Alphabet

The Tongan Alphabet

Motuʼaleá Faka-Tonga

  • 17 letters in the Tongan alphabet.
  • 5 vowels; a-e-i-o-u
  • 12 consonants; f-h-k-l-m-n-ng-p-s-t-v- ‘
  • pronouncing the consonants you add ʻaʼ to the end – Fa-Ha-Ka-La-Ma-Na-NGa-Pa-Sa-Ta-Va
  • Fakaʻua (glottal stop) is considered a consonant and the last letter in the Tongan alphabet

The first step in learning and understanding any language is to listen. Fanongo ki he ongo! Listen to the sounds that each letter makes.

Check out the Tongan Alphabet sung by myself and my daughter. We had fun doing this amateur clip. Have some fun with your children. The tune is taken from the French children’s song Farajaka.

13 responses to “Alphabet”

  1. I love the alphabet song. I’m going to start singing it to Leka. Malo Aupito. You two did a great job!

  2. How fun! The tune is actually called Frère Jacques (French for Brother James). ha ha! I very much enjoyed you and your daughter singing 🙂

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