How it works
This Hmong alphabet chart prints the letters that write the Hmong language in the Romanized Popular Alphabet, RPA: 56 consonant spellings, 13 vowels and the letters that mark tone. The set is White Hmong.
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How the consonants are built
Most Hmong consonants are written with two, three or four letters. Start from a plain one such as p. An n in front makes np, an h after it makes ph, and both make nph. With m, ml, n, ny and l the h goes in front: hm, hml, hn, hny, hl.
The last letter is the tone
Every Hmong syllable ends in a vowel, so a consonant letter written last is free to mark the tone. Pob, with b, is said high and means ball. Pos, with s, is low and means thorn.
- In Hmong the letter w is a vowel.
- Green Mong adds dl, dlh, ndl, ndlh and the vowel aa, and does without d, dh, hm, hn, hny, hml and ia.
- A d at the end of a word is a form of the m tone, heard at the end of a phrase.
Questions and answers
How many letters are in the Hmong alphabet?
RPA uses all 26 letters of the Latin alphabet and no accent marks. With them it spells 56 consonants, 13 vowels and seven tones in White Hmong.
What are the Hmong consonants?
Seventeen are one letter: c, d, f, h, k, l, m, n, p, q, r, s, t, v, x, y and z. The other 39 use two to four letters, from ch and dh to nplh, ntsh and ntxh.
What are the Hmong vowels?
In White Hmong: i, e, a, o, u, w, ee, oo, ai, aw, au, ia and ua. Six are single vowels, ee and oo are said through the nose, and five glide from one vowel to another.
What are the tone letters in Hmong?
B is high, s low, j high falling, v mid rising, m creaky and g low falling and breathy. A word with no tone letter is mid. One syllable shows all seven: pob, po, pos, poj, pov, pom, pog.
What is RPA in Hmong?
The Romanized Popular Alphabet, a way to write Hmong in Latin letters. It was made in Laos between 1951 and 1953 and became the most widespread system for writing Hmong in the West.