All Hiligaynon consonants are never aspirated, and all vowels
don’t have a long or schwa sound.

a – AH

e – EH

i – IH

o – O

u – OO

Vowels with the ^ symbol on top are pronounced with a sudden stop (due to character limitations, the ^ symbol is typed right after the vowel with a sudden-stop sound). For example:

la-YA^ – dry / dried

NA-mi^ – nice

KA-lo^ – hat / cap

*Tip: For a more convincing sounding Hiligaynon, the trick is to speak in the famous Negrense or Ilonggo melodious tone.

*Note: The words are formatted in syllables, those capitalized are stressed.