Swedish Pronunciation Guide
By Dick Oakes
A a, B b, C c, D d, E e, F f, G g,
H h, I i, J j, K k, L l, M m, N n, O o, P p,
Q q, R r, S s, T t, U u, V v,
X x, Y y, Z z, Ä ä, Å å, Ö ö
Swedish is a North Germanic language and has over nine million speakers. It is closely related to Danish and Norwegian.
Letters not listed below are pronounced approximately as in English.
A, a | - aw as in law |
E, e | - ie as in pier |
I, i | - i as in pin; i as in machine |
O, o | - o as in note; also o as in gone |
U, u | - u as in duke; eu as in fleur |
Y, y | - eu as in fleur |
Ä, ä | - o as in note |
Å, å | - a as in tap |
Ö, ö | - eu as in fleur; e as in her |
D, d | - as in English but with the tip of the tongue touching the upper teeth |
G, g |
- g as in go before a consonant or hard vowel (a, o u, å);
e as in pet |
J, j | - y as in yes |
K, k |
- k as in keep before a hard vowel;
ch as in check (but without the t) before a soft vowel (e, i, y, ä, ö) |
L, l | - as in English but with the tongue not actually touching the teeth |
R, r | - slightly rolled |
X, x | - x as in exceed (never with the g sound of example) |
Z, z | - s as in sing |
Copyright © 2014 by Dick Oakes