Article · Wikipedia archive · Last revised Aug 5, 2026

Voiceless dental and alveolar plosives

Voiceless alveolar and dental plosives are a type of consonantal sound used in almost all spoken languages. The alveolar is familiar to English-speakers as the ⟨t⟩ sound in stick.

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Voiceless alveolar plosive
t
IPA number103
Audio sample
Encoding
Entity (decimal)t
Unicode (hex)U+0074
X-SAMPAt
Braille⠞ (braille pattern dots-2345)
Voiceless dental plosive
t̪
IPA number103 408
Audio sample
Encoding
Entity (decimal)t​̪
Unicode (hex)U+0074 U+032A
X-SAMPAt_d
Braille⠞ (braille pattern dots-2345)⠠ (braille pattern dots-6)⠹ (braille pattern dots-1456)

Voiceless alveolar and dental plosives (or stops) are a type of consonantal sound used in almost all spoken languages. The alveolar is familiar to English-speakers as the ⟨t⟩ sound in stick.

The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents voiceless dental, alveolar, and postalveolar plosives is ⟨t⟩. The voiceless dental plosive can be distinguished with the underbridge diacritic ⟨t̪⟩, and the postalveolar with a retraction line, ⟨t̠⟩. The extIPA also has a double underline diacritic which can be used to explicitly specify an alveolar pronunciation, ⟨t͇⟩.

The [t] sound is a very common sound cross-linguistically.1 Most languages have at least a plain [t], and some distinguish more than one variety. Some languages without a [t] are colloquial Samoan (which also lacks an [n]), Abau, and Nǁng of South Africa.

There are only a few languages which distinguish dental and alveolar stops (or often more precisely laminal and apical alveolar stops), including Kota, Toda, Venda and many Australian Aboriginal languages; certain varieties of Hiberno-English also distinguish them (with dental [t̪] being the local realization of the Standard English phoneme /θ/ spelled ⟨th⟩).

Features

t̪
t
Sagittal sections of voiceless dental and alveolar plosives

Features of a voiceless alveolar stop:

  • Its manner of articulation is occlusive, which means it is produced by obstructing airflow in the vocal tract. Since the consonant is also oral, with no nasal outlet, it is a plosive.
  • There are three specific variants of [t]:
    • Dental, which means it is articulated with either the tip or the blade of the tongue at the upper teeth, termed respectively apical and laminal.
    • Denti-alveolar, which means it is articulated with the blade of the tongue at the alveolar ridge, and the tip of the tongue behind upper teeth.
    • Alveolar, which means it is articulated with either the tip or the blade of the tongue at the alveolar ridge, termed respectively apical and laminal.
  • Its phonation is voiceless, which means it is produced without vibrations of the vocal cords. In some languages the vocal cords are actively separated, so it is always voiceless; in others the cords are lax, so that it may take on the voicing of adjacent sounds.
  • It is an oral consonant, which means that air is not allowed to escape through the nose.
  • It is a median consonant, which means it is produced by directing the airstream down the midline of the tongue, rather than to the sides.
  • Its airstream mechanism is pulmonic, which means it is articulated by pushing air only with the intercostal muscles and abdominal muscles, as in most speech sounds.

Occurrence

Dental or denti-alveolar

Unless otherwise specified, the examples in this table are laminal denti-alveolar.

