Icelandic Alphabet - Letter Names

Letter Names

The names of the letters are:

Letter Name IPA Typical sound value
Aa a between English 'father' and 'cat'
Áá á the "ow" in "cow"
Bb 'p' with no puff of air.
Dd 't' with no puff of air.
Ðð the "th" in "the" (always medially, not initially).
Ee e "eh" like the "e" in "end"
Éé é a shorter sounding "yeah"
Ff eff (same as in English sometimes, see notes)
Gg (same as in English sometimes, see notes)
Hh (same as English)
Ii i the "i" in "win"
Íí í the "e" in "we"
Jj joð said as a "y" or an aspirated "y" (see notes)
Kk 'k' with a puff of air.
Ll ell (same as in English)
Mm emm (same as in English)
Nn enn (same as in English)
Oo o the "our" in "four" (British English)
Óó ó "oh"
Pp 'p' with a puff of air.
Rr err rolled, as in Spanish, but slightly more delicately
Ss ess always an unvoiced "s" never a voiced "z" sound
Tt 't' with a puff of air.
Uu u 'i' in 'in' but rounded.
Úú ú like the "ou" in "you"
Vv vaff similar to English 'v'
Xx ex like the hard German "ch" followed by an s
Yy ypsilon y same as 'i'
Ýý ypsilon ý same as 'í'
Þþ þorn "th" as in "thing" (commonly initially, with some exceptions)
Ææ æ "eye"
Öö ö "e" in "end" but rounded, from the middle of the mouth

Read more about this topic:  Icelandic Alphabet

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