Finnish Language has 28 Letters | 8 Vowels including ä and ö, and 13 Consonant Letters

Q: How many letters are in Finnish?

The Finnish alphabet has 28 letters : 8 vowels (a, e, i, o, u, y, ä, ö) and 13 native consonants, plus additional letters (b, c, f, q, w, x, z) used mainly in loanwords.

Q: What are the Finnish special letters ä and ö?

The Finnish special letters are ä and ö . These represent distinct vowel sounds : ä sounds like "a" in "cat", and ö sounds like "u" in "fur". They are front vowels that participate in Finnish vowel harmony.

Q: What is Finnish vowel harmony?

Finnish vowel harmony is a phonological rule where front vowels (ä, ö, y) and back vowels (a, o, u) typically do not appear together in the same word. The vowel "i" and "e" are neutral and can appear with both groups.

Q: Where is Finnish spoken?

Finnish is spoken primarily in Finland , where it is an official language alongside Swedish. It is also spoken by Finnish minorities in Sweden, Norway, and Russia.

Q: How many people speak Finnish?

Finnish is spoken by approximately 5.5 million native speakers and about 5.8 million total speakers worldwide, making it one of the major Uralic languages.

Finnish Alphabet at a Glance

29 letters: 8 vowels (a, e, i, o, u, y, ä, ö) and 21 consonants
Spoken by approximately 5.4 million native speakers
Official language in Finland alongside Swedish; recognized minority language in Sweden, Norway, Russia
Uses Latin script for writing ^[2]
Features distinctive vowels ä and ö unique to Finnish among major European languages
Uralic language of the Finnic branch (unrelated to Indo-European languages)
Language standards maintained by Kotus (Institute for the Languages of Finland) ^[1]

Finnish Vowels (Lowercase)

[a]

[e]

[i]

[o]

[u]

[y]

[a]

[o]

[a]

Finnish vowel a, pronounced like "a" in "father"

[e]

Finnish vowel e, pronounced like "e" in "bed"

[i]

Finnish vowel i, pronounced like "ee" in "see"

[o]

Finnish vowel o, pronounced like "o" in "note"

[u]

Finnish vowel u, pronounced like "oo" in "boot"

[y]

Finnish vowel y, pronounced like German ü

[a]

Finnish vowel å (mainly for Swedish loanwords), pronounced like "aw" in "law"

[a]

Finnish vowel ä, pronounced like "a" in "cat"

[o]

Finnish vowel ö, pronounced like "u" in "hurt"

Finnish Vowels (Uppercase)

[A]

[E]

[I]

[O]

[U]

[Y]

[A]

[O]

[A]

Uppercase Finnish vowel A, pronounced like "a" in "father"

[E]

Uppercase Finnish vowel E, pronounced like "e" in "bed"

[I]

Uppercase Finnish vowel I, pronounced like "ee" in "see"

[O]

Uppercase Finnish vowel O, pronounced like "o" in "note"

[U]

Uppercase Finnish vowel U, pronounced like "oo" in "boot"

[Y]

Uppercase Finnish vowel Y, pronounced like German ü

[A]

Uppercase Finnish vowel Å (mainly for Swedish loanwords), pronounced like "aw" in "law"

[A]

Uppercase Finnish vowel Ä, pronounced like "a" in "cat"

[O]

Uppercase Finnish vowel Ö, pronounced like "u" in "hurt"

Finnish-Specific Letters (Lowercase)

[a]

[o]

Finnish-Specific Letters (Uppercase)

[A]

[O]

Finnish Consonants (Lowercase)

[b]

[c]

[d]

[f]

[g]

[h]

[j]

[k]

[l]

[m]

[n]

[p]

[q]

[r]

[s]

[t]

[v]

[w]

[x]

[z]

[b]

Finnish consonant b (mainly in loanwords), pronounced like "b" in "boy"

[c]

Finnish consonant c (only in loanwords), pronounced like "s" or "k"

[d]

Finnish consonant d, pronounced like "d" in "dog"

[f]

Finnish consonant f (mainly in loanwords), pronounced like "f" in "fish"

[g]

Finnish consonant g (mainly in loanwords), pronounced like "g" in "go"

[h]

Finnish consonant h, pronounced like "h" in "house"

[j]

Finnish consonant j, pronounced like "y" in "yes"

[k]

Finnish consonant k, pronounced like "k" in "key"

[l]

Finnish consonant l, pronounced like "l" in "light"

[m]

Finnish consonant m, pronounced like "m" in "man"

[n]

Finnish consonant n, pronounced like "n" in "name"

[p]

Finnish consonant p, pronounced like "p" in "peace"

[q]

Finnish consonant q (only in loanwords), pronounced like "kv"

[r]

Finnish consonant r, rolled or tapped r sound

[s]

Finnish consonant s, pronounced like "s" in "sun"

[t]

Finnish consonant t, pronounced like "t" in "top"

[v]

Finnish consonant v, pronounced like "v" in "very"

[w]

Finnish consonant w (only in loanwords), pronounced like "v"

[x]

Finnish consonant x (only in loanwords), pronounced like "ks"

[z]

Finnish consonant z (only in loanwords), pronounced like "ts"

Finnish Consonants (Uppercase)

[B]

[C]

[D]

[F]

[G]

[H]

[J]

[K]

[L]

[M]

[N]

[P]

[Q]

[R]

[S]

[T]

[V]

[W]

[X]

[Z]

[B]

Uppercase Finnish consonant B (mainly in loanwords), pronounced like "b" in "boy"

[C]

Uppercase Finnish consonant C (only in loanwords), pronounced like "s" or "k"

[D]

Uppercase Finnish consonant D, pronounced like "d" in "dog"

[F]

Uppercase Finnish consonant F (mainly in loanwords), pronounced like "f" in "fish"

[G]

Uppercase Finnish consonant G (mainly in loanwords), pronounced like "g" in "go"

[H]

Uppercase Finnish consonant H, pronounced like "h" in "house"

[J]

Uppercase Finnish consonant J, pronounced like "y" in "yes"

[K]

Uppercase Finnish consonant K, pronounced like "k" in "key"

[L]

Uppercase Finnish consonant L, pronounced like "l" in "light"

[M]

Uppercase Finnish consonant M, pronounced like "m" in "man"

[N]

Uppercase Finnish consonant N, pronounced like "n" in "name"

[P]

Uppercase Finnish consonant P, pronounced like "p" in "peace"

[Q]

Uppercase Finnish consonant Q (only in loanwords), pronounced like "kv"

[R]

Uppercase Finnish consonant R, rolled or tapped r sound

[S]

Uppercase Finnish consonant S, pronounced like "s" in "sun"

[T]

Uppercase Finnish consonant T, pronounced like "t" in "top"

[V]

Uppercase Finnish consonant V, pronounced like "v" in "very"

[W]

Uppercase Finnish consonant W (only in loanwords), pronounced like "v"

[X]

Uppercase Finnish consonant X (only in loanwords), pronounced like "ks"

[Z]

Uppercase Finnish consonant Z (only in loanwords), pronounced like "ts"

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How many letters are in Finnish?

What are the Finnish special letters ä and ö?

What is Finnish vowel harmony?

Where is Finnish spoken?

How many people speak Finnish?

References:

[1] Kotimaisten kielten keskus. "Institute for the Languages of Finland - Official Authority". Retrieved from Institute for Languages of Finland
[2] Unicode Consortium. "Latin Extended-B Block". Retrieved from Unicode Latin Extended-B
[3] Statistics Finland. "Population Structure". Retrieved from Finland Statistics