Occurrence of [t̪] in various languages
Language Word IPA Meaning Notes
Aleut2 tiistax̂ [t̪iːstaχ] 'dough'
Armenian Eastern3 տուն [t̪un]ⓘ 'house'
Assyrian Neo-Aramaic ܬܠܬ̱ܐ/ţla [t̪lɑ] 'three'
Bashkir дүрт/dürt [dʏʷrt]ⓘ 'four'
Belarusian4 стагоддзе [s̪t̪äˈɣod̪d̪͡z̪ʲe] 'century' See Belarusian phonology
Basque toki [t̪oki] 'place' See Basque phonology
Bengali তুমি [t̪umi] 'you' contrasts with aspirated form. See Bengali phonology
Catalan5 terra [ˈt̪ɛrə] 'land' See Catalan phonology
Chuvash ут [ut] 'horse'
Czech toto [ˈt̪ot̪o]ⓘ 'this' 6 See Czech phonology
Dinka7 mɛth [mɛ̀t̪] 'child' contrasts with alveolar /t/.
Dutch Belgian taal [t̪aːl̪] 'language'
English Dublin8 thin [t̪ʰɪn] 'thin' May be pronounced instead as [t͡θ]. See Th-stopping.
Indian Corresponds to [θ].8 See Th-stopping.
Southern Irish9
Ulster10 train [t̪ɹeːn] 'train' Allophone of /t/ before /r/, in free variation with an alveolar stop.
Finnish tutti [ˈt̪ut̪ːi] 'pacifier' See Finnish phonology
French11 tordu [t̪ɔʁd̪y] 'crooked' See French phonology
Hakka12 他/ta3 [t̪ʰa˧] 'he/she' contrasts with an unaspirated form.
Hindustani13 Hindi तीन/tīn [t̪iːn] 'three' Contrasts with aspirated form (⟨थ⟩ in Hindi, ⟨تھ⟩ in Urdu). See Hindustani phonology
Urdu تین/tīn
Hmong White Hmong 𖬆𖬰𖬧𖬵 / tub [t̪u˦] 'son', 'boy' or 'male name'
Indonesian14 tabir [t̪äbɪr] 'curtain' most often transcribed in IPA with ⟨t⟩.
Italian15 tale [ˈt̪ale] 'such' See Italian phonology
Japanese16 特別/tokubetsu [t̪o̞kɯ̟ᵝbe̞t͡sɨᵝ] 'special' See Japanese phonology
Kashubian17 ptôch [ptɞx] 'bird'
Kazakh тұз [t̪us̪] 'salt'
Kyrgyz18 туз [t̪us̪] 'salt'
Latvian19 tabula [ˈt̪äbulä] 'table' See Latvian phonology
Malayalam കാത്ത് [kaːt̪ːɨ̆] 'waiting' Contrasts /t̪ t ʈ d̪ ɖ/. See Malayalam phonology
Mapudungun20 füṯa [ˈfɘt̪ɜ] 'husband' Interdental.20
Marathi तबला [t̪əbˈlaː] 'tabla' contrasts with aspirated form. See Marathi phonology
Minangkabau Padang tuo [t̪u.o̞] 'old'
Nepali ताली [t̪äli] 'clapping' Contrasts with aspirated form. See Nepali phonology
Nunggubuyu21 darag [t̪aɾaɡ] 'whiskers'
Odia ତାରା/tara [t̪ärä] 'star' contrasts with aspirated form.
Pazeh22 [mut̪apɛt̪aˈpɛh] 'keep clapping' Dental.
Polish23 tom [t̪ɔm]ⓘ 'volume' See Polish phonology
Portuguese24 Many dialects montanha [mõˈt̪ɐɲɐ] 'mountain' Likely to have allophones among native speakers, as it may affricate to [tʃ], [tɕ] and/or [ts] in certain environments. See Portuguese phonology
Punjabi ਤੇਲ/تیل [t̪eːl] 'oil'
Russian25 толстый [ˈt̪ʷo̞ɫ̪s̪t̪ɨ̞j] 'fat' See Russian phonology
Scottish Gaelic26 taigh [t̪ʰɤj] 'house' Apical dental. Contrasts between aspirated and unaspirated forms.
Serbo-Croatian27 туга/tuga [t̪ǔːgä] 'sorrow' See Serbo-Croatian phonology
Sinhala අත [at̪ə] 'hand'
Slovene28 tip [ˈt̪îːp] 'type' See Slovene phonology
Slovak toto [ˈt̪ot̪o] 'this' See Slovak phonology
Somali matag [mat̪ag] 'vomit' Dentalization of alveolar plosive.
Spanish29 tango [ˈt̪ãŋɡo̞] 'tango' See Spanish phonology
Swedish30 tåg [ˈt̪ʰoːɡ] 'train' See Swedish phonology
Tamil தாய் [t̪apːu] 'mother (of self)' See Tamil phonology
Telugu తప్పు [t̪apːu] 'wrong' Contrasts between aspirated and unaspirated forms.
Turkish at [ät̪] 'horse' See Turkish phonology
Ukrainian3132 брат [brɑt̪]ⓘ 'brother' See Ukrainian phonology
Uzbek33 – Slightly aspirated before vowels.33
Vietnamese34 tuần [t̪wən˨˩] 'week' contrasts with aspirated form. See Vietnamese phonology
Zapotec Tilquiapan35 tant [t̪ant̪] 'so much'

