Swedish pronunciation: vowels, pitch accent and the sj sound

Swedish spelling is fairly regular, and you can read most words aloud once you know a handful of rules. The difficulty is in the sounds that English does not have: the extra vowels, the melody of the words and the famous sj sound. This guide covers the four things that make the biggest difference to how you sound.

Nine vowels, each long or short

Swedish has nine vowel letters: a, e, i, o, u, y, å, ä, ö. Each has a long and a short version, so what looks like the same letter can be two different sounds.

The three vowels å, ä and ö come at the end of the alphabet. Å sounds like the vowel in "more", ä is like the vowel in "bed" (or "air" when long), and ö is like the vowel in "bird" without the "r". The vowel y is like i with rounded lips: say "ee" and round your lips. The vowel u has no clear English counterpart, and it is made with the lips pushed forward and the tongue kept high.

The length rule

Every stressed syllable in Swedish is long, and it ends in one of two ways: a long vowel followed by a short consonant, or a short vowel followed by a long consonant. You can see it in the spelling: a double consonant (or two consonants) means a short vowel.

• tak is pronounced with a long vowel: the a is stretched and the k is short.
• tack has a short vowel and a long, held k.

English speakers tend to shorten both, so tak and tack sound alike. Stretch the vowel in the first and hold the consonant in the second, and you will be understood much more easily.

Pitch accent

Swedish words have one of two tonal patterns, called accent 1 and accent 2. Many words with a different meaning differ only in the accent.

You do not need to master the accents before you can speak. The context almost always shows which word is meant. But hearing them is a good way to sound more natural, so listen carefully to native speakers and imitate the melody of whole phrases. Accent 2 words have a more singing quality.

Soft g and k

Before the front vowels e, i, y, ä, ö, the letters g and k change their sound.

Before other letters the sounds are hard, as in English: gata (street), katt (cat). A few words, often loanwords, keep the hard sound even before a front vowel (get, goat), so listen to each word.

The sj and tj sounds

The sj sound is the most feared sound in Swedish, and it is spelled in many ways: sj (sjö, lake), stj (stjärna, star), skj (skjorta, shirt), and sk before front vowels (skön, lovely). The sj is made with the tongue lifted towards the back of the mouth, with the lips rounded and pushed forward. It sounds a bit like a mix between "sh" and the Scottish "ch" in "loch". Many learners simply say "sh", and it is fine for being understood.

The tj sound is softer and further forward, close to the "h" in "huge" with a hint of "sh". It is used in tjugo (twenty), tjock (thick) and in soft k, as in kilo.

Common mistakes

• Shortening long vowels. Tak and tack sound the same, which causes confusion.
• Hard g and k in soft words. Göra is "yö-ra", not "gö-ra". Kär is not pronounced like "care".
• Using English "ow" for å. Gå is "gaw", and has a pure vowel.
• Stressing the wrong syllable. The stress usually falls on the first syllable of a native word.

Practice

Put it into use with introducing yourself in Swedish.