Diphthongs and Other Letter Pairings
Diphthongs
Certain vowel and semi-vowel combinations ( ) are pronounced differently in Filipino than in English.
Here are the diphthong pronunciations you should learn:
Examples:
"ay" is pronounced like the vowels in the English words "sky" or "tie" or "try"
"aw" is pronounced like the vowels in the English words "loud" or "proud" or "cow"
"ey" is pronounced as in the English word "stay" or "play" or "tray"
"iw" at the end of a word is pronounced as in the English sound "ee-oo"
"uy" at the end of a word is pronounced as in the English word "oo-ee"
"oy" is pronounced like the vowels in the English words "boy" or "toy" or "soy"
Other Letter Pairings:
Other letter pairings where the Filipino pronunciation is different than in English:
Examples:
"dy" and "diy" are pronounced similar to "j" in the English word "jeep"
"ts" is pronounced similar to "ch" in the English word "teacher"
"sy" and "siy" is pronounced similar to "sh" in the English word "shout"
