| Single | Combinations |
|---|---|
| p | pp |
| t | tt |
| k | kk |
| g | gg |
| m | mm |
| n | nn |
| s | ts |
| l | ll |
| j | tj |
| v | gv, pv |
| K | kK |
| ng | ng |
| tl | tl |
| dl |
| Short | Long |
|---|---|
| a | â |
| i | e |
| u | o |
| Single Vowel | Inuttitut Example | Approximate English Sound |
|---|---|---|
| i | ijik 'eye' | bee |
| a | anânak 'mother' | [See below] |
| u | tuttuk | boot |
| Double Vowel | Inuttitut Example |
|---|---|
| e | ijek 'eyes — two' |
| â | anânak 'mother' |
| o | pok 'bag' |
The Inuttitut a sounds like the a in French la, as in la femme ‘the woman.’ It can be heard in English if you say English word bite very slowly and listen to the first ba part before it sounds like eat. Baaaaeat.
The double vowel is simply the single vowel but held longer. In English holding a vowel does not make a lot of difference, e.g. aaaaple (apple). In Inuttitut whether you use a single or a double vowel is very important.
| Vowel Combinations | Inuttitut Example | Approximate English Sound |
|---|---|---|
| ia | siagu 'later' | reality |
| iu | siutik 'ear' | music, beautiful |
| ai | naittuk 'he/she/it is short' | site |
| au | naujak 'seagull' | now |
| ua | pualuk 'mitten’ | glue a cup |
| ui | nuitajuk 'It is visible' | weekend |