Help:IPA/Quechua

Wikipedia key to pronunciation of Quechua From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The chart below shows the ways in which IPA represents the pronunciations of Quechuan languages in Wikipedia articles. For a guide to adding IPA characters to Wikipedia articles, see Template:IPA and Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Pronunciation § Entering IPA characters.

This is the pronunciation key for IPA transcriptions of Quechua on Wikipedia.

It provides a set of symbols to represent the pronunciation of Quechua in Wikipedia articles, and example words that illustrate the sounds that correspond to them. Integrity must be maintained between the key and the transcriptions that link here; do not change any symbol or value without establishing consensus on the talk page first.

For an introductory guide on IPA symbols, see Help:IPA. For the distinction between [ ], / / and ⟨ ⟩, see IPA § Brackets and transcription delimiters.

Shortcuts

H:IPA-QUH:IPA-QU
H:IPA-QUZ
H:IPA-QUY
H:IPA-QWH
H:IPA-QWC

A superscript flag signals a sound or spelling found specifically in the Cuzco-Collao varieties, is for Ayacucho Quechua, is for Ancash Quechua, ^c is for Chachapoyas Quechua and is for Wanka Quechua.

More information Consonants, IPA ...

Consonants
IPA	Orthography	Examples	English approximation
dʒ	ll^c	llusha^[1]	job
h	h	huñuy, muhu	house
j	y	yana, paya, ayni, kay	yes
k	k	kuntur, puka, chakra, wanka, wak^[2]^[3]	scat
kʰ	kh	khuyay, ukhu	cat
kʼ	k'	k'ispa, nak'ay	like scat, but with a restriction of air
l	l	layu, q'ala	lamp
ʎ	ll	llapa, allin, allqu, chunchull^[4]	similar to billion; equal to Italian figlio
m	m	marka, ama, pampa, qam	map
n	n	nina, nanay, anta, ancha^[5]	none
ɲ	ñ	ñit'iy, wiñay, qiñwa	similar to canyon
ŋ	n	anka, purin, pampa^[5]^[6]	sing
ɴ	n	anqas^[5]	similar to sing, but further back
p	p	pirqa, papa, sapsa^[2]^[3]	spat
pʰ	ph	phiña, iphu	pan
pʼ	p'	p'unchaw, sip'u, hamp'atu	like spat, but with a restriction of air
q	q	qullqi, ñuqa, waqra, kamayuq^[2]^[7]^[8]	similar to scud, but deeper in the throat
χ			similar to loch, but further back
ʔ ~ h ~ x ~ ∅			either like the stop between uh-oh or happy
qʰ	qh	qhapaq, aqha	similar to scud, but deeper in the throat
qʼ	q'	q'isa, suq'u, hamanq'ay	similar to scud, but with a restriction of air
ɾ	r	runtu, uray, turpay, yawar	like atom in American English
s	s	sunqu, wasi, iskay, añas	son
s̠ ~ s̺ ^[9]	sh	shunqu	between son and shave
ʃ	sh	shunqu	shave
ʃ	chka / sha	kachkanki / kashanki, qhichwa^[9]	shave
t	t	tinku, pata, utkhu^[2]^[3]	stop
tʰ	th	thamay	top
tʼ	t'	t'utura, t'uqyay	like stunt, but with a restriction of air
ts	ts	tsiqtsi, patsa, atska^[10]	tsunami
tʃ	ch	chunka, pacha, achka^[2]	eschew
tʃʰ	chh	chhalla	child
tʃʼ	ch'	ch'aska	like eschew, but with a restriction of air
tʂ	ćh / tr	ćhaki / traki	like eschew, but with a retracted tongue
w	w	wañuy, away, kawsay, alalaw	water
ʒ	ll^c	killa, kullki, sallka^[1]	measure
Non-native consonants
b	b	binsiy, kabra	bet
d	d	dusi, radyu	dice
ɡ	g	gustay, iigus	guts
f	f	familya	fern
ʐ	rr	irriru	like pleasure, but with a retracted tongue
Stress
ˈ	sometimes ◌́	manam [ˈmanam], mamalláy [mamaˈʎaj]	London [ˈlʌndən]
Syllable break
.	chakra [ˈtʃak.ɾa]		flower /ˈflaʊ.ər/(contrasting with flour /ˈflaʊər/)

