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Pronunciation & Alphabet

å, ä, ö and key Swedish sounds

Swedish has three extra letters: å, ä, ö

They come at the end of the alphabet and represent distinct vowel sounds.

📊 Swedish special sounds
Letter(s) Sound Example
å long aw (more) åka (travel)
ä open e (bed) äta (eat)
ö rounded e (bird) öppen (open)
sj/sk- sh-like (unique) sjö (lake), skjuta (shoot)
tj/kj soft ch (few) tjugo (twenty)
rs retroflex mars (March)
g (before e/i/y) soft y-sound ge (give), gilla (like)
💬 Examples
å / ä / ö
as in more / bed / rounded e
📝 å = long aw; ä = open e; ö = rounded front
åka / äta / öppen
AW-ka / EH-ta / UH-pen
to travel / to eat / open
📝 all three extra vowels in common words
The sj-sound is unique to Swedish

sj-, skj-, and sk- (before front vowels) all make a hushing sound with no English equivalent.

💬 Examples
sjö / skjuta / skola
shuh / SHOO-ta / SHOO-la
lake / to shoot / school
📝 sj and skj = hushing; sk before a/o/u = sk
tjugo / kyckling
SHOO-go / SHICK-ling
twenty / chicken
📝 tj = soft ch-like sound
Stress usually falls on the first syllable

Most native Swedish words stress the first syllable; pitch accent also marks words.

💬 Examples
TAla / SKRIva / STUdera
to speak / to write / to study
📝 first syllable stressed in most words
handen / handen
HAN-den / HAN-den
the hand / the spirit (minimal pair by pitch)
📝 same spelling; pitch accent 1 vs 2 differs