The Klingon alphabetical order is as follows:

 

a, b, ch, D, e, gh, H, I, j, l, m, n, ng, o, p, q, Q, r, S, t, tlh, u, v, w, y, '

Note that ch, gh, ng, tlh and ' are considered letters in their own right, and that, as a result of this, the word nob would come before ngab in a Klingon alphabetic listing. q and Q represent two different sounds, and are thus sorted as two different letters.

Letter Name Audio

Pronunciation Guide

a 'at
As in psalm or pa, never as in crabapple.
b bay
As in bronchitis, gazebo or bribe.
ch chay
As in chew or artichoke.
D Day
Further back than English d as in dream or android. Let the tongue touch halfway between the teeth and the soft palate.
e 'et
As in sensor or pet.
gh ghay
Put tongue as if to say gobble, but relax and hum. Almost the same as H but voiced.
H Hay
As in the name of the german composer Bach. Very strong and coarse. Similar to gh but without humming.
I 'It
As in misfit or pit.
j jay
As in junk (with an initial d-sound), never as in French jour.
l lay
As in lunge or alchemy.
m may
As in mud or pneumatic.
n nay
As in nectarine or sunspot.
ng ngay
As in furlong or thing, never as in engulf. Also occurs at the beginning of syllables.
o 'ot
As in go or mosaic.
p pay
As in parallax or oppobrium, always with a strong puff or pop, never laxly.
q qay
Similar to k in kumquat, but further back. The tongue should touch the uvula while saying this. A puff of air should accompany the sound.
Q Qay
A harder variant of q, very strong and raspy.
r ray
A trilled r using the tip of the tongue.
S Say
As an English s articulated with the tongue in the Klingon D position, that is half way between the teeth and the soft pallete.
t tay
As in tarpaulin or critique. It is accompanied by a puff of air.
tlh tlhay
To learn how to say this Klingon sound, first say l, then keep your tongue in the same position and exhale. Now repeat this, but let the air build up pressure behind your tongue before releasing it. The resulting sound should be voiceless, and you should be able to feel the air escape quite forcefully on both sides of your tongue.
u 'ut
As in gnu, prune or soon, never as in but or cute.
v vay
As in vulgar or demonstrative.
w way
As in worrywart or cow.
     
  • aw, rhyming with English "cow."
  • ew, not like anything in English. Basically the "e" in "bed" run into a "w." A good way to get to this is to think of Elmer Fudd saying "tewwible."
  • Iw, also unlike anything in English. Again, it's like the "i" in "bit" run into a "w." It's close to "Eww!" the expression of disgust.
y yay
As in yodel or joy.
     
  • ay, rhyming with English "why."
  • ey, rhyming with English "may" (Note: The Klingon word may, of course, sounds like English "my." See above).
  • Iy, rhyming with English "key."
  • oy, rhyming with English "boy."
  • uy, sort of like English "gooey," but not quite. It's one syllable, while "gooey" is two. Think of English "Do you" and drop off the last vowel sound.
' qaghwI'
As in the abrupt cut-off of sound in uh-oh or unh-unh meaning "no". At the end of a word this sound is usually followed by a soft echo of the preceding sound.