Vowels
IPA	Orthography	Examples	English approximation
a	a	karu, yuraq	trap
aː	aa	qaara	similar to father
i	i	nina^[11]	lip
iː	ii	miitu	see
iː	uy ^c	llumtsuy, luychu^[12]
eː	ay ^c	tayta	say in Northern British English
ɛ	i	irqi^[13]	pet
oː	aw ^c	chawpi	no in Northern British English
ɔ	u	Qusqu, urqu^[14]	similar to off
u	u	kusi^[15]	hook
uː	uu	puukay	cool
Reduced vowels
ə	u^c	-kuna	comma

Notes

[1]
In all Chachapoyas Quechua varieties, except the Granada-Olleros one, /ʎ/ is realised as [dʒ] word-initially, but simply as [ʒ] word-internally: killa [kiʒa], kullki [kuʒki].
[2]
In the Cuzco-Collao varieties, the stops /p, t, k, q/ and the affricate /t͡ʃ/ are spirantised as [ɸ, s, x, χ] and [s ~ ʃ] at the end of the syllable.
[3]
In the Chachapoyas Quechua varieties, the stops /p, t, k/ are voiced after nasals, becoming [b, d, ɡ]: shunku [ʃuŋɡu].
[4]
In the Cuzco-Collao varieties, the lateral approximant /ʎ/ becomes [l] at the end of the syllable.
[5]
Syllable-final /n/ is realised as [ŋ], except before homorganic consonants. Other allophones of /n/ include [ŋ] in front of /k/ and [ɴ] in front of /q/.
[6]
In the Cuzco-Collao varieties, /m/ is pronounced as [ŋ] at the end of the syllable. Moreover, in Ayacucho Quechua, syllable-final /m/ turns into [ŋ] whenever it is in front of /m, tʃ, w/*. In the eastern varieties of Ayacucho Quechua, /m/ also turns into [ŋ] only before /p/.
[7]
In Ancash Quechua, /q/ is pronounced as [q] in all positions for the Callejón de Huaylas variety, and sometimes it gets spirantised [χ] at the end of the syllable. In most other places, it is realised as [ʁ], keeping its spirantisation process in syllable-final position. The Corongo variety also realises it as [χ] syllable-initially.
[8]
The way /q/ is realised depends on the variety of Wanka Quechua one speaks. Jauja Quechua usually pronounces it as [x ~ h], except after fricatives, where it normally disappears. In the rest of varieties—such as those of Concepción and Huancayo—/q/ is normally realised as zero [∅] at the beginnings of words, and [ʔ] mostly everywhere else, except at the end of syllables, where it turns into compensatory lengthening [(V)ː] of the previous vowel.
[9]
In the Cuzco-Collao varieties, and to some extent all Southern Quechua varieties, the morpheme -chka- 'progressive' is realised as [ʃa], to the point that it also gets written ⟨sh⟩. Other than that, the grapheme ⟨sh⟩ has been used to represent Cuzco-Collao's /tʃʰ/, which should not be taken to mean that there is a realisation of */tʃʰ/ as [ʃ] (Cerrón-Palomino 1997). As mentioned in Note 1, syllable-final /tʃ/ also turns into [ʃ ~ s].
[10]
In Sihuas (except Sicsibamba) and some districts within Bolognesi, /ts/ is realised as [tʃ] or [s].
[11]
/i/ is realised as [ɪ] in some contexts, especially word-finally.
[12]
In Ancash Quechua, the monophthongisation of /uj/ into [iː] is very restricted, and only occurs when the segment /y/ belongs to a different morpheme (e.g. -y, -yki, -yku, -ykaa) and is not present in all sub-varieties, such as the Northern Huaylas one. Julca Guerrero (2010) has only found it in two lexemes, the ones presented as examples in this table.
[13]
In all Quechua varieties, /i/ is realised as [e ~ ɛ] when in direct or indirect contact (with a meddling obstruent) with uvular /q/. The allophone [e] normally occurs in closed syllables, and [ɛ] everywhere else.
[14]
In all Quechua varieties, /u/ is realised as [o ~ ɔ] when in direct or indirect contact (with a meddling obstruent) with uvular /q/. The allophone [o] normally occurs in closed syllables, and [ɔ] everywhere else.
[15]
/u/ is realised as [ʊ] in some contexts, especially word-finally.

