Speak Finnish clearly: free pronunciation test
Find out how clear your Finnish pronunciation is. Take the free Finnish pronunciation test, get a score for every word you say, and learn the sounds Finnish learners find hardest, from ä, ö and y to long vowels and double consonants.
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The hardest Finnish sounds for learners
Ä, ö and y
Ä is the open vowel in 'cat', ö is like 'e' said with rounded lips, and y is 'ee' with rounded lips. They are separate vowels, not variants of a, o and u, and they change meaning: sää (weather) and saa (gets), tyyli (style) and tuuli (wind). Thanks to vowel harmony they usually appear together in a word: hyvä, pöytä, kännykkä.
Long vowels
A doubled letter means a long vowel, held about twice as long, and length can change the word: tuli (fire), tuuli (wind) and tulli (customs). Keep the vowel quality the same and simply hold it: kuu (moon), maa (land), tänään (today). Shortening a long vowel is one of the most common learner mistakes.
Double consonants
Double consonants are held longer too, with a short pause before the release: kissa, Mikko, nukkuu. Compare kato (crop failure) and katto (roof), or muta (mud) and mutta (but). Say the first syllable, hold the consonant for a moment, then finish the word.