Esperanto is written with a modified version of the Latin alphabet, including six letters with diacritics: ĉ, ĝ, ĥ, ĵ, ŝ and ŭ (that is, c, g, h, j, s circumflex, and u breve). The alphabet does not include the letters q, w, x, or y except in unassimilated foreign names.
The 28-letter alphabet is:
All letters are pronounced approximately as in the IPA, with the exception of c and the accented letters:
| Letter | c | ĉ | ĝ | ĥ | ĵ | ŝ | ŭ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pronunciation | [ts] | [tʃ] | [dʒ] | [x] | [ʒ] | [ʃ] | [u̯] (as aŭ, eŭ ) |
Two ASCII-compatible writing conventions are in use. These substitute digraphs for the accented letters. The original "h-convention" ( ch, gh, hh, jh, sh, u ) is based on English 'ch' and 'sh', while a more recent "x-convention" ( cx, gx, hx, jx, sx, ux ) is useful for alphabetic word sorting on a computer ( cx comes correctly after cu , sx after sv , etc.) as well as for simple conversion back into the standard orthography.