Language/Finnish/Grammar/Alphabet-and-Pronunciation

Finnish → Grammar → 0 to A1 Course → Introduction to Finnish → Alphabet and Pronunciation

Introduction

Hei! Tervetuloa suomen kielen oppitunnille! (Hello! Welcome to Finnish language class!) I have been teaching Finnish for 20 years and I'm excited to help you learn this beautiful language. Finnish may seem daunting at first, but with a little practice and patience, you'll be able to speak and understand it in no time! This lesson will focus on the Finnish alphabet and pronunciation rules.

With the completion of this lesson, consider investigating these related pages: Finnish Adjectives and Pronouns & Give your Opinion.

The Finnish Alphabet

The Finnish alphabet consists of 29 letters, including å, ä, and ö. The letters q, w, x, and z do not exist in the Finnish alphabet. Unlike in English, the letters are pronounced consistently, meaning that you can read Finnish words aloud even if you don't know what they mean.

Here is the Finnish alphabet with its pronunciation:

Finnish	Pronunciation	English
A, a	ah	Like the 'a' in 'father'
B, b	bee	Like the 'b' in 'be'
C, c	see	Like the 'c' in 'cat'. Used only in loan words, mainly names and acronyms.
D, d	dee	Like the 'd' in 'day'
E, e	eh	Like the 'e' in 'get'
F, f	äf	Pronounced as /f/ in most contexts, a voiced labiodental fricative (/v/ or /ʋ/) in loan words and proper names, like Finnish surnames beginning with P.
G, g	gee	Like the 'g' in 'get'
H, h	hoo	Like the 'h' in 'house'
I, i	ee	Like the 'ee' in 'seen'
J, j	jee	Pronounced like the 'y' in 'yes', but less rounded and with the tongue further forward
K, k	kah	Like the 'k' in 'kite'
L, l	ell	Like the 'l' in 'let'
M, m	äm	Like the 'm' in 'mat'
N, n	än	Like the 'n' in 'not'
O, o	oh	Like the 'o' in 'go'
P, p	pee	Like the 'p' in 'see'
Q, q	kuu	Not in general use in Finnish, existing only in a few loan words, such as 'kvaasi'
R, r	err	Rolled 'r', similar to the Spanish 'r'
S, s	ess	Like the 's' in 'see'
T, t	tee	Like the 't' in 'tea'
U, u	uu	Like the 'oo' in 'boot'
V, v	vee	Pronounced as /ʋ/, a labiodental approximant, which is close to /v/
W, w	kah-vee	Not in use in Finnish, existing only in a few loan words, such as the names 'Waltteri' and 'Wanda'
X, x	iks	Not in general use in Finnish, existing only in a few loan words, such as 'eksyä'
Y, y	ypsilon	Like the 'y' in 'yoyo'
Z, z	sett	Not in general use in Finnish, existing only in a few loan words, such as 'zigotti'
Å, å	ooh with a rounded mouth and then an 'ah'	Close to the 'a' sound in 'law'
Ä, ä	e with a rounded mouth	Close to the 'ea' sound in 'bread'
Ö, ö	eu with a rounded mouth	Close to the 'i' sound in 'bird'

Remember that Finnish letters are pronounced consistently, which means that once you know the pronunciation of each letter, you'll be able to pronounce any Finnish word correctly.

Pronunciation Rules

Now that you know the Finnish alphabet, let's look at some pronunciation rules:

Vowels

Finnish has eight vowels: a, e, i, o, u, y, ä, and ö. Each vowel can be pronounced in a long or short form, but the difference in pronunciation is sometimes subtle. A good rule of thumb is that long vowels are held for two beats, while short vowels are held for one beat.

For example, in the word 'kissa' (cat), the 'i' is pronounced as a short vowel, while in the word 'kiitos' (thank you), the 'i' is pronounced as a long vowel.

Consonants

Finnish consonants are generally pronounced like their English counterparts, with a few exceptions:

- The letter 's' is pronounced as 'sh' before 'i' and 'y', as in the word 'sininen' (blue). - The letter 'v' is pronounced as a 'w' in some words, such as 'vesi' (water). - The letter 'r' is rolled.

Diphthongs

Finnish has a few diphthongs, which are two vowel sounds pronounced together as one syllable. The most common diphthongs in Finnish are 'ai' and 'oi'.

For example, in the word 'aito' (genuine), the letters 'ai' are pronounced as one syllable.

Practice

Now that you know the Finnish alphabet and some pronunciation rules, it's time to practice! Try reading some Finnish words out loud and pay attention to the sounds of the letters and the length of the vowels. A good place to start is by reading the news in Finnish or listening to Finnish music.

Here are some common Finnish words to practice on:

(Note: pronunciation guides included in parentheses)

• Kiitos (kee-tohss) - Thank you
• Moi (moy) - Hi/Bye
• Tervetuloa (tehr-veh-too-loh-ah) - Welcome
• Hyvää päivää (hy-vah pah-ih-vah) - Good day

Conclusion

Congratulations, you made it through our introduction to the Finnish alphabet and pronunciation rules! With a little bit of practice and patience, you'll be able to master the Finnish language in no time. In the next lesson, we will take a look at the basic sentence structure in Finnish, including subject-verb-object order and the use of cases, so be sure to check it out! Until then, onnea oppimiseen! (Good luck learning!)

Finished this lesson? Check out these related lessons: Basic Sentence Structure & Finnish Sentence Structure.

Table of Contents - Finnish Course - 0 to A1

• Course Presentation

  ---

Introduction to Finnish

• Alphabet and Pronunciation
• Basic Sentence Structure

  ---

Greetings and Introductions

• Basic Greetings
• Introducing Yourself

  ---

Nouns and Adjectives

• Noun Cases
• Adjective Agreement

  ---

Numbers and Time

• Numbers 1-20
• Telling Time

  ---

Verbs and Tenses

• Present Tense
• Past Tense

  ---

Daily Activities

• Daily Routine
• Hobbies and Leisure

  ---

Questions and Negation

• Forming Questions
• Negation

  ---

Food and Dining

• Food Vocabulary
• Dining Out

  ---

Prepositions and Postpositions

• Prepositions
• Postpositions

  ---

Travel and Transportation

• Modes of Transportation
• Travel Phrases

  ---

Finnish Culture and Traditions

• Holidays and Celebrations
• Finnish Sauna

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Weather and Seasons

• Weather Vocabulary
• Seasons

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Conjunctions and Subordinate Clauses

• Conjunctions
• Subordinate Clauses

  ---

Family and Relationships

• Family Members
• Relationships

  ---

Finnish Literature and Music

• Finnish Literature
• Finnish Music

Other Lessons

• Sami and Karelian Languages
• Asking Directions in Finnish
• Finnish Nouns: Inflection and Gender
• 0 to A1 Course
• Possessive Case in Finnish
• Prepositions
• Pronouns
• Regional Finnish Dialects
• Finnish Cases
• How to Use Have

Sources

• Finnish Alphabet and Pronunciation
• Finnish language - Wikipedia
• Finnish language, alphabet and pronunciation