After learning the Finnish alphabet and long vowels, the next pronunciation pattern you’ll see everywhere is the Finnish diphthong.

Diphthongs are extremely common in Finnish. You’ll find them in everyday words like Suomi, koulu, sauna, työ and nainen.

The good news? You don’t need to memorize a long list of rules. Your goal is simply to start recognizing them when you read Finnish.

What Is a Diphthong?

A diphthong is a combination of two different vowels that are pronounced together in the same syllable.

Examples:

• ai
• ei
• oi
• au
• ou
• ie
• uo
• yö

When you see these vowel combinations, try to read them as one smooth sound.

The 18 Finnish Diphthongs

Finnish has 18 standard diphthongs:

Group	Diphthongs
Ending in i	ai, ei, oi, ui, yi, äi, öi
Ending in u	au, eu, iu, ou
Ending in y	äy, öy, iy, ey
Special diphthongs	ie, uo, yö

Don’t worry if this list looks long.

You do not need to memorize all 18 diphthongs today.

Most beginners learn them naturally through reading and listening.

Learn Them Naturally

Instead of studying the list again and again, try this: Whenever you see two different vowels together, read them as one smooth sound.

For example:

• huo-men-ta → huomenta
• suo-mi → Suomi
• ko-u-lu → koulu
• nai-nen → nainen
• sau-na → sauna

At first, you can pronounce the vowels slowly:

• hu-o
• su-o
• ko-u
• na-i

Then gradually speed up until they become one sound.

This is usually much easier than trying to memorize all 18 diphthongs.

Common Examples

ai

• nainen (woman)
• aika (time)

ei

• hei (hello)
• meille (to us)

oi

• koira (dog)
• voida (can)

au

• sauna
• laulaa (to sing)

ou

• koulu (school)
• joulu (Christmas)

ie

• mies (man)
• tie (road)

uo

• Suomi (Finland)
• vuosi (year)

yö

• työ (work)
• yö (night)

These are some of the diphthongs you’ll see most often as a beginner.

MORE EXAMPLES

UO and OU Are Not the Same

Some learners, especially those whose native language uses a different writing system, may find Finnish diphthongs a little confusing at first.

Compare:

uo

• Suomi
• vuosi
• tuoli

ou

• koulu
• joulu
• noutaa

Although they contain the same letters, the order changes the pronunciation.

A useful trick is to pronounce the vowels slowly first:

uo

u → o

u…o… → uo

Example:

Suomi

su…o…mi → Suomi

ou

o → u

o…u… → ou

Example:

koulu

ko…u…lu → koulu

Start slowly and then say the sounds faster until they become one smooth syllable.

Learn Through Real Finnish

You don’t need special exercises to practise diphthongs.

Whenever you read:

• a news headline
• a social media post
• a blog article
• a text message

try to spot the diphthongs.

Notice, Don’t Memorize

Many learners try to memorize all Finnish diphthongs from a chart.

A better approach is to notice them whenever you read Finnish.

The goal is not to remember a list.

The goal is to train your eyes and ears to recognize patterns.

Over time, you’ll start reading words like Suomi, koulu, nainen and työ automatically.

TIME TO PRACTICE!!!

choose right diftongi

Choose missing difthongit

Listen and choose the right difthongit