Swedish A1
The Swedish Alphabet
Swedish uses the 26 letters A–Z plus the three extra letters Å, Ä, and Ö. In modern Swedish, W is counted as its own letter, so the alphabet has 29 letters.
29 letters
from A to Ö
9 vowels
a, e, i, o, u, y, å, ä, ö
20 consonants
b, c, d, f, g, h, j, k, l, m, n, p, q, r, s, t, v, w, x, z
A a[a]vowel
B b[be]consonant
C c[se]often k or s
D d[de]consonant
E e[e]vowel
F f[eff]consonant
G g[ge]hard or soft
H h[hå]consonant
I i[i]vowel
J j[ji]like English y in yes
K k[kå]hard or soft
L l[ell]consonant
M m[emm]consonant
N n[enn]consonant
O o[o]vowel
P p[pe]consonant
Q q[ku]mostly names or loanwords
R r[err]varies by region
S s[ess]consonant
T t[te]consonant
U u[u]vowel
V v[ve]consonant
W w[dubbel-ve]often sounds like v
X x[eks]usually k + s
Y y[y]vowel
Z z[säta]often sounds like s
Å å[å]vowel
Ä ä[ä]vowel
Ö ö[ö]vowel
Letters and sounds
A letter is a written symbol.
A sound is what you hear when a word is spoken.
Vowels are open sounds, such as a, i, and o.
Consonants are the other speech sounds, such as b, f, and n.
Useful spelling notes
- C is usually pronounced like k or s.
- Q is rare and usually sounds like k.
- W is common in names and loanwords and often sounds like v.
- X is usually pronounced like k + s.
- Z often sounds like s.
Lowercase letters: abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyzåäö
Uppercase letters: ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZÅÄÖ
Pronunciation notes for beginners
Swedish vowels can be long or short. The spelling often gives clues, but the best way to learn the sound is to listen and repeat.
| Letter | Long vowel example | Short vowel example | Helpful note |
|---|---|---|---|
| A | glas | glass | The short sound is usually more open. |
| E | heter | hette | Before r, the sound may be more open. |
| I | skriver | sitter | Long i is clear and narrow. |
| O | bor, son | bott, boll | O can sound like Swedish o or Swedish å depending on the word. |
| U | gul | guld | Swedish u is different from English u. |
| Y | dyr | tyst | Y is a vowel in Swedish. |
| Å | månad | måndag | Å is close to the vowel sound in English “more”, but not identical. |
| Ä | vägen, där | väggen, färg | Ä is often more open before r. |
| Ö | öga, öra | fönster, dörr | Ö has rounded lips; before r it is often more open. |
Tip: pronunciation varies by region, so use these examples as a beginner guide rather than strict rules.
