Sounds and spelling · S4

One sound, several spellings

The sj-, tj- and j-sounds can each be spelled in several ways, some with a silent letter.

From your lessons

Kapitel 1 · Lite långsammare, tack

The sj-sound and the tj-sound can each be spelled in several ways.

The breathy sj-sound is spelled sj, sk (before e i y ä ö), stj or skj: sju (seven), sked (spoon), stjärna (star), skjorta (shirt).

The tj-sound, close to the ch in “cheap”, is spelled tj, k (before e i y ä ö) or kj: tjugo (twenty), kyrka (church), kjol (skirt).

It’s the k and sk rule from “Tuss läser högt” the other way round: from sound to letters.

Swedish	English
sju · sked · stjärna	seven · spoon · star
tjugo · kyrka · kjol	twenty · church · skirt

Watch out

sjed (spoon)sked

Hear the sj-sound before e, i, y, ä or ö? Try sk first. Before a, o, u or å? Try sj.

Kapitel 1 · Lite långsammare, tack

In a few common words, the j-sound is written with a silent h, l, d or g in front.

The j-sound (like the y in “yes”) is usually spelled j: ja. Before e i y ä ö it can also be g: göra.

And in a handful of words there’s a silent letter: hjälp (help), ljus (light), djur (animal), gjorde (did). hjälp sounds like “yelp”.

Watch out

jälphjälp

There are only a handful of these words. Learn them as you meet them; for a new word, j is the safe guess.