Welcome to the Innu Spelling Guide. Here you’ll find information about Innu spelling that will help you write in any dialect of Innu. For more resources on Innu spelling, see Spelling Resources.
The Innu alphabet is made up of 11 letters, 4 vowels and 7 consonants:
| vowels : | a | e | i | u | |||
| consonants : | h | k | m | n | p | s | t |
The letter n represents both n and the sound l, which we hear in the Pessamit and Piekuakamit (Mashteuiatsh) dialects. The l can be indicated by putting an accent on the n : ń, but this isn’t necessary in the standard spelling.
| amisseiakamipanitau (amisseiakamipańitau) | s/he mixes, blends something (liquid) by stirring it |
The letter u has two forms: the regular u, which is normal size, and the smaller raised u: u, written in superscript, which only occurs at the end of a word.
| kashteuakamu | it (liquid) is black |
| natshishkamᵘ | He encounters something |
Certain letter combinations (or graphemes) correspond to a single sound (phoneme), such as sh [ ʃ ], tsh [ tʃ ] and ss [ s ].
| Sheshatshitu | Tshakapesh |
| Assi | Massin |
How do I type the special characters?
It is sometimes difficult to type the raised u (u) on mobile devices or computers. In this case, it is recommended that you use w instead.
In the Innu Dictionary, if you type w in the search box, you automatically get u.
The ń is available on tablets and phones by pressing down on n. The information for this character is: Unicode: U+0144, UTF-8: C5 84