Consonants

1   Consonant Phonemes

There are 13 consonant phonemes in Finnish: [d], [h], [j], [k], [l], [m], [n], [ŋ], [p], [r], [s], [t], and [v]. Phonemes [b], [f], [g], [ʃ], [z], and [ʒ] may occur only in loan words. The guideline for pronunciation follows the system of the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA).

2   Duration

Consonants have two durations: short and long. A short consonant is written with one letter and a long consonant usually with two similar letters. In native Finnish words, only the phonemes [h], [j], [k], [l], [m], [n], [ŋ], [p], [r], [s], [t], and [v] can occur as long consonants. The [j] phoneme is pronounced long only after a diphthong in which the second component is i, e.g. leija [leijja] 'kite' and tuija [tuijja] 'arborvitae (Thuja)'. Accordingly, the [v] phoneme is pronounced long after a diphthong in which the second component is u, e.g. vauva [vauvva] 'baby' and sauva [sauvva] 'stick'. The long consonant is written with a single letter in both cases. The [ŋ] phoneme has no letter of its own. The long [ŋ] phoneme may occur only between two vowels and it is marked with ng then, e.g. kengät [keŋŋæt] 'shoes' and kuningas [kuniŋŋas] 'king'. The short [ŋ] phoneme is marked with n in front of k, e.g. kenkä [keŋkæ] 'shoe' and sanka [saŋka] 'handle', and with g in front of n, e.g. signaali [siŋna:li] 'signal' and magneetti [maŋne:tti] 'magnet', and with ng elsewhere, e.g. englanti [eŋlanti] 'English' and kongressi [koŋressi] 'congress'.

3   Pronunciation

The pronunciation of the consonant graphemes is shown in the following table.

Letter	Example	Pronunciation
B [b]	banaani [bana:ni] 'banane' lobbaus [lobbaus] 'lobbing'	English b in banana German b in Banane Swedish b in banan Estonian has no equivalent sound Russian б in банан
C [s]	In front of front and middle vowels celsiusaste [selsiusaste] 'Celsius grade'	English c in center German ß in Straße Swedish s in svin Estonian s in sada Russian с in самовар
C [k]	In front of back vowels and consonants disco [disko] 'disco' costaricalainen [kostarikalainen] 'Costa Rican'	English c in car (without aspiration) German k in kaufen (without aspiration) Swedish k in katt Estonian g in taga Russian к in корова
D [d]	side [side] 'bandage' addiktio [addiktio] 'addiction'	English d in deck German d in Decke Swedish d in dansa Estonian has no equivalent sound Russian д in добрый
F [f]	faarao [fa:rao] 'pharaoh' muffinssi [muffinssi]	English f in fish German f in Fisch Swedish f in far Estonian f in fakt Russian ф in фонтан
G [g]	gorilla [gorilla] 'gorilla'	English g in get German g in gestern Swedish g in gå Estonian has no equivalent sound Russian г in гость
GN [ŋn]	Usually between vowels signaali [siŋna:li] 'signal' magnneetti [maŋne:tti] 'magnet' ignoroida [iŋnoroida] 'ignore'	English ng + n in sing now German has no equivalent sound Swedish gn in regna Estonian has no equivalent sound Russian has no equivalent sound
GN [gn]	Elsewhere gneissi [gneissi] 'gneis' gnu [gnu] 'gnu' diagnoosi [diagno:si] 'diagnosis'	English gn in magnet German gn in Gneis Swedish gn in gno Estonian has no equivalent sound Russian гн in гном
H [h]	hame [hame] 'skirt' hihhuli [hihhuli] 'holy roller'	English h in home German h in Hause Swedish h in hus Estonian h in paha Russian has no equivalent sound
J [j]	joulu [joulu] 'Christmas' leija [leijja] 'kite'	English y in yes German j in jeder Swedish j in jul Estonian j in maja Russian й in майонеза
K [k]	kuka [kuka] 'who' kukka [kukka] 'flower'	English k in kit (without aspiration) German k in kaufen (without aspiration) Swedish k in katt Estonian g in taga Russian к in корова
L [l]	palo [palo] 'fire' pallo [pallo] 'ball'	English l in let German l in laufen Swedish l in lampa Estonian l in loss Russian л in лощадь
M [m]	tuma [tuma] 'nucleus' tumma [tumma] 'dark'	English m in milk German m in Milch Swedish m in mjölk Estonian m in piim Russian м in молоко
N [n]	sana [sana] 'word' mennä [mennæ] 'go'	English n in not German n in nein Swedish n in hon Estonian n in näha Russian н in она
NG [ŋŋ]	Between vowels kangas [kaŋŋas] 'cloth' kengät [keŋŋæt] 'shoes'	English ng in singing (but longer) German has no equivalent sound Swedish ng in pengar Estonian has no equivalent sound Russian has no equivalent sound
NG [ŋ]	Elsewhere englanti [eŋlanti] 'English' kongressi [koŋressi] 'congress'	English ng in sing German ng in singen Swedish ng in tänka Estonian n in king Russian н in она
P [p]	napa [napa] 'navel' nappi [nappi] 'button'	English p in pet (without aspiration) German p in Piste (without aspiration) Swedish p in pappa Estonian b in tuba Russian п in папа
Q [k]	qatarilainen [katarilainen] 'Qatari'	English k in kit (without aspiration) German k in kaufen (without aspiration) Swedish k in katt Estonian g in taga Russian к in корова
R [r]	koira [koira] 'dog' hyrrä [hyrræ] 'gyroscope'	English r in red (harder) German r in rot (softer) Swedish r in röd Estonian r in roos Russian р in корова
S [s]	kasa [kasa] 'pile' kassa [kassa] 'cashier'	English s in sit German ß in Straße Swedish s in svin Estonian s in sada Russian с in самобар
Š [ʃ]	tšekki [tʃekki] 'Czech'	English sh in show German sch in Schuh Swedish ti in operation Estonian š in šokolaad Russian ш in шкаф
SH [ʃ]	In most loanwords shakki [ʃakki] 'chess'	English sh in show German sch in Schuh Swedish ti in operation Estonian š in šokolaad Russian ш in шкаф
T [t]	mato [mato] 'worm' matto [matto] 'carpet'	English t in tell (without aspiration) German t in Tisch (without aspiration) Swedish t in tak Estonian d in sada Russian т in путка
V [v]	kuva [kuva] 'image' vauva [vauvva] 'baby'	English v in vice German w in wissen Swedish v in vit Estonian v in võtta Russian в in вода
W [v]	watti [vatti] 'watt'	English v in vice German w in wissen Swedish v in vit Estonian v in võtta Russian в in вода
X [ks]	luxemburgilainen [luksemburgilainen] 'Luxembourgian'	English x in taxi German chs in wachsen Swedish x in taxi Estonian ks in üks Russian кс in такси
Z [ts]	In most loan words zeniitti [tseni:tti] 'zenith' pizza [pitsa] 'pizza'	English ts in cats German z in ziehen Swedish ts in sats Estonian ts in mets Russian ц in цирк
Z [z]	In some loan words azeri [azeri] 'Azeri'	English z in zebra German s in Rose Swedish has no equivalent sound Estonian has no equivalent sound Russian з in зонтик
Ž [ʒ]	fidži [fidʒi] 'Fijian'	English s in pleasure German j in Journal Swedish has no equivalent sound Estonian ž in žurnaal Russian ж in журнал