Swedish/Spelling
Grammar
The ng-sound
Normal case: tung, tvinga, sväng
Spelled gn when the ng-sound is followed by a n-sound: regn, lugn, ugn, inhägna
An exception to above is tvungna as the ng-spelling of this word is herited from the adjective tvungen.
Spelled nk when the ng-sound is followed by a k-sound: bank, vinkel, dunkel
The tj-sound
English examples of the tj sound: wash, fish, flush, shallow, ship
Before hard vowel, (at the beginning of words), the tj-sound is spelled tj.
tjusa, tjäna, tjalla, tjog
Before soft vowel, (at the beginning of words), the tj-sound is spelled k.
Kina, kela, kind, kärlek, kyrka, körsbär
When not at the beginning of words the tj-sound is spelled sch or rs.
dusch, usch
fors, färsk, kurs
Exceptions with tj-sound kjol, kiosk
The skj-sound
Before soft vowel the skj-sound is spelled sk.
skepp, skinn, sky, skärm, sköld
Before hard vowel the skj-sound is spelled skj.
skjorta, skjul, skjuta
Before the soft vowel ä the skj-sound is sometimes spelled stj.
stjärna, stjärt, stjälk
For some exceptions the skj-sound is spelled sj.
sju, sjätte
For some exceptions in beginning of words, before a soft vowel the skj-sound is spelled g.
generell, generös, giraff
Before hard vowel in some borrowed words spelled ch.
choklad, chock, chans
Before o in some borrowed words spelled ti.
station, situation, aktion
Initial sch
schack, schampo
The j-sound
jord, boj,
djup, djungel, djärv, djur
gärna, ge
gjuta, gjorde
hjärna, hjälp
ljuvlig, ljus
The rd and rt-sounds
Pronounced with soft r and long preceding vowel .
ord, börda
kort, art
The r-sound
This sound depends strongly on dialect. There are five variants.
The s-sound
sång, stilla, bas
cykel, cyklop, cyanid, Cecilia
Z is pronounced like s.
zick-zack, zebra, zon
Example Sentences
Många ugnar görs i Kina. Many owens are made in China.
Hjärnan är jättestor. The brain is huge.
I djungelns djup finns många djärva djur. Deep in the djungle there is a lot of brave animals.
I skjulet finns skjorta. In the shed there is shirt.
Exercises
Pronounce these words
A) juni, hjul, jul, djur, gjuta, gubbe, galt, hjort, hjässa, ge, ljuvlig
B) kurva, tjusig, köra, kärv, kär, tjäle, tjockis, varsel, mars, kjol
C) skalle, sjal, stjälpa, skjorta, sko, skinn, generad, gumma, gäst, ljus
D) vart, färd, fart, hord, rabbla, borra, bura in, barrikad
E) vagn, dunge, djungel, ting, stygn, tvungna, ringla
F) bastu, vass, central, Barsebäck, morsning, kross, brons
Translate into English
1) Ett skepp med körsbär kommer från Kina.
2) Cecilia är en schackspelare.
3) Djur ska inte tvättas med schampo.
4) Giraffer och Zebror är afrikanska djur.
5) Kring jul tänder man många ljus.
Translate into Swedish
6) You will gain on it!
7) There is a shot giraffe in the shed.
8) Venus is bright, but it is not a star!
9) I bought two skirts in a kiosk.
10) A lot of species have brains.
Glossary
| en aktion, flera aktioner | a political action, several political actions |
| en art, flera arter | a species action, several species |
| en bas, flera basar | a base, several bases |
| en boj, flera bojar | a buoy, several buoys |
| en chans, flera chanser | a chance, several chances |
| en chock, flera chocker | a chock, several chocks |
| en choklad, flera choklader | a chocolate, several chocolates |
| en cykel, flera cyklar | a bike, several bikes |
| en djungel, flera djungler | a jungle, several jungles |
| djup, djupare, djupast | deep, deeper, the deepest |
| ett djup, flera djup | a depth, several depths |
| ett djur, flera djur | an animal, several animals |
| djärv, djärvare, djärvast | brave, braver, the bravest |
| en dusch, flera duschar | a shower, several showers |
| en fors, flera forsar | a stream, several streams? |
| färsk, färskare, fäskast | ripe, riper, the ripest |
| (att) ge, ger gav, givit | to give, gives, gave, given |
| (att) göra, gör, gjorde, gjort | to do, does, did, done |
| generell, mer generell, mest generell | general, more general, the most general |
| generös, mer generös, mest generös | generous, more generous, the most generous |
| en giraff, flera giraffer | a giraffe, several giraffes |
| en hjälp, mycket hjälp | a help, much help |
| (att) inhägna | to fence off |
| (att) kela | to caress |
| en kind, flera kinder | a cheek, several cheeks |
| ett Kina, flera Kina | a China, several China |
| en kiosk, flera kiosker | a kiosk, several kiosks |
| en kjol, flera kjolar | a shirt, several shirts |
| en kurs, flera kurser | a course, several courses |
| en kyrka, flera kyrkor | a church, several churches |
| en kärlek, flera kärlekar | a love, several loves |
| ett körsbär, flera körsbär | a cherry, several cherries |
| ljuvlig, ljuvligare, ljuvligast | sweet, sweeter, the sweetest |
| ett ord, flera ord | a word, several words |
| ett schack, flera schack | a chess, several chesses |
| ett schampo, flera schampo | a schampoo, several schampoos |
| den sjätte | the six:th |
| ett skinn, flera skinn | a skin, several skins |
| en situation, flera situationer | a situation, several situations |
| en skjorta, flera skjortor | a shirt, several shirts |
| ett skjul, flera skjul | a shed, several sheds |
| en station, flera stationer | a station, several stations |
| stilla, mer stilla, mest stilla | calm, calmer, the calmest |
| en stjälk, flera stjälkar | a stem, several stems |
| en stjärna, flera stjärnor | a star, several stars |
| en stjärt, flera stjärtar | a but, several buts |
| en sång, flera sånger | a song, several songs |
| ett tjog, flera tjog | an amount of twenty, several amounts of twenty |
| en stjärt, flera stjärtar | a but, several buts |
| (att) tjäna | to earn |
| (att) tjusa | to amaze |
| lugn, lugnare, lugnast | calm, calmer, the calmest |
| ett regn, flera regn | a rain, several rains |
| ett skepp, flera skepp | a ship, several ships |
| en sväng, flera svängar | a turn, several turns |
| tung, tyngre, tyngst | heavy, heavier, the heaviest |
| (att) tvinga | to force |
| en ugn, flera ugnar | a owen, several owens |
| usch! | ouch! |
| en zon, flera zoner | a zone, several zones |
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Language classification: this is a Swedish language resource. |