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This is the pronunciation key for IPA transcriptions of Finnish on Wikipedia. It provides a set of symbols to represent the pronunciation of Finnish in Wikipedia articles, and example words that illustrate the sounds that correspond to them. Integrity must be maintained between the key and the transcriptions that link here; do not change any symbol or value without establishing
consensus on the
talk page first.
Wikipedia key to pronunciation of Finnish
The charts below show the way in which the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) represents Finnish language pronunciations in Wikipedia articles. For a guide to adding IPA characters to Wikipedia articles, see Template:IPA and Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Pronunciation § Entering IPA characters .
See Finnish phonology for a more thorough look at the sounds of Finnish.
Consonants [ 1]
IPA Examples English approximation
b b ussi[ 2] b ig
d lad ot ad ept
f f ilmi[ 2] f ilm
ɡ mag ia [ 2] g o
h h evonen, vah ah orse
j j ouluy olk
k k alasc old
kː lakk i backg ammon
l l aul ul ack
lː pull o taill ight
m m etsäon pa [ 3] m ay
mː kamm io Ahvenanm aa [ 3] roomm ate
n n en än anny
nː kann u unn atural
ŋ ken kä [ 3] sing
ŋː vang ita sing ing
p p uusp ool
pː lipp u flipb ook
r r autarolled r, like Spanish perr o
rː herr a long rolled r, like Italian marr one
s s inäbetween s ip and sh ip (retracted )
sː kiss a between this s ip and trash sh ip (retracted)
ʃ š akki[ 2] sh ip
t t inast and
tː hatt u outd o
t͡s
ts emppiäbetween cats and catch (retracted)
ʋ v ihabetween v et and w et
ʔ vaa’ an linja- auto the pause in uh- oh
Stress
IPA Examples Explanation
ˈ he vonen[ˈheʋonen] Normally placed on the first syllable.
ˌ hernekeit to [ˈherneˌkːei̯tːo] A second syllable in some compound words.
tule ! [ˈtuˌle] The second syllable in two-syllable imperatives.
Vowels [ 4]
Short
Long
IPA Examples English approximation IPA Examples English approximation
ɑ pouta like fa ther, but shorter ɑː poutaa fa ther
æ pöytä ca t
æː päivää ma d
e te rve le t
eː ee stisomewhat like pay
i vi ha city
iː sii ka see
o o ksalike mo re, but shorter oː koo staa mo re
ø pö ly somewhat like nur seøː säröö n somewhat like bir d
u su rma influ ence, bu lly
uː suu ruo an coo l
y kesy somewhat like cu teyː ryy ppy somewhat like cu be
Diphthongs
IPA Examples English approximation
ɑi̯ ai kaeye
ɑu̯ au rahow
æi̯ äi timai n (Australia )
æy̯ täy tyy somewhat like mou th (Estuary English )
ei̯ ei hei pay
eu̯ neu traali somewhat like mou th (Dublin English ), Spanish or Italian neu tro
ey̯ keskey tyä no English equivalent: Võro leü dmä
ie̯ kie li somewhat like ye s
iu̯ viu lu few
iy̯ siistiy tyä somewhat like ew
oi̯ koi ttaa koe ttaa coi n
ou̯ ou toro le
øi̯ töi tä no English equivalent: French cueill ir
øy̯ pöy ristyä ro pe (Received Pronunciation )
ui̯ mui ta booy ah; Gruy ère
uo̯ Suo mi somewhat like woah
yi̯ syi tä somewhat like we
yø̯ yö työ tä no English equivalent: French pollueu se
↑ Most Finnish consonants usually contrast between shorter and longer pronunciation. Long consonants are marked with the symbol /ː / . 1 2 3 4 [b] [f] [ɡ] [ʃ] [p] [ʋ] [k] [s] 1 2 3 /n/ [ŋ] /k/ [m] /p/ [b] /m/ [n] ↑ All Finnish vowels have both a long and a short phoneme.
Comparisons Introductory guides
