Alphabet in Swedish Language

Understanding the Swedish alphabet is necessary to learn the Swedish Language. Swedish alphabet configuration is used in a day-to-day conversation. Without the Swedish alphabet, it is impossible to speak the Swedish phrases properly even if a person know how to write those phrases in Swedish. Learn More

Like in any language, the better you articulate a letter in a word, the more grasped you’ll be in conversing in the Swedish language. Underneath are website links that directs you to the Swedish alphabet and how it’s pronounced in English.

Learn Swedish Language Online

)

Vowels in Swedish Alphabet

Swedish is notorious for its extra vowel sounds, giving Swedish nine (!) different vowels. Most are pronounced differently than English, and some don't even have a true English equivalent; some may be close, but sound like a combination of two vowel sounds. This can be very confusing, but you probably won't hear enough Swedish to know the difference, as they can be very slight. If you don't get it exactly, you may still be understood. All vowels can be pronounced short or long which means that Swedish has 17 different vowel sounds (short e and short ä is almost the same in some places of the country - especially in the Stockholm dialect). This rule does not apply for most of the dialects in the Norrland region.
Please note: in Swedish 'y' is a vowel and not a consonant.
a	like 'a' in "father."
e	short: like 'e' in "bed" or "pen." long: like 'ey' in "hey," but longer. Can sometimes sound slightly like "Ay-uh;" because the Swedish pronounciation is longer. E's are usually pronounced at the end of a word, such as in "kaffe" (pronounced kaff-eh, meaning coffee), unlike English where e's at the end of a word are usually silent.
i	short: like 'i' in "India" long: like 'i' in "machine." Fairly straightforward.
o	like 'u' in "put," but not exactly. It's somewhere between that and the 'o' in "broken" in actuality. The o in "fool" is similar too.
u	like 'ou' in "you."
y	a bit like 'y' in "Nitroglycerin." This is one of the harder ones to learn. Easiest way is to pout your lips (important) and say "bee." It may sound closer to an English short 'i' sound to some people.
å	like 'au' in "Paul" generally speaking, or lika the a in "Tall".
ä	like "a" in "mare" (identical to the ä in German). Pronounced with more bass if preceding r.
ö	somewhat like a mix between the "io" in "Motion", and the "oo" in "Book". Pronounced with more bass if preceding r. The u in "Turn" is also close depending on what word it's in.

Consonants in Swedish Alphabet

Consonants are closer to English, but some combinations can be downright tricky, i.e. 'sj' in "sjutton." Some pronunciations depend on the vowel following it, and so the vowels are divided into "soft" and "hard" vowels. A, o, u, and å are the hard vowels, and e, i, y, ä, and ö are the soft vowels.
b	like 'b' in "bed"
c	like 'c' in "cat", but a 'ch' combination is pronounced like English 'sh.' Sometimes 's' like the first c in circus.
d	like 'd' in "dog"
f	like 'f' in "for"
g	like 'g' in "go", when preceding a hard vowel, like 'y' in "yellow" when preceding a soft vowel. A 'gn' pronunciation is pronounced like an English 'g', except for when it follows a vowel, in which case it is pronounced 'ngn.'
h	like 'h' in "help"
j	like 'y' in "yell," and if there is a d, g, or h before a 'j' then that letter is silent.
k	like 'k' in "king" before a hard vowel, like 'sh' before a soft one. 'Kj' is pronounced 'sh' as well
l	like 'l' in "love," but 'lj' is pronounced like a 'y'
m	like 'm' in "mother"
n	like 'n' in "nice"
p	like 'p' in "pig"
q	like 'q' in "quest" (with "u", almost always)
r	like 'r' in "row", and like 'r' in "feather." Swedes tend to roll their r's in certain words. 'Rs' is pronounced 'sh'. (Not comparable to an English 'r'. Sounds more like a Spanish one.)
s	like 'ss' in "hiss," but 'skj' and 'stj' are pronounced 'sh.' 'Sj' is hard for non-native speakers - try rounding your lips and saying "hwoo" to get the gist of it. 'Sk' is also pronounced this way before soft vowels.
t	like 't' in "top," but 'tj' is pronounced 'sh'
v	like 'v' in "victory"
w	like 'v' in "victor," but w's in Swedish are uncommon.
x	like 'cks' in "kicks", like 'ehcks' at beginning of a word.
z	like 's' in "saw"

Semi Vowels/ Diphthongs in Swedish Alphabet

[table id=swedish filter=”Special Consonant Cluste

Alphabet in Swedish Language