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 lad ot
ladd er
h h evonenh orse
j j ouluy oyo
k k alasc old
l l aul ul ack
lʲ [1] Estonian only
l eep
m m etsäm ocha
n n en än anny
nʲ [1] Estonian only
n ew
p p uusp ill
r r autarolled r
s s inäs ole
sʲ [1] Estonian only
s uper (some dialects)
t t inast and
tʲ [1] Estonian only
t une
ʋ v ihaBetween v and w
Stress
ˈ he vonen(placed on the first syllable)
IPA Examples
English approximation
Vowels
ɑ pouta
Same as but shorter than a in fa ther
ɑː
poutaa
fa ther
æ pöytä
ca t
æː
päivää
ma d
e [2] te re
le t
eː [2] ee stiémigré
i kli d
ki d
iː
sii ka
see
o [2] o ksacho re
oː [2] koo staa
No English equivalent, similar to French bureau
ø [2] pö ytä
Similar to RP wo rd or bi rd,ö l,
øː [2] säröö n
Similar to RP bi rd,ö n
ɤ Estonian only: õ lu
Similar to (o ʊ) in Esto nia, co de, bo at, go al, bo ne, go
ɤː
Estonian only: õõ nsus
Same as above but longer
u su rma
woo d
uː
suu
coo p
y Finnish kesy kü la
No English equivalent; similar to French tu , German fü llen
yː
Finnish ryy ppy Estonian rüü pa
No English equivalent; similar to French Lu ne, German füh ren
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.
↑ अ आ इ ई 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/.
↑ अ आ इ ई उ ऊ The open-mid vowels [ɛ œ ɔ] may also be seen for /e ø o/ .
