Learn How to Pronounce Names and Towns

Learning how to pronounce Polish letters and letter combinations will help you learn how to pronounce names and towns, which will in turn help you learn how to better search for these.

Many letters are pronounced very much like they are in English. These are not:

Letter(s)	Pronunciation
a	ah
ą	nasal a
ń	canyon
ć	ch
c	wits
ch	as in Scottish loch
cz	ch
dz	woods
dź	jam
ę	nasal e
h	between Scottish loch and English heart
i	ee
j	yes
ł	water
ó	book
r	as in Spanish rolled r
rz	vision
ś	sh
sz or sie	sh (examples: Moszek and Mosiek)
u	root
w	v
y	syllable
ź	vision
ż	vision

Read other topics regarding Polish Jewish genealogy.

Thinking of joining CRARG? Feel free to write to me (danielkazez@crarg.org) to ask if we have records for your family! —Daniel Kazez, CRARG President (a volunteer/unpaid position)

If you are ready to join CRARG, visit our Pre-Holocaust Database page.