Reference library

Latvian alphabet

The 33 letters of the Latvian alphabet with macrons, carons, and cedillas.

Language
Latviešu
Letters
33
Writing system
Latin
Direction
Left to right
Standard order

Uppercase and lowercase letters

Uppercase

A Ā B C Č D E Ē F G Ģ H I Ī J K Ķ L Ļ M N Ņ O P R S Š T U Ū V Z Ž

Lowercase

a ā b c č d e ē f g ģ h i ī j k ķ l ļ m n ņ o p r s š t u ū v z ž

Letter pairs

Every letter by position

Each tile pairs the uppercase and lowercase form and shows the letter's position in the alphabet.

  1. A a Letter 1: A, a
  2. Ā ā Letter 2: Ā, ā
  3. B b Letter 3: B, b
  4. C c Letter 4: C, c
  5. Č č Letter 5: Č, č
  6. D d Letter 6: D, d
  7. E e Letter 7: E, e
  8. Ē ē Letter 8: Ē, ē
  9. F f Letter 9: F, f
  10. G g Letter 10: G, g
  11. Ģ ģ Letter 11: Ģ, ģ
  12. H h Letter 12: H, h
  13. I i Letter 13: I, i
  14. Ī ī Letter 14: Ī, ī
  15. J j Letter 15: J, j
  16. K k Letter 16: K, k
  17. Ķ ķ Letter 17: Ķ, ķ
  18. L l Letter 18: L, l
  19. Ļ ļ Letter 19: Ļ, ļ
  20. M m Letter 20: M, m
  21. N n Letter 21: N, n
  22. Ņ ņ Letter 22: Ņ, ņ
  23. O o Letter 23: O, o
  24. P p Letter 24: P, p
  25. R r Letter 25: R, r
  26. S s Letter 26: S, s
  27. Š š Letter 27: Š, š
  28. T t Letter 28: T, t
  29. U u Letter 29: U, u
  30. Ū ū Letter 30: Ū, ū
  31. V v Letter 31: V, v
  32. Z z Letter 32: Z, z
  33. Ž ž Letter 33: Ž, ž
Origins and development

A short history

Early Latvian texts used spelling strongly influenced by German. In the early 20th century it was replaced by a more phonetic system using macrons, carons, and cedillas.