Bibliography

Adelaar, Willem F. H. 1977. Tarma Quechua: grammar, texts, dictionary. Amsterdam: The Peter de Ridder Press.
Bendezú Araujo, Raúl & Jorge Acurio Palma. 2025. "Cuzco Quechua". In Matthias Urban (ed.), The Oxford guide to the languages of the Central Andes, 196–218. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Cerrón-Palomino, Rudolfo. 1976. Diccionario quechua: Junín-huanca (Diccionarios de consulta de la lengua quechua). Lima: Ministerio de Educación del Perú.
Cerrón-Palomino, Rodolfo. 1976. Gramática quechua: Junín-huanca (Gramáticas referenciales de la lengua quechua). Lima: Ministerio de Educación del Perú.
Cerrón-Palomino, Rodolfo. 1997. "El Diccionario quechua de los académicos: cuestiones lexicográficas, normativas y etimológicas". Revista andina 15(1), 151–205.
Cerrón-Palomino, Rodolfo. [1987] 2003. Lingüística quechua. 2^nd ed. Cuzco: Centro de Estudios Regionales Andinos Bartolomé de Las Casas.
Chuquimamani Valer, Nonato Rufino, Óscar Chávez Gonzales, Félix Alaín Riveros Paravicino, César Jara Luna, Moisés Cárdenas Guzmán & Melquíades Quintasi Mamani. 2021. Urin qichwa qillqay yachana mayt'u / Manual de escritura quechua sureño. Lima: Ministerio de Educación del Perú.
Cusihuamán Gutiérrez, Antonio. [1976] 2001. Gramática quechua: Cuzco-Collao (Gramáticas referenciales de la lengua quechua). 2^nd ed. Lima: Ministerio de Educación del Perú.
Espinoza Bustamante, Franklin. 2021. Chawpin qichwata alli qillqanapaq maytu / Manual de escritura quechua central. Lima: Ministerio de Educación del Perú.
Itier, César. 2017. Diccionario quechua sureño-castellano (con un índice castellano-quechua). Lima: Editorial Commentarios.
Itier, César & Zenobia Ortiz Cárdenas. 2019. Runasimita yachasun: método de quechua (variedad ayachuchana). Lima: Editorial Comentarios SAC / Instituto Francés de Estudios Andinos.
Julca Guerrero, Félix Claudio. 2010. Variación dialectal del quechua en el Callejón de Huaylas desde las perspectivas de la lingüística y de los hablantes. PhD dissertation: University of Texas at
Molina Vital, Carlos. 2025. "Huaylas (Ancash) Quechua". In Matthias Urban (ed.), The Oxford guide to the languages of the Central Andes, 85–138. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Parker, Gary. 1969. Ayacucho Quechua grammar and dictionary. The Hague / Paris: Mouton.
Parker, Gary. 1976. Gramática quechua: Áncash-Huailas (Gramáticas referenciales de la lengua quechua). Lima: Ministerio de Educación del Perú.
Propaganda Fide del Perú. 1905. Vocabulario políglota incaico. Lima.
Shimelman, Aviva. 2025. "Southern Yauyos Quechua". In Matthias Urban (ed.), The Oxford guide to the languages of the Central Andes, 139–166. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Shimelman, Aviva & Jairo Valqui. 2025. "Chachapoyas Quechua". In Matthias Urban (ed.), The Oxford guide to the languages of the Central Andes, 167–195. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Soto Ruiz, Clodoaldo. 2010. Quechua, manual de enseñanza. 4^th ed. Lima: Instituto de Estudios Peruanos.

Help:IPA/Quechua

Notes

Bibliography

See also

Related Articles