The following are the most commonly heard sounds of Umonhon and their orthographic (written) representation.
Letter | Umonhon example | English example |
a | ská (white) | father |
b | biamá (they say) | boy |
ch | chéshka (short) | church |
chʰ | íⁿchʰoⁿ (right now) | church |
d | dúba (four) | dog |
e | shé (apple) | weight, Las Vegas |
ɛ | hɛ (louse) | bet |
ɛⁿ | hithɛⁿkithe (hurry) | hen |
g | égoⁿ (like that) | girl |
h | huhú (fish) | high |
i | ní (water) | radio |
in | wíⁿ (one) | mean (with a soft n) |
j | júba (a little bit) | judge |
k | ké (turtle) | skate |
kʰ | akʰí (I return home) | key |
m | mí (sun) | man |
n | nú (man) | no |
on | óⁿba (day) | yawn (with a soft n) |
p | pá (nose) | spit |
pʰ | óⁿ pʰoⁿ (elk) | pot |
s | sábe (black) | sun |
sh | shé (apple) | ship |
t | té (bison) | stop |
tʰ | a tʰí (I'm here) | top |
th | tháwa (to count) | that |
u | tú (blue) | blue |
w | waʔú (woman) | wing |
x | xubé (holy) | Bach (voiceless, raspy) |
gh, ğ | ğáge (cry, weep) | Bach (voiced, soft) |
z | zí (yellow) | zoo |
zh | zhíⁿga (small) | beige |
ʔ | tʔé (dead) | uh-oh (glottal stop) |
Marking stress on the correct syllable is very important in Umónhon. Moving the accent mark can change the meaning of the word. For example: bthítube — "I pinch," becomes bthitúbe — "I chop," while wáthathe — "table," becomes watháthe — "food."