Alveolar

Occurrence of [t] in various languages
Language Word IPA Meaning Notes
Abkhaz иҭабуп [jtʰabwpʼ]ⓘ 'thank you' See Abkhaz phonology
Adyghe тфы [tfə]ⓘ 'five'
Afrikaans36 tafelⓘ 'pot'
Arabic Egyptian توكة/tōka [ˈtoːkæ] 'barrette' See Egyptian Arabic phonology
Assyrian ܒܝܬܐ/bèta [beːta] 'house' Most speakers. In the Tyari, Barwari and Southern dialects θ is used.
Bengali গাধাটি [gɐd̪ʱɐti] 'the donkey' True alveolar in some eastern dialects. But all Bengali speakers allophone of /t/ after and before denti-alveolar and postalveolar /t̪, t̪ʰ, d̪, d̪ʱ, tʃ, tʃʰ, dʒ, dʒʱ, ʃ/. See Bengali phonology
Breton ti [ti] 'house'
Cantonese 跌/dit [ti:t̚˧] 'fall' (v.) See Cantonese Phonology
鐵/鉄/tit [tʰi:t̚˧] 'iron'
Chechen тарсал/tarsal [tɑːrsəl] 'squirrel'
Danish Standard37 dåse [ˈtɔ̽ːsə] 'can' (n.) Usually transcribed in IPA with ⟨d̥⟩ or ⟨d⟩. Contrasts with the affricate [t͡s] or aspirated stop [tʰ] (depending on the dialect), which are usually transcribed in IPA with ⟨tˢ⟩ or ⟨t⟩.38 See Danish phonology
Dutch39 taal [taːɫ] 'language' See Dutch phonology
English Most speakers tick [tʰɪk]ⓘ 'tick' See English phonology
New York40 Varies between apical and laminal, with the latter being predominant.40
Hebrew תמונה [tmuˈna] 'image' see Modern Hebrew phonology
Hungarian41 tutaj [ˈtutɒj] 'raft' See Hungarian phonology
Indonesian Most speakers tabir [täbɪr] 'curtain' Commonly [t̪] by other speakers.
Kabardian тхуы [txʷə]ⓘ 'five'
Khmer តែ/tê [tae] 'tea' See Khmer phonology
Korean 대숲/daesup [tɛsup̚] 'bamboo forest' See Korean phonology
Kurdish Northern tu [tʰʊ] 'you' See Kurdish phonology
Central تەوێڵ [tʰəweːɫ] 'forehead'
Southern تێوڵ [tʰeːwɨɫ]
Luxembourgish42 dënn [tən] 'thin' Less often voiced [d]. It is usually transcribed /d/, and it contrasts with voiceless aspirated form, which is usually transcribed /t/.42 See Luxembourgish phonology
Malayalam കാറ്റ് [kaːtːɨ̆] 'wind' Contrasts /t̪ t ʈ d̪ ɖ/. See Malayalam phonology
Maltese tassew [tasˈsew] 'true'
Mandarin 地/dì [ti˥˩] 'ground' See Mandarin Phonology
梯/tī [tʰi˥˥] 'ladder/stairs'
Mapudungun20 füta [ˈfɘtɜ] 'elderly'
Nunggubuyu21 darawa [taɾawa] 'greedy'
Nuosu ꄉ/da [ta˧] 'place' Contrasts aspirated and unaspirated forms
Portuguese43 Some dialects troço [ˈtɾɔsu] 'thing' (pejorative) Allophone before alveolar /ɾ/. In other dialects /ɾ/ takes a denti-alveolar allophone instead. See Portuguese phonology
Scots Most dialects tak [täk] 'take' Traditionally apical. Can be aspirated word-initially in more English-influenced varieties.
Tagalog matamis [mɐtɐˈmis] 'sweet' See Tagalog phonology
Thai ตา/ta [taː˧] 'eye' Contrasts with an aspirated form.
West Frisian tosk [ˈtosk] 'tooth' See West Frisian phonology

Postalveolar

Voiceless postalveolar plosive
t̠
Audio sample
Occurrence of [t̠]
Language Word IPA Meaning Notes
Acehnese teubèe [t̠ɯ.ˈbɛə̯] 'sugarcane' See Acehnese phonology
Bengali44 ঠাণ্ডা [t̠ʰanɖa]ⓘ 'cold' Apical postalveolar;44 contrasts aspirated forms. See Bengali phonology
Hindustani4546 टोपी/ ٹوپی [t̠oːpiː] 'hat' Apical postalveolar
Nepali टोली [t̠oli] 'team' Apical postalveolar; contrasts unaspirated and aspirated forms. See Nepali phonology
Odia ଟଗର / ṭagara [t̠ɔgɔrɔ] 'crepe jasmine' Apical postalveolar; contrasts unaspirated and aspirated forms.
Yele dêê [t̠əː] 'tongue' Contrasts /t̪ t̪͡p t̪ʲ t̠ t̠͡p t̠ʲ/.

