i - The posh Swedish vowel 🇸🇪 | Learn Swedish

Learn Swedish in a Fun Way with us!
Buy a Swedish Video Course - 10% discount with code FUNTUBE
🇸🇪 VIDEO COURSES 🇸🇪
🫐100% BEGINNERS: bit.ly/3Y5ifFJ
🥈Semi Beginner (Level 2 - SFI C): bit.ly/3DNhlpR
🥉Upper Beginner (Level 3 - SFI D): bit.ly/3YcByNz
🇸🇪 VIDEO COURSE BUNDLES 🇸🇪
🤩ALL 6 Levels: bit.ly/3RiVlsi
👶ALL 3 Beginner levels: bit.ly/3WNjWqj
📈ALL 3 Intermediate levels: bit.ly/3Dru2q5
✨ OTHER IMPORTANT LINKS ✨
💼 GET FUN SWEDISH AT WORK: funswedish.com/companies/
👩‍💻 JOIN A LIVE ZOOM COURSE: funswedish.com/courses/
_______________________________________________________________
FOLLOW US
• Instagram - / fun_swedish
• TikTok - / funswedish
• Twitter - / funswedish
• Facebook group - / funswedish
_______________________________________________________________
Finally! It is time to learn about the Swedish "i". The most nasal and posh sounding of all the Swedish vowels.
In this video we will do a quick run through the sound of the Swedish "i", and how it is pronounced and its long form (like in the alphabet) and in its short form.
Somehow, SFI rarely focusses on pronunciation. Which we think is THE most important thing to be able to communicate in Swedish.
Mostly because Swedes are not very good at understanding "broken" Swedish.

[@maggie2536]

Oh my god, now it makes sense! I struggled for so long and finally managed to pronounce it. No one else succeeded with explaining the sound to me. Thank you so much 💕

[@FunSwedish]

I know it is super tricky. Glad it helped! 💕

[@pwbmd]

This is definitely one of the first things I noticed when I went to Stockholm for the first time. I've been to 30 countries or so and have never heard this sound in any other language. I noticed that I hear it somewhat more prominently in women's pronunciations more than men's. Is this true?

[@FunSwedish]

Interesting 🤔🤔🤔. I can't think of it being more of a woman's than a man's thing. But it has something to do with socioeconomic levels and Stockholm accent vs non-stockholm accent.

[@aiorosgalaviz9298]

Yeah, definitely the hardest sound I've ever tried to master xD I never thought there'd be harder vowel sounds than the german ''ö'' and ''ü'' which also exist in french hahaha Thanks for this video, it's been really helpful

[@rixterz11]

I love your energy

[@LeticiaMirandaF]

Sending, from Brasil, my gratitude to you for this video! I'll keep practicing this (apparently) impossible "i" sound hahahaha. 😘

[@FunSwedish]

😻. Hope it helps :)

[@mmzddx96]

Google Translate for Swedish (the voice there sounds very natural and not robotic) was the first place I heard that sound!

[@FunSwedish]

Awesome! They are improving it all the time

[@Bernd_Ernst]

Jeg har fulgt dine videobidrag i lang tid med stor omhyggelighed og dedikation. Venlig hilsen fra København. 🇩🇰

[@svartkonster]

This is by far the hardest sound to make in any language I have attempted to study*, especially right before or after an "s", as in "precis" or "apelsin". My love for Swedish keeps me from flipping the table and quit learning at this point. Thanks for the tips, though, I'll be "i"ing at home a lot while watching this over and over again. (*) Danish isn't on the list, so maybe that's why. 😆

[@FunSwedish]

Let us know how that goes!

[@AnnyHuse]

Finally I could pronounce sound i, but I can't do it with any constant before it like bil or vi or ni

[@FunSwedish]

Great! 👏 Progress is progress 😁. One step at a time you will get there.

[@teresita.lozada]

I am working on my I's Right now.

