Below chart displays the vowels in their three main forms. There are vowels, long vowels, and diphthongs in Mongolian language.
Short vowels | Long vowels | Diphthongs |
а(ав-av) | аа(аав-aav) | ай(айл-ail) |
э(эх-ekh) | ээ(ээж-eej) | эй(мэйл-mail) |
и(их-ikh) | ий(хийх-khiikh) | No version |
о(од-od) | оо(тоо-too) | ой(могой-mogoi) |
ө(өд-öd) | өө(өөх-öökh) | No version |
у(ух-ukh) | уу(уух-uukh) | уй(гуйх-guikh) |
ү(үр-ür) | үү(үүр-üür) | үй(үгүй-ugüi) |
Mongolian Cyrillic vowel harmony
Vowel harmony is an aspect of the Mongolian language. Understanding the rules can give you quicker learning words because words with male vowels generally do not also have female vowels and vise-versa. It is possible to guess the spelling and pronunciation of words simply based on the first vowel. Remember that the “gender” of the vowels has nothing to do with actual gender.
Male vowels | Neutral vowel | Female vowels |
а,о,у | и | э,ө,ү |
ё,ы,ю,я | е |
2 Responses
Dear fellow,
Your works are great. Yes you give very concise introduction to Mongolian language. Yes, there are a few problems in your work. “Male vowels” should be translated as masculine vowels or tense vowels or back vowels; “Female vowels” should be translated as feminine vowels or lax vowels or front vowels. I think if you present in this way, the foreigners will understand easily.
Dear Bayaerta,
Thank you so much for the feedback. We will edit those! Please continue to give as much feedback as possible, and if you have any other questions, just let us know.
Nomiin Ger Staff