Olle’s grammar · Sounds and spelling · S1
Nine vowels, three new letters
Swedish has nine vowels: a e i o u y å ä ö. Å, ä and ö are letters of their own.
They are not a and o with decoration. They have their own sounds, and they come at the very end of the alphabet: … x y z å ä ö.
Tap a letter to hear it. The English hints are only rough guides; your ear is the real teacher.
| Swedish | English | |
|---|
| å | close to the o in “more” | |
| ä | like the e in “bed” | |
| ö | like the u in “fur”, lips rounded | |
| y | say “ee” with tightly rounded lips | |
| u | say “oo”, then push your tongue forward | |
Watch out
Vi står i en ko. (a cow)Vi står i en kö. (a queue) Two dots change everything: kö is a queue, ko is a cow. Tuss is right: the family is standing in a kö.