The charts below show the way in which the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) represents Estonian and Finnish pronunciations in Wikipedia articles. See Finnish phonology and Estonian language for a more thorough look at the sounds of these languages.
| IPA | Examples | English approximation |
|---|
| Consonants |
| d |
Finnish ladot |
ladder |
| h |
hevonen |
horse |
| j |
joulu |
yoyo |
| k |
kala |
scold |
| l |
laulu |
lack |
| lʲ[1] |
Estonian only |
leep |
| m |
metsä |
mocha |
| n |
nenä |
nanny |
| nʲ[1] |
Estonian only |
new |
| p |
puu |
spill |
| r |
rauta |
rolled r |
| s |
sinä |
sole |
| sʲ[1] |
Estonian only |
super (some dialects) |
| t |
tina |
stand |
| tʲ[1] |
Estonian only |
tune |
| ʋ |
viha |
Between v and w |
| Stress |
| ˈ |
hevonen |
(placed on the first syllable) |
|
| IPA | Examples | English approximation |
|---|
| Vowels |
| ɑ |
pouta |
Same as but shorter than a in father |
| ɑː |
poutaa |
father |
| æ |
pöytä |
cat |
| æː |
päivää |
mad |
| e[2] |
tere |
let |
| eː[2] |
eesti |
émigré |
| i |
klid |
kid |
| iː |
siika |
see |
| o[2] |
oksa |
chore |
| oː[2] |
koostaa |
No English equivalent, similar to French bureau |
| ø[2] |
pöytä |
Similar to RP word or bird,
Swedish öl, |
| øː[2] |
säröön |
Similar to RP bird,
German schön |
| ɤ |
Estonian only: õlu |
Similar to (oʊ) in Estonia, code, boat, goal, bone, go |
| ɤː |
Estonian only: õõnsus |
Same as above but longer |
| u |
surma |
wood |
| uː |
suu |
coop |
| y |
Finnish kesy
Estonian küla |
No English equivalent; similar to French tu, German füllen |
| yː |
Finnish ryyppy
Estonian rüüpa |
No English equivalent; similar to French Lune, German führen |
|
|
ai, au, äi, äy, ei, eu, oi, ou, öi, öy, ui, yi, iu, ie, uo, yö
ae, ai, ao, au, äe, äi, äo, äu, ea, ei, eo, iu, oa, oe, oi, ou, õa, õe, õi, õo, õu, öa, öe, öi, ui, üi.
- 1 2 3 4 In Estonian, the palatalized consonants, /tʲ nʲ sʲ lʲ/ are pronounced like their non-palatalized counterparts, but with constriction of the tongue towards the hard palate, as if pronouncing a simultaneous /j/.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 The open-mid vowels [ɛ œ ɔ] may also be seen for /e ø o/.
