| Glyphs | Spelling | Pronunciation | Notes on usage (for more, see Finnish phonology) |
|---|
| A, a | aa | /ɑː/ |
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| B, b | bee | /beː/ | Occurs in relatively new loanwords, such as banaani 'banana' and bussi 'bus'. Typically pronounced as [b̥] or [p]. |
| C, c | see | /seː/ | Occurs in unestablished loanwords, such as curry and cesium. Typically pronounced as [k] or [s]. |
| D, d | dee | /deː/ | In present standard language, d stands for [d], but it may be pronounced as [d̥] or [t̪], and the pronunciation in dialects varies a lot. Natively used in Western dialects as [ɾ] and not at all in Eastern dialects. |
| E, e | ee | /eː/ | The precise pronunciation tends to be between [e] and [ɛ]. |
| F, f | äf, äffä | /æf/, /ˈæf.fæ/, occasionally /ef/ | Occurs in relatively new loanwords, such as asfaltti 'asphalt' or uniformu 'uniform'. Historically and in dialectal pronunciation (apart from some Western dialects), /f/ is typically replaced with /ʋ/ or medially /hʋ/ (e.g. kahvi /ˈkah.ʋi/ ← Swedish kaffe 'coffee'). Even newer loanwords may have an alternative spelling where v has replaced f (asvaltti, univormu). |
| G, g | gee | /ɡeː/ | Occurs natively in the digraph ng, which marks the long velar nasal [ŋː] (with no [ɡ] sound). Otherwise g only occurs in relatively new loanwords, such as gaala 'gala' and geeni 'gene'. Typically pronounced [ɡ̊] or [k]. |
| H, h | hoo | /hoː/ | Normally a voiceless fricative, but the precise pronunciation depends on the preceding vowel; between two vowels may be pronounced as breathy-voiced [ɦ]. |
| I, i | ii | /iː/ | The precise pronunciation tends to be between [i] and [e]. |
| J, j | jii | /jiː/ | Without exception [j] (English consonant y), as in German and Swedish, never fricated or africated as in French or English. |
| K, k | koo | /koː/ |
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| L, l | äl, ällä | /æl/, /ˈæl.læ/, occasionally /el/ |
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| M, m | äm, ämmä | /æm/, /ˈæm.mæ/, occasionally /em/ |
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| N, n | än, ännä | /æn/, /ˈæn.næ/, occasionally /en/ |
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| O, o | oo | /oː/ | The precise pronunciation tends to be between [o] and [ɔ]. |
| P, p | pee | /peː/ |
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| Q, q | kuu | /kuː/ | Mainly occurs in foreign proper names (in loanwords digraph qu has often been replaced with kv). Typically pronounced as [k]. |
| R, r | är, ärrä | /ær/, /ˈær.ræ/, occasionally /er/ |
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| S, s | äs, ässä | /æs/, /ˈæs.sæ/, occasionally /es/ |
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| Š, š | hattu-äs,
hattu-ässä;
suhu-äs,
suhu-ässä | /ˈhattu.æs/,
/ˈhattu.æssæ/;
/ˈsuhu.æs/,
/ˈsuhu.æssæ/ | The "s with a hat" is a rare variant of s. It occurs in some relatively new loanwords, such as šakki 'chess' and šillinki 'shilling', but is often replaced with digraph sh (šampoo → shampoo) or, in more established loanwords, with plain s (sampoo). In theory pronounced as [ʃ] but in practice often as [s]. |
| T, t | tee | /teː/ | The precise pronunciation tends to be dental [t̪] rather than alveolar [t]. |
| U, u | uu | /uː/ | The precise pronunciation tends to be between [u] and [o]. |
| V, v | vee | /ʋeː/ | Typically pronounced as approximant [ʋ] rather than fricative [v]. |
| W, w | kaksois-vee,
tupla-vee | /ʋeː/,
/ˈkɑk.soisˌʋeː/,
/ˈtup.lɑˌʋeː/ | The "double-v" may occur natively as an archaic variant of v, but otherwise in unestablished loanwords and foreign proper names only. It occurs in some rare surnames such as Wirtanen, and in collation it is treated like v. Typically pronounced [ʋ]. |
| X, x | äks, äksä | /æks/, /ˈæk.sæ/, occasionally /eks/ | Occurs in unestablished loanwords, such as taxi or fax, but there is often a preferred alternative where x has been replaced with digraph ks (taksi, faksi). Typically pronounced as [ks]. |
| Y, y | yy | /yː/ | The precise pronunciation tends to be between [y] and [ø]. |
| Z, z | tset, tseta | /tset/, /ˈtse.tɑ/ | Occurs in unestablished loanwords, such as zeniitti /tse.niːt.ti/ 'zenith' or pizza, but there may be an alternative spelling with ts (e.g. pitsa). Typically pronounced [ts], but sometimes as [s] or [z̥]. |
| Ž, ž | hattu-tset,
hattu-tseta | /ˈhat.tuˌtset/,
/ˈhat.tuˌtse.tɑ/ | The "z with a hat" is a rare variant of z. It occurs in some unestablished loanwords, such as džonkki 'junk', and foreign proper names, but is often replaced with digraph zh. In theory pronounced as [ʒ] but the actual pronunciation may vary. |
| Å, å | ruotsalainen oo | /oː/, /ˈruot.sɑˌlɑi.nen oː/ | The "Swedish o", carried over from the Swedish alphabet and redundant in Finnish; retained especially for writing Finland-Swedish proper names. Pronounced as [o]. |
| Ä, ä | ää | /æː/ |
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| Ö, ö | öö | /øː/ | The precise pronunciation tends to be between [ø] and [œ]. |