[@sandyny]

So fun! Thank you

[@sopbob]

Thank you so much!😊

[@angelicantoun4013]

Tack för dig!

[@davidbandini3484]

Tack så mycket!! Grazie tante!!

[@millsbobster]

SO HELPFUL!!!! i've been struggling with this, now i almost have it.

[@kabirbaidhya8818]

Jag alskar din kanal. Tusen tack!! ❤🙌

[@paularaquel6835]

Always great videos💙

[@FunSwedish]

Thank you!

[@user-mc5hq2ci8g]

thank you for your videos

[@FunSwedish]

Glad you like them!

[@sihemchoussi7896]

Honestly you're the best ❤️❤️ it's very helpful tack så mycket

[@FunSwedish]

Happy to hear that! ❤️❤️

[@ivettefarfan7723]

Hej! Jag ser dig från Peru 🇵🇪 tack så mycket för dina videos. 😉👍👍

[@FunSwedish]

Gracias a ti por tu hermoso comentario :)

[@sweco92]

*videor

[@sweco92]

My dad is a Swede, I’m trying to relearn the language because I haven’t practice it in quite a long time and I have forgotten most of it, but *that* sound I want to master it, I know how to pronounce a nasal _i_ but still, mine sounds different. Have you got any other tips on how to pronounce it? Please

[@jajabarbd1289]

Your videos are so helpful and fun following that I constantly repeat watching. Vacker. Tusen tack.

[@FunSwedish]

Glad you like them!

[@gilbertoborges8478]

Ótima aula 🇧🇷

[@sofiai5530]

You are the best!!!!👏👏👏

[@FunSwedish]

Wow, thanks!😻 YOU are the best!

[@paris988]

Tack så mycket !!❤️ Jag gillar svenska språket

[@FunSwedish]

😻

[@alejandrotorres2223]

Finally! A clear explanation about that mesmerising and haunted vowel i 😜... tack så så mycket!

[@FunSwedish]

Glad you liked it!

[@mab3900]

Haha så roligt att veta om den Lidingö saken!

[@FunSwedish]

😁

[@matchingcandy91]

When i watched the netflix series Young Royals i was confused about how to pronounce the name of the character Felice. Even in English dub the 'i' carries on. Now i understand that it is completely different. Thanks ❤

[@FunSwedish]

Happy it helped. Have you seen our video about Young Royals? ❤

[@simonerinaldi2781]

We also say "Prezis" for exact in Bolognese dialect (central-northern Italy) ad it is pronounced the same way

[@Yohann_Rechter_De-Farge]

Tack🌹🌷🌺

[@tlilvanilla1845]

Thanks for your video! Great explanation! This is the first time I finally understand what needs to be happening with the tongue while pronouncing the long i vowel. So it needs to press against the lower teeth ( I've been trying pressing it against the upper ones and it's really awkward ). I can pronounce the posh i sound now, but I have difficulties pronouncing it when a consonant, especially an l as in "bil", follows. This is probably one of the hardest words in Swedish to pronounce. How exactly is "l" in bil made - is it a "dark l" like the finishing l sound in English, as opposed to the "light", Italian l? Does the tongue touch the upper palate at all?

[@furkanaydogan534]

00:38 when i got this, i can do anything 🤣

[@FunSwedish]

Yes! Focus on that and eveything from then on is easy 😊

[@annekathrinem3428]

This Lidingö-i is driving me nuts. I've started watching some Swedish series and it's sometimes all I can focus on. I've noticed how other vowels are sometimes nasal too (maybe even mostly among younger people?) like "e" in words like "hej", "tjej". The "i"s I can pronounce pretty well (though I feel a bit stupid doing it), but the "e" in "hej" absolutely not. Thanks for the explanation! I didn't realize it was a posh sound 😂 that actually gives a bit of new meaning to the series I'm currently watching.

[@FunSwedish]

Glad you like the explanations! Yes, it is a very special sound. Now we are curious. What Swedish series do you watch where they use a lot this "posh" sound?

