino alphabet is made up of 28 letters, comprising the entire letter set of the ISO basic Latin alphabet, the Spanish letter Ñ, and the nativized digraph NG. The digraph was retained from the 31-letter "enriched" Filipino alphabet (), which was adopted from the 20-letter Abakada alphabet (), in turn adapted from the digraph N͠G under the 32-letter modified Spanish alphabet ().

Majuscule form A B C D E F G H I J K L M N Ñ NG O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Minuscule form a b c d e f g h i j k l m n ñ ng o p q r s t u v w x y z

In 2013, the Commission on the Filipino Language () published ("National Orthography"), a new set of guidelines that resolved long-standing issues in phonemic representation across Philippine languages. This was supplemented in 2014 by ("KWF Handbook on Proper Writing"), which provided a broader scope of typographic, stylistic, and formatting guidelines not previously covered. Together, these laid the groundwork for the Commission's Harmonization of Orthographies of Filipino Languages () initiative, with the standard Filipino alphabet as part of the "universal model" for all existing and upcoming state-sanctioned orthographies. Since regional and local orthographies may adapt national guidelines to represent phonemes absent in Tagalog, on which Filipino is originally based, this has led to the introduction of new graphemes and diacritics in Filipino as well as the reintroduction of historical Spanish-based letters and digraphs.

This article discusses the use of the Filipino alphabet in writing Filipino and all other Philippine languages.

Graphemes

Standard Filipino alphabet Each grapheme in the is called a títik, most of which represent a distinctive sound. They are classified as a patínig (vowel) or a katínig (consonant). The letters W and Y may be classified as a malápatínig (semivowel). The letters are alphabetized and pronounced in the same way as in English, save for the (letter) Ñ and (digraph) NG.

