The Apsáalooke alphabet is composed of twenty-seven characters:
a aa b ch d e ee h i ii ia k l m n o o op s sh t u uu ua w x ’
Apsáalooke vowel qualities are:
| a | available |
| aa | father |
| e | bet |
| ee | able |
| i | bit |
| ii | beat |
| o | story |
| oo | abode |
| u | put |
| uu | booed |
| ia | area |
| ua | Nashua |
Apsáalooke consonant qualities are:
| b | bed |
| ch | church (at beginning or end of word) |
| ch | jail (between vowels) |
| d | dog |
| h | half |
| k | kitchen (at beginning or end of word and when doubled within a word) |
| k | guy (between vowels) |
| l | leap (a sharper “l” than in English) |
| m | man |
| n | not |
| p | paper (at beginning or end of word and when doubled within a word) |
| p | baby (between vowels) |
| s | size (at beginning or end of word and when doubled within a word) |
| s | zoo (between vowels) |
| sh | shoe (at beginning or end of word and when doubled within a word) |
| sh | pleasure (between vowels) |
| t | time (at beginning or end of word and when doubled within a word) |
| t | day (between vowels) |
| w | way |
| x | acht (German ch) |
| ’ | uh-oh (glottal stop) |
Almost all Apsáalooke words have a vowel that is stressed. The stressed vowel is identified by an accent mark. The accent is essential for meaning, pronunciation and spelling.
