Lushootseed has a complex consonantal phonology and 4 vowel phonemes. Along with more common voicing and labialization contrasts, Lushootseed has a plain-glottalic contrast, which is realized as laryngealized with sonorants, ejective with voiceless stops or fricatives.
Consonants[]
| Labial | Alveolar | Alveolo-palatal | Velar | Labiovelar | Uvular | Glottal | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stop | p, b | t, d | k, g | kʷ , gʷ | q, qʷ | ʔ | |
| Glottalized stop | pʼ | tʼ | kʼ | kʼʷ | qʼ, qʼʷ | ||
| Affricate | ts, dz | t͡ʃ, d͡ʒ | |||||
| Glottalized affricate | tsʼ, tɬʼ | t͡ʃʼ | |||||
| Fricative | s, ɬ | ʃ | xʷ | χ, χʷ | h | ||
| Approximant | l, l̴ | j, j̴ | w~ʋ, w̴ |
On a phonetic level, nasals ([m] [m̴] [n] [n̴]) may appear in some speech styles as replacements for stops at the same place of articulation.
Vowels[]
| Front | Central | Back | |
|---|---|---|---|
| High | ɪ~i | ʉ~u | |
| Mid | ə | ||
| Low | ɑ |