The Swedish alphabet is built on the familiar Latin alphabet, so you'll recognize most of the letters. It has 29 letters in total: the standard 26 plus three additional vowels that come at the very end.

Here is the full alphabet:

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

Let's focus on the three unique letters. Their sounds are crucial for speaking Swedish clearly. Don't worry about getting them perfect right away; just focus on recognizing the difference.

Å / å This letter sounds like the "o" in the English word "or" or "for." It's a rounded, open sound made in the back of your mouth.

Ä / ä This letter sounds like the "a" in "air" or the "e" in "bed." It's a more frontal vowel sound than Å.

Ö / ö This sound doesn't have a direct equivalent in most English dialects. It's similar to the "i" in "bird" or the "u" in "fur." To make this sound, shape your lips as if you're about to say "oo," but instead try to say "ee."

Swedish has nine vowels in total: A, O, U, Å are considered "hard" vowels, while E, I, Y, Ä, Ö are "soft" vowels. This distinction is important because the vowel that follows the consonants g, k, or sk determines how that consonant is pronounced.

When a hard vowel follows, the consonant has a hard sound:

• gata (street) - hard g as in "go"
• karta (map) - hard k as in "cat"

When a soft vowel follows, the consonant has a soft sound:

• göra (to do) - soft g like the "y" in "yes"
• kyrka (church) - soft k with a "sh" sound, like in "she"

One of the most distinctive features of spoken Swedish is its pitch accent, which gives it a "sing-song" quality. Most words have one of two tonal patterns, or accents. In some cases, the accent is the only thing that distinguishes two words with the same spelling.

A classic example is the word anden. With Accent 1, it means "the duck." With Accent 2, it means "the spirit." The context usually makes the meaning clear, but it's a fun feature of the language to be aware of.

You'll pick up this melody naturally by listening to native speakers. For now, just know that the rhythm and tone are as important as the sounds themselves.

Ready to test your knowledge? Let's see what you've learned about the Swedish alphabet.

Great work. Getting familiar with these foundational sounds will make learning vocabulary and speaking much easier as you move forward.