tʼ vs d

Voiceless Alveolar Stop vs Voiced Alveolar Stop

How these sounds differ

tʼ

Voiceless Alveolar Stop

Voicing: voiceless
Place: alveolar
Manner: stop
Class: consonant
In languages: 46 / 500

Full details →

Voiced Alveolar Stop

Voicing: voiced
Place: alveolar
Manner: stop
Class: consonant
In languages: 217 / 500

Full details →

Cross-linguistic distribution

Languages with tʼ

Languages with both

217

Languages with d

22 languages in our database contrast both sounds as distinct phonemes. Languages that have one but not the other tend to merge them into a single phoneme — meaning speakers of those languages often struggle to hear the distinction when learning a language that contrasts them.

Has tʼ, not d (20)

Maidu Maiduan Mazahua Otomanguean Chipewyan Athabaskan-Eyak-Tlingit SOUTHERN NAMBIQUARA Nambiquaran Squamish Salishan Quechua Quechuan JACALTEC Mayan Nez Perce Sahaptian Aymara Aymaran K'EKCHI Mayan UPPER CHEHALIS Salishan Nootka Wakashan Navaho Athabaskan-Eyak-Tlingit Zuni Language isolate Hupa Athabaskan-Eyak-Tlingit Kawesqar Kawesqar Dakota Siouan Haida Haida Chasta Costa Athabaskan-Eyak-Tlingit Zulu Atlantic-Congo

Has d, not tʼ (20)

Zoque Mixe-Zoque Tunica Language isolate Gadsup Nuclear Trans New Guinea Telefol Nuclear Trans New Guinea Adzera Austronesian Iai Austronesian Chamorro Austronesian Toba-Batak Austronesian Sa'ban Austronesian Malagasy Austronesian Cham Austronesian Yay Tai-Kadai Garo Sino-Tibetan Lahu Sino-Tibetan Dafla Sino-Tibetan Yao Hmong-Mien Kota Dravidian Burushaski Language isolate Ket Yeniseian TARASCAN Tarascan