Potawatomi (/ˌpɒtəˈwɒtəmi/ ^ⓘ, also spelled Pottawatomie; in Potawatomi Bodwéwadmimwen, Bodwéwadmi Zheshmowen, or Neshnabémwen) is a Central Algonquian language. It was historically spoken by the Pottawatomi people who lived around the Great Lakes in what are now Michigan and Wisconsin in the United States, and in southern Ontario in Canada. Federally recognized tribes in Michigan and Oklahoma are working to revive the language.

Potawatomi is a member of the Algonquian language family (itself a member of the larger Algic stock). It is usually classified as a Central Algonquian language, with languages such as Ojibwe, Cree, Menominee, Miami–Illinois, Shawnee and Fox. The label Central Algonquian signifies a geographic grouping rather than the group of languages descended from a common ancestor language within the Algonquian family. Of the Central languages, Potawatomi is most similar to Ojibwe, but it also has borrowed a considerable amount of vocabulary from the Sauk.

Generally, in developments since Indian Removal in the 19th century, Potawatomi has become differentiated in North America among separated populations. It is divided between Northern Potawatomi, spoken in Ontario, Canada; and Michigan and Wisconsin of the United States; and Southern Potawatomi, which is spoken in Kansas and Oklahoma, where certain Pottawatomi ancestors were removed who had formerly lived in Illinois and other areas east of the Mississippi River.

Here, the phonology of the Northern dialect is described, which differs somewhat from that of the Southern dialect, spoken in Kansas.

There are five vowel phonemes, four diphthongs, and nineteen consonant phonemes.

⟨é⟩, which is often written as ⟨e'⟩, represents an open-mid front unrounded vowel, /ɛ/. ⟨e⟩ represents the schwa, /ə/, which has several allophonic variants. Before /n/, it becomes [ɪ]; before /kː/, /k/, /ʔ/ and word-finally, it becomes [ʌ].

⟨o⟩ is pronounced /u/ in Michigan and /o/ elsewhere. When it is in a closed syllable, it is pronounced [ʊ]. There are also four diphthongs, /ɛj ɛw əj əw/, spelled ⟨éy éw ey ew⟩. Phonemic /əj əw/ are realized as [ɪj ʌw].

Obstruents, as in many other Algonquian languages, do not have a voicing distinction per se but what is better termed a "strong"/"weak" distinction. "Strong" consonants, written as voiceless (⟨p t k kw⟩), are always voiceless, often aspirated, and longer in duration than the "weak" consonants, which are written as voiced (⟨b d g gw⟩) and are often voiced and are not aspirated. Nasals before another consonant become syllabic, and /tː/, /t/, and /n/ are dental: [t̪ː t̪ n̪].