Writing on signs in Sweden
Å, ä and ö
Swedish has å, ä and ö. Norway and Denmark use æ and ø instead of ä and ö.
- ä and ö with å together mean Sweden.
- Finnish has ä and ö too, but almost never å.
- Words like gatan, vägen and Apotek.
17 photos, grouped by the clue they show.
Key clue Shop sign 5
Key clue Street sign 12
Sweden: what its writing looks like
Swedish has three extra letters: å, ä and ö. Norway and Denmark use æ and ø instead of ä and ö, so seeing ä or ö with å means Sweden.
Streets end in -gatan or -vägen, and common shop words are Apotek, Livs and Bageri.
Swedish is used across Sweden, and also in parts of Finland.
Look-alikes: how to tell them apart
Norway
FinlandNorwegian has å too, but writes æ and ø. Finnish has ä and ö but almost never å.
Questions about the writing in Sweden
How do I tell Swedish from Norwegian?
Swedish writes ä and ö. Norwegian and Danish write æ and ø.
What does -gatan mean?
The street. Drottninggatan, for example, is Queen Street.