The letter A in Swedish is not pronounced like two sounds (EY) like in English. Instead we have two possible pronunciations.
The long A [ɑː]
- is dark
- is spoken far back
(ett) glas
glass
(ett) hat
hate, hatred
kal
bare, bleak, bald
(en) mat
food
(ett) tak
ceiling, roof
The short A [a]
- is light
- is spoken close to the opening of the mouth
(en) glass
ice cream
(en) hatt
hat
kall
cold
matt
faint, faded
tack
thanks, thank you