Baybayin Alphabet

The Baybayin Alphabet is an ancient Philippine writing system with 3 vowels and 14 consonants. It is classified as an abugida or syllabic script, where each consonant carries an inherent /a/ vowel that can be modified using kudlit marks. You can also try our Baybayin Translator tool to see how it works in practice.

Baybayin has 3 independent vowels (ᜀ a, ᜁ i/e, ᜂ u/o) and 14 consonants (ᜃ ka, ᜄ ga, ᜅ nga, ᜆ ta, ᜇ da, ᜈ na, ᜉ pa, ᜊ ba, ᜋ ma, ᜌ ya, ᜍ ra, ᜎ la, ᜏ wa, ᜐ sa, ᜑ ha), totaling 17 basic characters. Additionally, there are kudlit marks (ᜒ and ᜓ) and virama sign (᜔) used to modify these base characters.

A kudlit is a diacritical mark used in Baybayin to change the inherent /a/ vowel of a consonant. A kudlit placed above a character changes the vowel to /i/ or /e/ (ᜒ), while a kudlit placed below changes it to /u/ or /o/ (ᜓ). For example, ᜊ (ba) becomes ᜊᜒ (bi) with kudlit above, or ᜊᜓ (bu) with kudlit below.

Traditional Baybayin does not use the virama mark, so all consonants carry their inherent /a/ vowel and final consonants are understood from context. Modern Baybayin, influenced by Spanish colonization, uses the virama sign (᜔) below a consonant to cancel the inherent /a/ vowel, allowing for more precise representation of consonant-ending words. Learn more in our Baybayin Translator homepage.

Yes! You can write any name using the Baybayin Alphabet by transliterating the sounds into Baybayin characters. Each sound in your name can be represented using the vowels, consonants, and kudlit marks. Use our Baybayin Translator Name tool to instantly convert your name to Baybayin script.

Many people search for Alibata, but Baybayin is the more accurate name for this Philippine script. Alibata is a popular but less precise term. If you searched for Alibata alphabet or Alibata letters, this Baybayin alphabet chart is the right place to start.

The best way to learn Baybayin is to start with the 3 vowels, then learn the 14 consonants, and finally practice with kudlit marks and virama. Use our interactive alphabet chart above to click on characters and build practice words. Copy the characters and try writing simple Filipino words like "kamusta" or your own name. You can also use our main Baybayin Translator to see how complete phrases look in Baybayin.