# Swedish: pronunciation of 'k' after front/back vowels



## ondskan

Hi all, i'm having some difficulty knowing when exactly a k should sound like a k, as in "kiss", and when it should have a "sh" sound. for example "köpa".

I'm only still an early beginner with Swedish, and i was wondering - is there a logic behind the sound of "k" or do i just need to remember the pronounciation that goes with each "k" word?


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## glaspalatset

The logic is simple... when k is followed by  hard vowel (a,o,u), it is pronounced like "k", whereas with soft vowel (e, i, y, ä, ö), it is pronounced like "sh".

There are some exceptions though, like "kille" (k) among others.


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## ondskan

wow...i can't believe it was as simple as that.

tack så mycket!


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## Outsider

By the way, "hard" vowels are phonetically back vowels, while "soft" vowels are front vowels.


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## Andreas_Jensen

Ondskan> You have pretty much the same thing in English with a "c". Before a,o,u it's pronounced as a "k" and before e,i,y it's pronounced as an "s". (again with exceptions)


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## Wilma_Sweden

glaspalatset said:


> when k is followed by  hard vowel (a,o,u)


glaspalatset is indeed correct, BUT: We mustn't forget *å*, which is also a 'hard' vowel! 

By the way, 'kille'=guy is another one of the exceptions to the rule, which was discussed in a previous thread, here: http://forum.wordreference.com/showthread.php?t=882949

/Wilma


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## jonquiliser

Wilma_Sweden said:


> By the way, 'pojke' is another one of the exceptions to the rule, which was discussed in a previous thread, here: http://forum.wordreference.com/showthread.php?t=882949
> 
> /Wilma



Except that they aren't exceptions, just like spöke, lake, veke, vilken etc., as AndersH says in post #7 

_Kex_ would be an exception, which most people pronounce with a "hard k".


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## glaspalatset

jonquiliser said:


> Except that they aren't exceptions, just like spöke, lake, veke, vilken etc., as AndersH says in post #7
> 
> _Kex_ would be an exception, which most people pronounce with a "hard k".


 
That reminds me, people in Finland seem to pronounce k in "kilometer" as in "kille". But not to confuse anyone, that is the only exception that I can think of (in this context anyway) that differs from Swedish-Swedish.


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## Wilma_Sweden

jonquiliser said:


> Except that they aren't exceptions, just like spöke, lake, veke, vilken etc., as AndersH says in post #7
> 
> _Kex_ would be an exception, which most people pronounce with a "hard k".


Yes, you're absolutely right, that was me being sloppy! I'll edit!

/Wilma


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