Variable

Occurrence of a voiceless plosive variable between alveolar and dental positions
Language Word IPA Meaning Notes
Arabic Modern Standard تين‎/tīn [tiːn] 'fig' Laminal denti-alveolar or alveolar, depending on the speaker's native dialect. See Arabic phonology
English Broad South African47 talk [toːk] 'talk' Laminal denti-alveolar for some speakers, alveolar for other speakers.474849
Scottish48 [tʰɔk]
Welsh49 [tʰɒːk]
German Standard50 Tochter [ˈtɔxtɐ] 'daughter' Varies between laminal denti-alveolar, laminal alveolar and apical alveolar.50 See Standard German phonology
Greek51 τρία tria [ˈtɾiä] 'three' Varies between dental, laminal denti-alveolar and alveolar, depending on the environment.51 See Modern Greek phonology
Malay تڠکڤ/tangkap [t̪äŋ.käp̚] 'catch' More commonly dental. Often unreleased in syllable codas. See Malay phonology
Norwegian Urban East52 dans [t̻ɑns] 'dance' Varies between laminal denti-alveolar and laminal alveolar. It is usually transcribed /d/. It may be partially voiced [d̥], and it contrasts with voiceless aspirated form, which is usually transcribed /t/.52 See Norwegian phonology
Persian53 توت [t̪ʰuːt̪ʰ] 'berry' Varies between laminal denti-alveolar and apical alveolar.53 See Persian phonology
Slovak5455 to [t̻ɔ̝] 'that' Varies between laminal denti-alveolar and laminal alveolar.5455 See Slovak phonology
Toki Pona toki [ˈtoki]ⓘ 'language' Can be aspirated.
See also

See also

Notes

Notes

  1. Liberman et al. (1967), p. ?.
  2. Ladefoged (2005), p. 165.
  3. Dum-Tragut (2009), p. 17.
  4. Padluzhny (1989), p. 47.
  5. Carbonell & Llisterri (1992), p. 53.
  6. Skarnitzl, Radek (February 2015). "Asymmetry in the Czech Alveolar Stops: An EPG Study". Archived from the original on 22 March 2023. Retrieved 30 March 2022.
  7. Remijsen & Manyang (2009), pp. 115 and 121.
  8. Collins & Mees (2003), p. 302.
  9. Roca & Johnson (1999), p. 24.
  10. "Week 18 (ii). Northern Ireland" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 2021-01-12. Retrieved 2015-04-26.
  11. Fougeron & Smith (1993), p. 73.
  12. Lee & Zee (2009), p. 109.
  13. Ladefoged (2005), p. 141.
  14. Soderberg & Olson (2008), p. 210.
  15. Rogers & d'Arcangeli (2004), p. 117.
  16. Okada (1999), p. 117.
  17. Jerzy Treder. "Fonetyka i fonologia". Archived from the original on 2016-03-04.
  18. Kara (2003), p. 11.
  19. Nau (1998), p. 6.
  20. Sadowsky et al. (2013), pp. 88–89.
  21. Ladefoged (2005), p. 158.
  22. Blust (1999), p. 330.
  23. Jassem (2003), p. 103.
  24. Cruz-Ferreira (1995), p. 91.
  25. Jones & Ward (1969), p. 99.
  26. Bauer, Michael. Blas na Gàidhlig: The Practical Guide to Gaelic Pronunciation. Glasgow: Akerbeltz, 2011.
  27. Landau et al. (1999), p. 66.
  28. Pretnar & Tokarz (1980), p. 21.
  29. Martínez-Celdrán, Fernández-Planas & Carrera-Sabaté (2003), p. 255.
  30. Engstrand (1999), p. 141.
  31. S. Buk; J. Mačutek; A. Rovenchak (2008). "Some properties of the Ukrainian writing system". Glottometrics. 16: 63–79. arXiv:0802.4198.
  32. Danyenko & Vakulenko (1995), p. 4.
  33. Sjoberg (1963), p. 10.
  34. Thompson (1959), pp. 458–461.
  35. Merrill (2008), p. 108.
  36. Donaldson (1993).
  37. Basbøll (2005), p. 61.
  38. Grønnum (2005), p. 120.
  39. Gussenhoven (1992), p. 45.
  40. Wells (1982), p. 515.
  41. Szende (1994), p. 91.
  42. Gilles & Trouvain (2013), pp. 67–68.
  43. Palatalization in Brazilian Portuguese revisited Archived 2014-04-07 at the Wayback Machine (in Portuguese)
  44. Mazumdar (2000:57)
  45. Ladefoged (2005:141)
  46. Tiwari (2004:?)
  47. Lass (2002), p. 120.
  48. Scobbie, Gordeeva & Matthews (2006), p. 4.
  49. Wells (1982), p. 388.
  50. Mangold (2005), p. 47.
  51. Arvaniti (2007), p. 10.
  52. Kristoffersen (2000), p. 22.
  53. Mahootian (2002:287–289)
  54. Kráľ (1988), p. 72.
  55. Pavlík (2004), pp. 98–99.
References

References

External links