[@KathytheDane]

@@FunSwedish Well, maybe I can't distinguish so well from the very posh i and the normal Stockholm i, but in "Bonusfamiljen" the character Lisa and in "Kärlek och Anarki" the main character Sofie both have pretty distinguished i's...

[@mmzddx96]

Again, as I aspire to learn Swedish, here I go! I love learning foreign languages, and truthfully, I am very detail-oriented. I don't mean to boast, but I am also being honest. Honesty is better than a lie. I just stumbled on y'all's videos here, and I am a believer now, you guys! Marjorie Texas, U.S.A.

[@FunSwedish]

Hej Marjorie! Happy to have you with us know 😊. Hope you Enjoy the ride. And if you ever feel like exploring even more, you can check out our video courses for a more detailed and structured approach elansutbildning.teachable.com/p/the-full-beginner-suite

[@FunSwedish]

😅😅 You can try to be detail oriented and not to hard on yourself at the start. So that you can allow yourself some room for mistakes and trying. That will help you move faster 😁. The perfectionism is great for when you are already at lower intermediate level maybe. It will push you to go all the way and not stay where you are! If you want ALL the detials on pronunciation and more, you could check out our video courses! Starting here: elansutbildning.teachable.com/p/swedish-for-complete-beginners Or maybe getting a bundle of 3 courses at a discount 😁 elansutbildning.teachable.com/p/the-full-beginner-suite

[@arthurcurry4941]

My new Swedish girlfriend has this long "i" sound in her name. I have to practice cuz I hate not being able to say it correctly. It makes me feel bad. Thanks so much for the video. Tike to practice :)

[@caustic_rage]

That Viby i is so dang hard. As an early learner, I'm glad that it's sort of limited to Viby/Lidingö dialect haha

[@kaair]

It seems the sound is pretty similar to “i” in French though. Like in the word “irisé” or “idiot”. Without the posh sound though.

[@FunSwedish]

Awesome! Always great to have something to relate it to :)

[@pengyeyang9548]

Sometimes I hear some French people pronounce their I in the posh Swedish I. For example in « vie », « Sophie », sometimes people tend to change a little bit the « timbre » of their I sound. Just a personal observation ;)

[@oihanagallastegimusic]

Tack så mycket! I'm still struggling with long "i" because it's like all I can do is closer to the short "i" sound and I'm not sure how to place my tongue, but I'll keep practising :)

[@FunSwedish]

Great! Practice makes perfect! The tounge... if you want to go with the super posh i, is doing like a wave. Front of tongue presses against lower teeth. The middle pushes up to the top of your mouth. Hope that helps!

[@oihanagallastegimusic]

@@FunSwedish Thank you very much! I'll try not to sound that super posh, though 😁

[@mmzddx96]

@@FunSwedish hey, I caught that! just now, I tried that tongue position myself, and instantly, memory did its work. I thought -- I just, for a second, THOUGHT -- I could hear the sound, albeit in my head.

[@bilalraziq9641]

when i start your video .. i can't stop myself from watching the next one ...so all fyra (duck face) thumbs up ....one question about the e and i .. At SFI they taught us the reverse ..i with showing the teeth and e with a littlt sober e sound

[@FunSwedish]

Happy to hear that! Interesting thing about SFI. I wonder what is going on there. The big question I have then is... where in Sweden are you? 🤔 There are some regional differences, on how nasal the "i" is for example.

[@bilalraziq9641]

@@FunSwedish In Stockholm ..To be exact in vallentuna ..The SFI school is in Taby

[@bilalraziq9641]

@@FunSwedish may be the teacher is from different part of sweden .. i am super confused about using the swedish prepositions at the moment .. when to use Po or i or att or med ..The rules doesn't describe them very well

[@luciaac9460]

We have the Swedish I sound in Italian and we are good about it Really 😃🍀

[@FunSwedish]

Maybe we took it from you! :)

[@lmatt88]

really?? where?

