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Alphabet & Pronunciation
Swedish alphabet (å, ä, ö), pitch accent, vowel length and key pronunciation rules
å, ä, ö
three extra vowel letters
aw, eh, ur
Swedish adds these three vowels beyond the basic Latin set
Vokallängd
vowel length changes meaning
long vs short
väg (way, long ä) vs vägg (wall, short ä)
sj-ljudet
the sj-sound
a breathy "sh" made further back
sju [SHOO], sjal [SHAHL]
tj-ljudet
the tj-sound
soft "ch"-like sound
tjej [CHAY], kött [CHUHT]
Musikalisk accent
pitch accent (preview)
accent 1 vs accent 2
Swedish words carry a melodic tone pattern, not just stress
k före mjuka vokaler (e,i,y,ä,ö)
k before soft vowels sounds like "sh"
kött, kyrka
The letter k has two very different pronunciations
g före mjuka vokaler
g before soft vowels sounds like "y"
gymnastik, ge
Soft g shifts to a y-glide sound
Betoning oftast på första stavelsen
Stress is usually on the first syllable
-
A helpful default pattern for native words
Hej / Hej då
Hello / Goodbye
hey / hey daw
The most basic everyday greeting pair
God morgon / God natt
Good morning / Good night
good MOR-gon / good nat
Time-of-day greetings