IPA phonetic symbol 〚x〛

The IPA phonetic symbol [x] represents a voiceless velar fricative that does not occur in English, except for Scottish loch [lox], normally pronounced [lok] in Received Pronunciation or General American. It is also the "j" sound in Spanish, as in José, the "ch" sound in German Kuchen (cake) and the sound of the Cyrillic letter Х. The symbol [x] is the Latin version of the Cyrillic letter.

Loanwords form other languages must replace the [x] sound by one found in English.


 * Arabic
 * Khartoum: /kɑːrˈtuːm/


 * German
 * Bach: /bɑːk/
 * Liechtenstein: /ˈlɪktənstaɪn/
 * Marlene Dietrich: /mɑːrˈleɪnə ˈdiːtrɪk/
 * München became Munich: /ˈmjuːnɪk/
 * Richter scale: /ˈrɪktər ˌskeɪl/
 * Rorschach test: /ˈrɔːrʃɑːk ˌtest/


 * Greek
 * Te X (a typesetting language) should be pronounced [tɛx] but the normal English pronunciation is [tɛk] (/tek/).


 * Hebrew
 * Hanukkah, Chanukah: /ˈhænʊkə/, /ˈhɑːnəkə/


 * Russian
 * Khrushchev: /ˈkrʊʃtʃev/


 * Spanish
 * Argentina: /ˌɑːrdʒənˈtiːnə/
 * Don Quixote (current Spanish spelling Don Quijote): /ˌdɒn kiːˈhoʊtɪ/;
 * jalapeño: /ˌhæləˈpeɪnjəʊ/, /ˌhɑːləˈpeɪnjəʊ/
 * Juan: /wɑːn/
 * junta: /ˈdʒʌntə/, /ˈhʊntə/
 * Los Angeles: /lɒs ˈændʒələs/
 * Oaxaca: /wəˈhɑːkə/
 * San Jose (California): /ˌsæn hoʊˈzeɪ/
 * Wine from Xerez (currently Jerez) became "sherry".


 * Yiddish
 * chutzpa: /ˈhʊtspə/