Finnish alphabet
The Finnish alphabet is:
- A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K, L, M, N, O, P, Q, R, S, T, U, V, W, X, Y, Z, Å, Ä, Ö
The main features of the Finnish alphabet that make it different from other Latin-based alphabets are:
- The three extra vowel letters, "Å", "Ä" and "Ö".
- For purposes of alphabetization "W" is the obsolete equivalent to V, even in alphabetical order. On a Finnish language operating system, the following file names would be arranged in this alphabetical order: 'vacation.wpd', 'waterboy.bmp', 'volunteers.xls'.
- "?" and "?" might be seen in transcriptions and a few loanwords from other languages: "Tšaikovski, Gorbatšov, Tšetšenia, Tšekki, Azerbaidžan, Brežnev, daža, šekki (cheque), pašša"
Lesser used letters:
- "B", "C", "F", "G" and "Z" are not commonly used except in loan words.
- "Q" (replaced by "K"), "X" (replaced by "KS") are never found in Finnish words.
- "W" is retained in some old Finnish names from the time when it was used instead of "V".
- "É" is only accented letter used in Finnish names.
- "Å" is only used in Swedish names of persons and places.
- "Ü" is usually retained when writing German names, whereas "ß" is not.
- "à", a French word, is commonly used to indicate pieces per something or cost per piece. It's often confused with "á".
See also
