Karakalpak alphabet: what it means
The Latin alphabet of the Karakalpak language has 34 letters (sh and ch count as letters). Letters that Uzbek does not have: á, ó, ú, ı (capital Í), ǵ, ń, w, and c for the "ts" sound. Its current form dates from 2016, when letters with apostrophes (aʻ, oʻ, gʻ and others) were replaced by letters with an acute accent. For example, Nókis is Nukus and hákimiyat is hokimiyat. Cyrillic is still used in Karakalpakstan too. This site's Karakalpakstan pages show names in Uzbek letters, with the original Karakalpak spelling underneath.
Karakalpak letters that Uzbek doesn't have
| Karakalpak | Uzbek | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Á á | a | hákimiyat — hokimiyat |
| Ó ó | oʻ | kól — koʻl |
| Ú ú | u | úy — uy |
| Í ı | i | qızıl — qizil |
| Ǵ ǵ | gʻ | baǵ — bogʻ |
| Ń ń | ng | jańa — yangi |
| W w | v (o, u) | awıl — ovul |
| C c | ts | cirk — sirk |
Useful pages
Related terms
Uzbek Latin alphabet (1995) · New Uzbek alphabet (2026) · Uzbek Cyrillic alphabet
This is general information, not legal advice. Check the exact rules with an official source.