Finnish/Aakkoset
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^^Contents^^ | <<Introduction | Alphabet | Hello!>>
In short, the basic alphabet of the Finnish language: Aakkoset: a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z å ä ö (help·info)
Finnish is a very phonetic language, as every pronunciation has its own letter. That is to say that things are "pronounced exactly as they are written" so SAMPA and IPA notations of Finnish words are almost identical to the written language. However, do not take this too literally; there are certainly many details in speech that cannot be easily expressed in written language, and Finnish is no exception.
The glyphs 'ä' and 'ö' have been borrowed from Swedish, and even if their pronunciation is similar, their grammatical role is vastly different, as Finnish is not a Nordic language. They are independent letters and phonemes, not modified nor accented letters. Changing 'Ä' into 'A' or 'Ö' into 'O' is akin to changing 'O' into 'Q'.
- Ä is similar to the following bolded sounds in English: "A fat pancake man sat on a cat."
- Ö is similar to the following bolded sounds in British English: "Girls all over the world tried to figure out what all the words mean untill a consensus was reached that it cannot be worked out."
| Letter | Pronunciation | IPA | English approximation | Audio sample |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aa | aah | ɑ | aunt | A, auto, aamu, ananas (help·info) | |
| Bb | beh | b | best | B, bensiini, Bertta (help·info) | |
| Cc | seh | s | cement | C, Cecilia (help·info)| |
| Dd | deh | d | demonstrate | D, vadelma, kädet (help·info) | |
| Ee | eeh | e | electricity | E, eurooppa, eskimo, teippi (help·info) | |
| Ff | aeff | f | affection | F, faarao (help·info) | |
| Gg | geh | g | gave | G, kengät, grilli (help·info) | |
| Hh | hoh | h | hold | H, hahlo, Helsinki (help·info) | |
| Ii | eeh | i | eat | I, Inari, liivi (help·info) | |
| Jj | yee | j | yield | J, Jaakko, tarjous (help·info) | |
| Kk | kooh | k | covert | K, kukka, osake (help·info)| |
| Ll | ael | l | altitude | L, lahdelma, pallo (help·info) | |
| Mm | aem | m | ambrosia | M, mämmi, kumi (help·info) | |
| Nn | aen | n | ant | N, nänni, nuppu (help·info)| |
| Oo | ooh | o | oval | O, mopo, orava (help·info) | |
| Pp | peeh | p | pellet | P, pappi, ripaus (help·info) | |
| kuuh | k | cook | Q (help·info) | |
| Rr | aer | r | arrogant | R, kärrynpyörä, särky (help·info) | |
| Ss | aes | s | ask | S, sissi, sauna (help·info)| |
| Šš | hattu-aes | ʃ | shoot; used mainly in transliteration and optionally in some borrowed words, e.g. seriffi. | |
| Tt | teeh | t | tepid | T, tuttu, tarvita (help·info) | |
| Uu | oo | u | foot | U, uusi, luukku (help·info)| |
| Vv | veeh | v | very | V, veivi, tavuviiva (help·info) | |
| Ww | kahksoisveeh | v | very. This is not an independent letter in Finnish, but an variant of V often used archaicly. In a Finnish dictionary, you will find words beginning with v and w mixed. | W, Waltari (help·info)| |
| Xx | aex | ks | axe | X (help·info) | |
| Yy | eew | y | cute | Y, nyökkäys, tyttö (help·info) | |
| Zz | tset | z | like ts | [Z, tset (help·info) | |
| Žž | hattu-tset | ʒ | mirage, treasure; used mainly in transliteration. | |
| Åå | ruotsalainen ooh | o | oval; used only in Swedish names. | Å (help·info) | |
| Ää | aeae | æ | Adam asks for apple advice | Ä, häkä, sää, määräys (help·info) | |
| Öö | oeoe | ø | Curled girl spoke an absurd word | Ö, hölynpöly (help·info)| |