Letter/Digraph Name IPA ContextFor other Philippine languages A ey Becomes in unstressed syllables and in stressed syllables. B bi C si , For unassimilated words in Spanish and English, ⟨ca, co, cu⟩ generally represent , while ⟨ce, ci⟩ generally represent . Historically, words now written with ⟨ka, ko, ku⟩ were written with ⟨ca, co, cu⟩ under the Abesedaryo.Also used in Philippine languages where is orthographically preserved as ⟨ch⟩. D di In Tagalog, often allophonic with in intervocalic position, which is usually reflected in spelling (e.g., dami "amount" vs. marami "many"). However, not all words follow this convention (e.g., dali "ease" vs. madali "easy"), and some have diverged to carry distinct meanings (e.g., madamdamin "passionate" vs. maramdamin "sensitive"). E i , Normally , but can become in emphatic speech. Also normally in words from Philippine languages where it occurs, as the dedicated letter Ë was only introduced in 2013. F ef Often indistinguishable from . Generally used for proper names (e.g., Felix, Ifugao) and words of English origin (e.g., fakulti "teaching staff"). Also used in Filipino words of Tëduray origin (e.g., faga "meteorite").Also used in Philippine languages where occurs. G ji, dyi, diyí ; , ; Always . For unassimilated foreign words, ⟨ga, go, gu⟩ generally represent in English and Spanish, while ⟨ge, gi⟩ generally represent in English and in Spanish. Historically, words now written with ⟨ge, gi⟩ were written with ⟨gue, gui⟩ under the Abesedaryo.Also normally in Philippine languages where it occurs, such as Boînën (e.g., sugud "spouse"), as the dedicated letter G̓ was only introduced in 2023. H eych, eyts Sometimes pronounced . I ay Becomes in unstressed syllables and in stressed syllables. J jey, dyey, diyéy , Sometimes indistinguishable from or . Usually respelled with ⟨dy, diy⟩ to represent or , or with ⟨h⟩ to represent or . For unassimilated foreign words, ⟨j⟩ generally represents and in English, and and in Spanish. Also used in Filipino words of Bahasa Sug origin (e.g., julup "imbecile").Also used in Philippine languages where occurs. K key Always unaspirated in clear speech and often unreleased in coda (e.g., /aˈnak̚/ "child"). only with (e.g., bakwit "evacuee", kuwintas "necklace").Not to be confused with . L el Also used in Philippine languages where is orthographically preserved as ⟨ll⟩. M em N en only with (e.g., pinya "pineapple", kaniya "his/her[s]/its"). Ñ énye Usually respelled with ⟨ny, niy⟩. Generally used for proper names (e.g., Niño, Malacañang) and recent words of Spanish origin (e.g., ñu "wildebeest"). Also used in Ivatan (e.g., iñinen "to lament"), Ichbayaten (e.g., hañin "typhoon"), and other Philippine languages where occurs. NG énji, éndyi, éndiyí Comparable to in English along and singer. Not to be confused with the indirect case marker ng pronounced . only in words of Spanish origin containing ⟨ngl, ngr⟩ (e.g., Ingles "English", kongreso "congress"). O o, ow Normally , but can become in emphatic speech. P pi Always unaspirated in clear speech and often unreleased in coda (e.g., /haˈrap̚/ "front"). only with (e.g., datapwat "nevertheless", kapuwa "fellow").Not to be confused with . Q kyu, kiyú , Usually respelled with ⟨kw, kuw, k⟩. Generally used for proper names (e.g., Tariq, Siquijor) and words of English (e.g., quits), Spanish (e.g., quedan "warehouse receipt"), and Arabic origins (e.g., talaq "husband-initiated divorce"). Also used for Filipino words of ultimate Latin origin (e.g., quorum). Historically, words now written with ⟨ke, ki⟩ were written with ⟨que, qui⟩ under the Abesedaryo.Also used in Philippine languages where ⟨q⟩ is orthographically preserved. R ar Normally , but can become within consonant clusters. Also used in Philippine languages where is orthographically preserved as ⟨rr⟩. S es T ti Always unaspirated in clear speech and often unreleased in coda (e.g., /ˈapat̚/ "four"). only with (e.g., estatwa "statue", tuwina "at all times") and in a few exceptions (e.g., bituin "star").Not to be confused with . U yu , Becomes in unstressed syllables and in stressed syllables. Also normally in words from Philippine languages where it occurs, as the dedicated letter Ë was only introduced in 2013. V vi Often indistinguishable from . Generally used for proper names (e.g., Valdez, Davao) and words of English origin (e.g., varayti "variety"). Also used in Filipino words of Chabacano origin (e.g., vinta "outrigger boat").Also used in Philippine languages where occurs. W dóbolyú X eks , , , , , Usually respelled with ⟨eks, ks, s, h, z⟩. Generally used for proper names (e.g., Roxas, Mexico) and words of English origin (e.g., xerox "photocopy"). Also used in Filipino words of Isnëg origin (e.g., xaddan "malaria-related myalgia"). Also used for writing the sounds or in Philippine languages where they occur, such as Boînën (e.g., axag "to appropriate") and Ichbayaten (e.g., maxnep "high tide"), as the dedicated letter G̓ was only introduced in 2023. Y way , Generally for proper names (e.g., Syquia, Famy) and words of English origin (e.g., party-list "proportional representation system for under-represented sectors"). For common nouns, only with the conjunction y ("and") within phrases of Spanish origin (e.g., ala-una y medya "one-thirty"). Historically, words now written beginning with ⟨i⟩ were written beginning with ⟨y⟩ under the Abesedaryo, as evident in surnames (e.g., Ybañez, Ybarra) and archaic place names (e.g., Yligan, Ylocos) and plant names (e.g., ylang-ylang, ypil). Z zi Often indistinguishable from . Generally used for proper names (e.g., Mendoza, Zamboanga) and words of English origin (e.g., zigzag). Also used in Filipino words of Ibanag origin (e.g., ziga "hardship"). Sometimes pronounced .Also used in Philippine languages where occurs, such as Porohanon (e.g., kazu "fire").

