The two major cues for stop consonants, the burst of the stop release and the formant transitions in the adjacent vowel, were investigated. Detailed energy density spectra of the bursts were prepared. The transitions were studied by means of sonagrams. Possible criteria for identification were developed and tested. In order to assess the efficacy of the two types of cue, perceptual tests were conducted with isolated segments that contained either stop bursts or vowel transitions alone. Common acoustical properties of bursts and formant transitions are noted; differences as well as similarities are discussed in the light of different varieties of pitch judgments.