[@born_villain919]

I f***ing LOVE how it sounds your "I". Totaly love it, I can't do it though.. but I have a couple of questions: even i hear a lot this sound, in movies and tv series, i only hear it when it comes from women, doesn't hear it never from men. maybe it's just me, i dont know

[@almarosalujangonzalez7237]

Very clear...confusing sometimes BUT she is quite clear when explaning🤔🤔🤔🤔😂😁

[@FunSwedish]

Glad it was helpful!

[@tekleabbrhane4765]

tack så mycket jätte bra

[@FunSwedish]

Kul att du gillar det! Tack :)

[@mmzddx96]

How exactly do you make this "i"? Is it something having to do with the tongue? Curious. 😘😘 Marjorie

[@clarson1985]

I keep trying to get this sound right, but I just end up sounding like Stitch from Lilo and Stitch 🤦🏻‍♂️ 😑 some day I will get it right!!!

[@FunSwedish]

Well... actually... that is not that bad 😁. You will sound like the posher end of the spectum. But Stitch could be great at Swedish 😂

[@melaniesouza3174]

How do we know which vowel to stress ?? In favorit you got three vowels. It’s always the last vowel ?

[@FunSwedish]

We are going to do a video about that :) But most times, it is actually the first vowel. The stress is in the last vowel in loaned words.

[@berenicetrevanion3366]

Thanks for the video! Really helpful :) I'd like to know why the "E" in "PRECIS" sounds like a short "E" sound, please. Is it because the stress is in the last syllable maybe? Then it does not matter how many consonants follow the "E"? Thanks in advance!

[@FunSwedish]

Glad you liked it! That's a great question. Normally when words break the rule it is because they are borrowed words. Precis is very similar to English "precise" so that's why it break the rule I would say but not 100 % syre.

[@berenicetrevanion3366]

@@FunSwedish Thank you :)

[@serch4212]

Me encantó como siempre tu video! Afortunadamente la “i” sueca suena muy similar a la “i” española. Muchas gracias como siempre n.n. Saludos desde México :)

[@FunSwedish]

Muchas gracias por tu comentario! Y que bueno que la sientas fácil. No todo tiene que ser difícil 😊

[@lmatt88]

Great video! is the nasal Lidingo i sound a general thing around Sweden? does the i change in other regions?

[@FunSwedish]

Thanks. If you come from another country then you might thing that every Swede does the nasal sound but some areas in Sweden (Like posh-Stockholm) does it even more :)

[@adamthrift2525]

Is pronouncing I similar to how Japan pronounces I?

[@veradokic861]

If you have ever tried to learn the pronounciation of the Russian ы the swedish i is pretty close to it.

[@SaturnineXTS]

I work with some girls from Stockholm who pronounce the "Viby I" even when speaking English lol. They sound like Gollum

[@TheForeignersNetwork]

This vowel is what makes Swedish sound like Stitch (from Lilo and Stitch) trying to speak a weird version of German with mashed potatoes in his mouth

[@kiddo7398]

You soo beautiful ❤️ and I like your video's

[@FunSwedish]

Glad you like them! ❤️

[@yousefyahya7014]

When you say ...ja fika är bäst I didn't hear you pronounce är I play it many times but I couldn't hear är Can you please explain this point??

[@FunSwedish]

Great question! I have the Stockholm accent and sometimes the "är" becomes more an "é" sound. Fika é bäst :)

[@pipo9970]

I have been recently struggling with saying Fika (the cultural activity) vs Ficka (as in Pocket)! Is there an easy way to differentiate them?