Additional, official graphemes from other Philippine languages

Letter/Digraph Name IPA Language (Dialect) Context Ref. Ä ey patuldók Menuvu (Mänuvu Pulangiyän) B̓ bi kuwít-taás,bi pasingáw G̓insëlug̓ën Sub̓anën CH síeych, síeyts Kenachakran Ë i patuldók , Abëllën, Agutaynën, Alta, Boînën, G̓insëlug̓ën Sub̓anën, Hinigaunon, Ibaloy, Isnëg, Itnëg, Kagayanën, Kaluyanën, Kankanaëy, Mëgindënëwn, Mënubu Dulangan, Mënuvu Ubo, Mëranaw, Sangirë, Tëduray, Tinagbanwa Ḟ ef tuldók-taás Liniyas FY éfway Kenachakran G̓ ji kuwít-taás,ji pasingáw , Boînën, G̓insëlug̓ën Sub̓anën, Tinagbanwa K̇ key tuldók-taás Liniyas LL élye Ilokano S̃ es tílde,es pabakúlod Tinagbanwa T̃ ti tílde,ti pabakúlod Tinagbanwa W̓ dóbolyú kuwít-taás,dóbolyú pasingáw Tinagbanwa

Official, non-alphabetized digraphs from other Philippine languages

Digraph Name IPA Language (Dialect) Context Ref. KH kéy-eych, kéy-eyts Mëranaw SH és-eych, és-eyts Ibaloy TH tíeych, tíeyts Mëranaw TS tíes Tagalog, Sinugbuanon

Diacritics The diacritics used alongside the are the acute accent ⟨◌́⟩ (), the grave accent ⟨◌̀⟩ (), the circumflex ⟨◌̂⟩ (), the tilde ⟨◌̃⟩ ( or ), the umlaut ⟨◌̈⟩ (), the macron ⟨◌̄⟩ (), the above-dot ⟨◌̇⟩ (), the above-comma ⟨◌̓⟩ ( or ), and the inverted double-breve ⟨◌͡◌⟩ (). The acute and grave accents tend to be optional pronunciation guides, with the latter placed exclusively on word-final vowels. The circumflex is also optional on word-final vowels, but is required when placed on word-initial or word-medial vowels. The tilde, above-dot, and above-comma are placed exclusively on consonants, while the umlaut, macron, and inverted double-breve are placed exclusively on vowels; the latter is the only diacritic that spans two adjacent vowels, which indicates the absence of an intervocalic glottal stop .

In many Philippine languages, certain letter-diacritic combinations are treated as letters in their own right.

The following table lists all possible combinations of vowels and vocalic diacritics, with the letter X representing a penultimate syllable. As of 2024, not all of these combinations have been attested in Filipino or other Philippine languages with state-sanctioned orthographies. However, the is currently leading the efforts to standardize the orthographies of all Philippine languages under a "harmonized" Filipino alphabet:

Acute accent (◌́) á ā́ é ḗ ë́ ë̄́ í ī́ ó ṓ ú ū́ Grave accent (◌̀) à ā̀ è ḕ ë̀ ë̄̀ ì ī̀ ò ṑ ù ū̀ Circumflex (◌̂) â ā̂ ê ē̂ ë̂ ë̄̂ î ī̂ ô ō̂ û ū̂ Inverteddouble-breve (◌͡◌) a͡aa͡ea͡ëa͡ia͡oa͡u a͡âa͡êa͡ë̂a͡îa͡ôa͡û e͡ae͡ee͡ëe͡ie͡oe͡u e͡âe͡êe͡ë̂e͡îe͡ôe͡û ë͡aë͡eë͡ëë͡ië͡oë͡u ë͡âë͡êë͡ë̂ë͡îë͡ôë͡û i͡ai͡ei͡ëi͡ii͡oi͡u i͡âi͡êi͡ë̂i͡îi͡ôi͡û o͡ao͡eo͡ëo͡io͡oo͡u o͡âo͡êo͡ë̂o͡îo͡ôo͡û u͡au͡eu͡ëu͡iu͡ou͡u u͡âu͡êu͡ë̂u͡îu͡ôu͡û

The standardized combinations of consonants and consonantal diacritics can be found in the Character encoding section.

Punctuation marks

History

Character encoding The Filipino alphabet is supported by several character encoding systems for computers. All the letters, whether it is a precomposed character or a decomposed character sequence, reside within the Basic Multilingual Plane of Unicode, and thus are fully compatible with Unicode-based systems such as UTF-8, UTF-16, and UTF-32. ISO/IEC 8859-1 (Latin-1), Windows-1252, and 3GPP 23.038 are also popular systems in the Philippines that largely support the Filipino alphabet.

The graphemes in the extended Filipino alphabet that are not found in the ISO basic Latin alphabet can be composed using the following HTML character entities and Unicode codepoints: