The Finnish alphabet looks familiar. It uses the same Latin script as English and has 29 letters. Most are exactly the same, but you'll notice a couple of additions: Å, Ä, and Ö. The core principle of Finnish pronunciation is simple and consistent: one letter makes one sound. This makes reading Finnish much more straightforward than English once you learn the rules.

Letters like B, C, F, G, Q, W, X, Z, and Å are mainly used for foreign words and names, so you won't see them as often in native Finnish words.

Vowels are the heart of the Finnish language. There are eight of them, and each has a distinct, pure sound that never changes. Unlike in English, where a letter like 'a' can sound many different ways (cat, father, able), in Finnish, an 'a' is always an 'a'.

Finnish also uses long vowels. When you see a vowel written twice, like aa or ii, you simply hold the sound for twice as long. For example, tuli means 'fire', but tuuli (with a long 'u') means 'wind'.

A core feature of Finnish is vowel harmony. This rule dictates which vowels can appear together in the same word. Vowels are sorted into three groups.

The rule is that back vowels (A, O, U) and front vowels (Ä, Ö, Y) cannot be in the same native Finnish word. Neutral vowels (E, I) can mix with either group.

This becomes important when adding suffixes. For instance, the suffix meaning 'in' is either -ssa or -ssä. If a word has back vowels, you use -ssa. If it has front vowels, you use -ssä.

• talo (house) + -ssa = talossa (in the house)
• metsä (forest) + -ssä = metsässä (in the forest)

The other major phonetic rule to know is consonant gradation. This is a sound change that happens to certain consonants (k, p, t) in the middle of a word when a suffix is added. The consonant 'weakens' in specific contexts.

This might seem complex, but it follows predictable patterns. You don't need to memorize them all at once, but it's good to be aware of the concept. Here are a few common changes.

Let's see this in action. The word for 'cat' is kissa. When we want to say 'cat's', we add the -n suffix. This triggers consonant gradation.

Learning these two concepts, vowel harmony and consonant gradation, is a huge step toward understanding how Finnish words are built and pronounced.

Ready to check your understanding?

With these foundations, you're well on your way to reading and speaking Finnish with confidence.