Kärlek, stjärna and sjutton: a Swedish pronunciation workout

Swedish has plenty of sounds that are friendly and fairly straightforward. Sol (sun), bil (car), kaffe (coffee), mamma (mum). Nothing too alarming.

And then sounds in words like kex (biscuit/cracker), kärlek (love), sjutton (seventeen), sked (spoon) and stjärna (star) walk into the room and start rearranging the furniture in your mouth.

That is when you meet two very Swedish sounds:

tje-ljudet (the tje sound)

sje-ljudet (the sje sound)

They are common, important and a little tricky. But don’t worry. You do not need to pronounce them perfectly from the start. Swedes will often understand you anyway, and there is variation among Swedes too. The pronunciation of kex (biscuit/cracker), for example, can reveal more about a person than you might expect.

Tje-ljudet

Tje-ljudet is the sound you hear in words such as:

kärlek (love)

kyrka (church)

tjugo (twenty)

tjej (girl)

köpa (to buy)

känna (to know / to feel)

The tje sound is made towards the front of the mouth. The tongue comes close to the roof of the mouth, and the air passes through a narrow gap. For many learners, it sounds a bit like a softer English “ch”, as in “cheese” or “cheap”.

It is not a hard k sound, as in kola (toffee), and it is not the same sound as the sje sound in sjö (lake). The tje sound is lighter and further forward in the mouth.

A small, precise little sound-spray at the front of the mouth.

Here are a few words where the tje sound gets to show off in phonetic script. Click the words and listen if you like, for less guessing and more aha.

kärlek: /ˈɕæːrˌleːk/ (love; listen here, click the speaker)

tjugo: /ˈɕʉːɡʊ/ (twenty; listen here, click the speaker)

köpa: /ˈɕøːpa/ (to buy; listen here, click the speaker)

How is the tje sound spelt?

As you have seen, the tje sound can be spelt in several different ways. The most common ones are tj and k.

The tje sound is often spelt with tj before a hard vowel, that is a, o, u, å:

tjata (to nag / to go on about something)

tjugo (twenty)

The tje sound is often spelt with k before a soft vowel, that is e, i, y, ä, ö:

kela (to cuddle)

kyrka (church)

kärlek (love)

känna (to know / to feel)

köpa (to buy)

Swedish looks at the vowel after the tje sound and decides to change personality. Perfectly normal language drama.

As often in languages, there are of course exceptions. Some words are spelt with tj even though you might have expected k, as in tjej (girl) and tjäna (to earn / to serve). And in some loanwords, the tje sound is spelt with ch, for example chips (crisps), chans (chance) and check (cheque / check).

Kex: the little biscuit that divides Sweden

And then we have the word kex (biscuit/cracker).

This is where the real biscuit drama begins, because Swedes do not all agree. Some pronounce kex with the tje sound, roughly “tjex”. Others pronounce kex with a hard k, so “kex”.

Both pronunciations occur.

That means you may hear both versions. Listen here and click the speakers:

kex with a hard k: /kɛks/

kex with the tje sound: /ɕɛks/

And yes, someone will almost certainly have strong opinions about which one is correct. People tend to have strong opinions about very important matters, such as small dry biscuits.

Sje-ljudet

Sje-ljudet is the sound you hear in words such as:

sjö (lake)

sjutton (seventeen)

sked (spoon)

stjärna (star)

skjorta (shirt)

choklad (chocolate)

This sound is famous. Or infamous. Depending on whom you ask.

The sje sound is often made further back in the mouth than the tje sound. When you say sjö (lake), sjutton (seventeen) or stjärna (star), the tongue moves back and the air is pushed out with more friction. The sound is therefore darker than the tje sound in kärlek (love) and tjugo (twenty).

Here are a few words where the sje sound gets its moment in phonetic script. Click the words and listen if you like, so you can hear what that darker rustling sound actually sounds like.

sjö: /ɧøː/ (lake; listen here, click the speaker)

sjutton: /ˈɧɵtːɔn/ (seventeen; listen here, click the speaker)

sked: /ɧeːd/ (spoon; listen here, click the speaker)

stjärna: /ˈɧæːɳa/ (star; listen here, click the speaker)

The sje sound can also vary depending on where in Sweden you are. The sound travels around the country and changes shape a little along the way.

How is the sje sound spelt?

Just like the tje sound, the sje sound can be spelt in several different ways. And in this case, we really do mean several. Swedish has not settled for one small spelling box here. It seems to have opened the whole cupboard.

Just look:

stjärna (star)

skjuta (to shoot)

champinjon (mushroom)

schampo (shampoo)

journalist (journalist)

giraff (giraffe)

station (station)

passion (passion)

The same sje sound can hide behind many different letters. Generous? Perhaps. Confusing? Absolutely.

But it is not all chaos. Many words with the sje sound still follow a fairly useful pattern.

The sje sound is often spelt with sj before a hard vowel, that is a, o, u, å:

sjal (shawl / scarf)

sjunga (to sing)

It is often spelt with sk before a soft vowel, that is e, i, y, ä, ö:

sker (happens)

skiner (shines)

skymning (dusk)

skämmas (to be ashamed)

sköld (shield)

Here Swedish does the same little vowel trick as with k in words such as kärlek (love) and köpa (to buy). The vowel after the letters helps us understand which sound it becomes.

But then, of course, there are all the other spellings too: stj, skj, ch, sch, j, g, ti and ssi. They appear in words such as stjärna (star), skjuta (to shoot), champinjon (mushroom), schampo (shampoo), journalist (journalist), giraff (giraffe), station (station) and passion (passion).

So if the sje sound feels like a sound with many disguises, you are absolutely right. It is the same sound, but it arrives at the party in different letter costumes.

Does the pronunciation have to be perfect?

No.

It is, of course, good to practise, especially if you want to sound more natural. But you do not need to panic in front of words like sjuksköterska (nurse), stjärnskott (shooting star) or kyrkokör (church choir).

Start by hearing the difference. Then you can practise saying the difference. And remember: even Swedes pronounce some words differently.