1. katt 2. kök 3. gata 4. ge 5. sko 6. skön

hard: katt, gata, sko soft: kök, ge, skön

Chapter 1 · Sounds and Spelling

Sounds and Letters

Why do katt and kött start with different sounds?

3 min readUpdated 2026-07-12

Swedish spelling is fairly regular, but it is not one-letter-one-sound. This chapter gives the minimum sound system you need before trusting any spelling rule in this book.

Why do kött and katt start with different sounds although both are spelled with k?

The Alphabet: 29 Letters

Swedish uses the English alphabet plus three extra letters at the end:

as in `år` (year)

as in `äta` (eat)

as in `öga` (eye)

These are separate letters, not decorated a and o. Dictionaries sort them after z, and swapping them changes words: far (father) vs får (get/sheep).

Hard And Soft Vowels

The nine vowels split into two groups. This split controls how k, g, and sk are pronounced before a vowel:

hard vowels: a, o, u, å
soft vowels: e, i, y, ä, ö

Before a hard vowel, k, g, sk keep their basic sounds:

cat

street

shoe

Before a soft vowel, they normally soften:

meat — k -> tje-sound

give — g -> j-sound

pleasant — sk -> sje-sound

The Two Famous Sounds: Sje And Tje

The sje-sound (a breathy sh-like sound) has many spellings. Recognize the family instead of deriving it:

seven

shirt

star

sick

The tje-sound (similar to English "sh"/"ch" but softer) is spelled tj or soft k:

twenty

kitchen

in love

What can go wrong

Loanwords and names often ignore the soft-vowel rule:

kilo       hard k despite i
kön        soft k (gender/queue: kö)
arkitekt   hard k

Store the pronunciation with the word, ideally by listening to the audio entry in the dictionary.

Chapter summary

Signal	Expect	Example
`å ä ö`	separate letters, separate words	`far` vs `får`
`k/g/sk` + hard vowel	basic sound	`katt`, `gata`, `sko`
`k/g/sk` + soft vowel	softened sound	`kött`, `ge`, `skön`
`sj/skj/stj/sk`+soft	sje-sound family	`sju`, `stjärna`
`tj` or soft `k`	tje-sound	`tjugo`, `kök`
loanword	rule may not apply	`kilo`

Practice

Study check

1 activity

1
1. katt
2. kök
3. gata
4. ge
5. sko
6. skön
Show answer key
```
hard: katt, gata, sko
soft: kök, ge, skön
```
Compare each response with the answer key.

Listen to the Complete Alphabet

Select any letter to hear its Swedish name.

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