S s — esse
«esse» is a consonant of Basque, the “Basque Latin alphabet” script, read as “soft lisping s (laminal)”. An "s" with the tongue flat against the teeth, which sounds almost lisping — put your tongue tip down and say "see". For example, in the word “seaska” — cradle. The Basque alphabet has 32 letters in total. Basque has two different s-sounds and native ears hear the gap instantly. This soft one also feeds ts — a "ts" with the same soft articulation. It appears, for example, in the word “arratsalde on” — good afternoon.
In short
| Character | S s |
| Name | esse |
| Sound | soft lisping s (laminal) |
| What it is | a consonant |
In our course the character comes 21st of 32: the order here is not alphabetical but from familiar to unfamiliar, its neighbours in the course are rr and t, appears in roughly every fifth word on this site.
How it sounds
An "s" with the tongue flat against the teeth, which sounds almost lisping — put your tongue tip down and say "see"
The character in a word
A lone character is hard to remember: memory holds on to meaning, and a letter has none. The word it stands in provides that anchor.
- seaskacradle
The character in the “two s-sounds and three affricates” group
The heart of Basque phonetics: s and z are two different s-sounds, each with its own "ts" (ts and tz), while x and tx give "sh" and "ch". Native ears separate them effortlessly, and these six signs unlock half the vocabulary.
Words with this character
How to remember this character
A single letter is the hardest thing to remember: memory has nothing to hold on to — a character has no meaning. A three-step loop works: see the character, try to recall the sound (for «esse» it is “soft lisping s (laminal)”, as in the word “seaska”), see the right answer.
And come back to it the next day, not in an hour: a check a day or two later beats a check the same day. Nobody holds the whole alphabet — 32 letters — at once.
- It is better to test yourself the next day than at the end of the same session. That is why a word comes back to you tomorrow.checked many timesAdesope, Trevisan & Sundararajan, 2017, Review of Educational Research 87(3) · g = 0.82 when tested a day or two later, against 0.56 on the same day.
- Studying a little every day gets more into your head than spending the same total time in one sitting.checked many timesDonovan & Radosevich, 1999, Journal of Applied Psychology 84(5) · 63 studies compared, difference d = 0.46 — a sizeable figure for a learning effect.
Frequently asked
How does the Basque character s read?
As “soft lisping s (laminal)” — it is a consonant of the “Basque Latin alphabet” script. An "s" with the tongue flat against the teeth, which sounds almost lisping — put your tongue tip down and say "see". For example, in the word “seaska” — cradle.
What is the letter s called?
Esse. A character's name and its sound are different things in the Basque script: it is called “esse” and reads as “soft lisping s (laminal)”. Learn the second one: the name only helps when the alphabet is recited aloud.
What can s be confused with?
Basque has two different s-sounds and native ears hear the gap instantly. This soft one also feeds ts — a "ts" with the same soft articulation. Similar characters are best studied side by side and deliberately compared: learned on different days, they stay separate and get mixed up at their first meeting inside a word.