ääkköset

ääkköset is a colloquial Finnish term for the two letters ä and ö, vowels with diacritical marks in the Finnish alphabet. The term is used to refer to these characters collectively, especially in discussions about Finnish orthography, typing, and typography.

In Finnish, ä and ö are independent letters with distinct phonemic values. Ä is a front open vowel often realized as [æ], while ö is a close front rounded vowel [ø]. They appear in many everyday words, such as äiti (mother), tämä (this), yö (night), and öljy (oil). The presence of ä or ö can change meaning, so correct spelling is important.

Typing ä and ö is standard on Finnish keyboards and on most multilingual layouts via Unicode. On keyboards without diacritics, substitutes such as ae for ä and oe for ö are sometimes used, though they are not preferred in proper Finnish typography.

The term reflects a light, colloquial approach to discussing the Finnish alphabet. It is widely understood in Finland and is part of broader conversations about language, typography, and digital text in Finnish. See also Finnish alphabet and umlauts.