[@pipo9970]

Oh, you just responded my same doubt later on in the video! I love this course! Deff gonna take it when I feel more prepared!! ❤❤❤❤

[@FunSwedish]

Yes! The i in Fika is extra long and nasal. Fiiiiiika. In our 100 % beginner course and in our pronunciation course we talk about it and practice these vowels a lot. Here are the links if you want to join them. Our 100 % beginner course: funswedish.teachable.com/p/swedish-for-complete-beginners Our Master Pronounciation class: funswedish.teachable.com/p/pronunciation

[@touriaessaid6871]

Thank you ❤ I've a question,how come this sentence means I can't speak English! _Jag kan Inte svenska? Where is the verb speak in that sentence ?

[@FunSwedish]

You are welcome ❤ In Swedish we need to put the INTE after the verb which would be KAN in the sentence "jag kan inte svenska". Hope this answers your question.

[@MCRXoXoIeroWay]

How come Swedish women are more nasal when pronouncing this? I’ve noticed not a lot of men sound nasal like that but can’t seem to figure out why

[@FunSwedish]

That is a good question. You are not the first one saying this. Not sure why.

[@yousef1303]

This i sound also somehow exists in Lebanese Arabic dialects, but only seen girls do it

[@amiwho3464]

Wow, that's so interesting. I wish I could hear it

[@mahdipahlevan1146]

Jaw breaker sound😅. I can't still pronounce it although I've tried a lot😭

I noticed them saying I in a strange way, like mocking someone :D or like ewwww :D

[@---un5mt]

I hear an "L" in "fika". It sounds like "Fiiilka" to me. Am I hearing it wrong?

[@FunSwedish]

That is probably the very nasal i sound 😊

[@siegpasta]

Du e jätterolig att kolla på, skönt att du inte lär dem lidingö-i:et

[@FunSwedish]

Kul att höra! Haha, nä bara varnar dem för det 😅

[@zookwick]

I feel like this is such a Stockholm perspective. As someone from Norrbotten I've always found it mildly annoying how 'i' is pronounced in Stockholm, with that insanely nasal sound. Up here there's little to no nasality, it's basically just pronounced like the English 'ee'.

[@FunSwedish]

Well, we are from Stockholm so its hard for us to not teach our dialect. But YOU should make a video about the dialect in Norrbotten and put it on youtube. That way we can get both perspectives.

[@lgzster]

@@FunSwedish In my opinion, the "i" of northern Sweden sounds very nice.

[@ashhalcyon]

"Jag kan inte svenska" I C A N ' T S W E D I S H . H J Ä L P .

[@FunSwedish]

I hope the videos are helping :)

[@bwalsberg]

That is funny, i saw/heard that phrase and I ran it through Google translator. I think it translates…..”funny” as well………. “Jag taler inte” make more sense to me.

[@Xarmutinha]

I sounds french tbh

[@vaiterius]

This is like the equivalent of trying to learn «ы» in Russian haha

[@FunSwedish]

Interesting!

[@thegaytay4327]

This is extra tricky for me as a trans man. In ftm voice training we have to learn to speak from the back of our throats to achieve a masculine tone. That makes it hard to find a balance between pronouncing this letter correctly without sounding like a 13 year old boy

[@FunSwedish]

You don't need to go super nasal if you don't want to. Unless you want a deep stockholm accent when you talk, you could do with a milder version of "i".

[@sharadavinge7408]

My bf is pissed i can't hesr the difference..

[@FunSwedish]

You will get there with time. Now you at least know the logic and cant start paying extra attention 😁

[@augustacorns]

I heard that this sound is an unnecessary vocal affectation and it is not necessary in Swedish. It’s such an awful sound.

[@jaldo7453]

Can you please clarify why IPA for this letter (long version) is just /i:/ which is like English "ee"? This is mentioned in Wikipedia. Is this wrong? Even the example clips they offer are different from this pronunciation. Please consider: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA/Swedish en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swedish_alphabet#:~:text=The%20Swedish%20alphabet%20(Swedish%3A%20Svenska,a%20e%20i%20o%20u%20y%20%C3%A5%20%C3%A4%20%C3%B6%E2%9F%A9) en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swedish_phonology