Consonants
| b | English b in most cases, more like p at the end of a word, before another consonant, and before an h. |
Example:
bee'éé' 'it is red'
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| c | pronounced similarly to English g as in 'giant' most of the time, but more like ch in 'child' at the end of a word, before a consonant, and before the letter h 1 |
| Example:
ce'ínihii 'say it again!'
Example:
koobéec 'is it snowing?'
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| h | pronounced as in English |
| Example:
hee'ínowoo 'I know it'
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| k | pronounced similarly to English g in good, but sounds more like k at the end of a word, before a consonant and before an h. 2 |
| Example:
koobéec 'is it snowing?' Example:
nóókohut 's/he is sleeping'
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| n | pronounced as in English. |
| Example:
nii'cóó' 'it tastes good'
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| s | pronounced as in English 'sit'. However, among the Southern Arapaho, this sound is pronounced as in English 'ship', with an 'sh' sound, before the vowel i, and in cases prior to consonants where the vowel has been dropped. |
| Example:
neniisí3éinoo 'I am working'
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| t | pronounced similarly to English d in 'did', but sounds more like t at the end of a word, before a consonant, and before an h.3 |
| Example:
tous 'hello' Example:
bíixúut 'shirt'
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| 3 | pronounced as in English 'three', though sometimes closer to 'the' |
| Example:
wo3onohóe 'paper' Example:
bíí3wo 'food'
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| w | pronounced as in English |
| Example:
wohéí'okay!'
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| x | pronounced like ch in German 'lach,' or like Greek χ. It is similar to the sound of clearing the throat. |
| Example:
wóxhoox 'horse'
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| y | pronounced as in English |
| Example:
neyéi3éíno'óowu' 'school'
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| ' | is a glottal stop - what you hear in English "uh oh" between the "uh" and "oh" |
| Example:
hiwo'óhno'his/her shoes'
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2. Linguistic detail: Arapaho "k" is actually an unaspirated [k]; not actually an English [g].
3. Linguistic detail: Arapaho "t" is actually an unaspirated [t]; not actually an English [d].