Tj-sound

Foundations

The 'tj-sound' is a common Swedish consonant sound represented by spellings like 'tj', 'k' (before soft vowels), and 'kj'.

How It Works

Sound And Regional Variation
The common Central Swedish tj sound is the voiceless fricative [ɕ]. Keep a narrow passage for continuous friction rather than closing it and releasing it. English ch [t͡ʃ] is not an exact equivalent. An affricate with an initial stop is, however, normal in many Finland-Swedish pronunciations.

Common Spellings

  • tj: tjugo, tjäna.
  • k before e, i, y, ä, ö often has this sound: kemi, kyrka, källare.
  • kj: kjol.

The k pattern has lexical and regional exceptions, especially in loans. Kex has accepted pronunciations with either k or tj. Learn the pronunciation of each word.

Compare Sj
The sj sound also varies regionally, so it is not always a softer sound made farther back. Listen to the tj/sj distinction within a consistent regional model rather than treating sharp versus soft as a phonetic rule.

Examples (5)

  1. tjugo

    twenty

    Word by Word: twenty

    The spelling 'tj' creates the tj-sound.

  2. kyrka

    church

    Word by Word: church

    The letter 'k' is followed by the soft vowel 'y', so it's pronounced with the tj-sound.

  3. kjol

    skirt

    Word by Word: skirt

    The spelling 'kj' also creates the tj-sound.

  4. kemi

    chemistry

    Word by Word: chemistry

    Here, 'k' is followed by the soft vowel 'e', resulting in the tj-sound.

  5. källare

    basement/cellar

    Word by Word: basement/cellar

    The letter 'k' before the soft vowel 'ä' is pronounced as a tj-sound.

Common Mistakes

  • Using hard k in kemi when following the usual standard pronunciation.

    kemi with initial [k]
    kemi with the tj sound

    Kemi normally starts with the tj sound. Soft-vowel spellings are a useful guide, not an exceptionless rule for every word or regional variety.

  • Treating English ch as the exact target in every Swedish variety.

    tjugo with English [t͡ʃ] when aiming for Central Swedish [ɕ]
    tjugo with sustained [ɕ] for the Central Swedish model

    Central Swedish commonly uses a fricative. Affricate realizations are normal in Finland Swedish and some other varieties, so the initial stop is not a universal pronunciation error.