Fun With The Swedish Language

Some general background

Swedish is part of the Germanic branch of the Indo-European language family. It is closely related to Norweigan and Danish, and all three languages are developed from the old Norse. 

Swedish is generally divided into three main dialect areas;
Northern Swedish

Eastern Swedish (Finnish Swedish and Estonian Swedish)

Svea, Gutniska (Gutamål, Gotlandic, Gotnic)

Standard Swedish is based on the Svea variant. 

The Swedish alphabet has three additional vowels (å, ä, ö) Most vowel has long and short pronunciation. For the three “Swedish” vowels that are; å is long like in the English home, ä in its long form is like the English air and in its short form as the English get, ö is pronounced in its long form like the German schön and in its short form like the French le.
Some of the consonants make it very hard for us Swedes to pronounce English correctly, for example, the letter c is in Swedish always pronounced as k, and the letter j is always pronounced like the English word yes. On the other hand, many English speakers have a hard time with the Swedish r, which is often pronounced as a rolling r. 

Swedish compound words

Swedish has a lot of compound words, and some of them sound really funny if we translate the parts to English, so let’s do just that. 

Flodhäst – River Horse – Hippopotamus

Svartsjuk – Black sick – jelous

Tandkött – tooth meat – gum

Sjukhus – Sick House – hospital 

Kofångare – Cow Catcher – bumper on a car

Grönsaker – Green Things – vegetables

Dammusgare – dust sucker – vacum cleaner

Trädgård – Tree Yard – Garden (trädgårdsmästare – Tree Yard Master – gardener)

Glasögon – Glass Eyes – glasses

Tjuvlyssna – Thief listening – eavesdropping 

Hard to translate words

And then we have those Swedish words that are very hard, or even impossible, to translate correctly, but let’s give it a try;

The most common word in this group is Lagom, which often is translated as just enough, but it is so much more than that, pun intended, lagom is the principle of living a balanced, moderately paced, low-fuss life: those who achieve lagom routinely take time to appreciate their surroundings, take several breaks during the workday, dress from a minimal and versatile wardrobe, and treat others with respect and kindness:

The next word is not hard to explain, but it doesn’t have a corresponding word in English, and that is the word dygn. One dygn is the time period of 24 hours, so if it is 3 PM and I say you have one dygn from now to finish something that means it has to be done at 3 PM tomorrow. You can also use the word dygn to talk about day plus night, the week has seven dygns, September has 30 dygns, and so forth. 

Then we have the Swedish word harkla. To harkla is the sound you make when clearing your throat, like this (make the sound). 

Another word that doesn’t have a direct translation is the word orka. Orka roughly means to have the energy for something. For example, You can say, Jag orkar träna 30 minuter mer, I have the energy to exercise 30 more minutes. 

The Swedish word blunda can mean two different things. This mean to close your eyes or ignore. In the first case it can also mean to take a short nap, att ta en blund, to close your eyes for a short while. When it is used in the sense of ignoring you say, blunda för, turn a blind eye.

A word that can mean a lot of different things is jobbig. Essentially it can be applied to anything that is difficult, annoying, or tedious. Think of it as a word that roughly describes something as being a chore.

Gubbe and gumma are affectionate terms for ‘old man’ and ‘old lady’, respectively. If you call your grandmother gumma, you’re probably saying it endearingly and with great warmth. Furthermore, you can call small children lilla gubben or lilla gumman (‘sweet little boy or ‘sweet little girl)’ as a term of endearment.

A word used to tease somebody is badkruka. If you translate it, since it is a compound word, it is a bath pot, but the meaning is someone who refuses to get into the water, such as a pool or lake.

Another compound word with a double meaning that doesn’t have a direct translation is blåsväder. In direct translation, it means blowing weather and can be used to describe that the wind is blowing. But more commonly it is used in any kind of context that can mean trouble. You get yourself into blåsväder, you get yourself into trouble. 

And of course, I have to include the word fika. Basically, fika just means to have a coffee. But it is so much more than just that. It has been described as a social institution or even a phenomenon. It doesn’t have to include coffee (although it often does.) The big difference between fika in Sweden and coffee breaks in America is the intent behind the whole thing. Fika is about genuinely slowing down, getting back in touch with your body and the people around you, and recharging on a deeper level. Friendship is a key part of it but fika can take place with your family, colleagues, strangers, or on your own. It’s about connecting with people and yourself. 

Words that don’t mean what they look like in writing or sound like. 

Then we have a few Swedish words that don’t mean what they look like when you see them in writing. For those of you that are listening to the audio podcast, I will spell them for you and you can imagine them in text.
Let’s start with the word slut, which written looks like an insult but actually just means the end. Then we have the word fack. This means either a small compartment or the union. The Swedish word kock is just the word for chef. If you say the word chef in Swedish, it means boss. Another word that gets confusing both ways is puss. The Swedish word puss means kiss, and the English word kiss means pee in Swedish. Lot’s of room for confusion there.
Then we have the Swedish word sex, which is just the number six, and the word fart which means speed. Another one that I remember my husband was confused about when he heard me talk Swedish on the phone with my parents is the word bra. Translated it means good, but he heard me say bra tack, which is good thanks and was befuddled.
As I have talked about in other episodes it is essential for most Swedes to be on time, and you might often hear the word prick, the word itself means dot, but when talking about time it means exactly. 8 o’clock on the dot = klockan 8 prick. And the last one I want to mention, even though there are many more, is the Swedish word gift. It also has a double meaning, one is to be married and the second one is poison. If there is any underlying subconscious meaning behind that I don’t know. 

And finally, let’s take a look at some expressions

Expressions and idioms can be very confusing when you are learning a new language, but they can also be very fun when you translate them verbatim. Some of the ones I will share today will have something in English with a similar meaning, others don’t.

  • Lätt som en plätt – easy as a small pancake – something that was easier than expected – a piece of cake
  • Ge igen för gammal ost – give back for old cheese –  to get even with someone 
  • Droppen som fick bägaren att rinna över – the drop that made the cup overflow – the last thing that made something happen – the straw that broke the camel’s back
  • Dra någon vid näsan – pull someone by the nose – to fool/play a trick on someone – to pull someone’s leg
  • Ute och cyklar – out cycling – to have something totally wrong
  • Tala om trollen – speak about the troll – used when you are talking about someone and they enter the room – talk about the devil
  • Se genom fingrarna – see through the fingers – to ignore a small mistake – the same as the English turn a blind eye
  • Det ligger en hund begraven – there is a dog buried – something is not quite right here – something fishy is going on
  • Ha rent mjöl i påsen – having clean flour in the bag – have nothing to hide, being totally honest
  • Glida in på en räkmacka – slide in on a shrimp sandwich – have everything going well for you – get everything served on a silver platter
  • Falla av pinnen – fall off the stick – to die – to kick the bucket
  • Född i farstun – born in the entrance hall – to be easily cheated or fooled – born yesterday
  • Ingen ko på isen – no cow on the ice –  no immediate danger
  • Släng dig i väggen – Through yourself at the wall – a way of showing your disrespect – Get lost, take a hike
  • Slå två flugor i en smäll – hit two flies in one smash – be able to reach two results with one task – Kill two birds with one stone
  • Nu har du skitit i det blå skåpet – Now you’ve pooped in the blue cupboard – Now you have made a really big mistake
  • Stå med skägget i brevlådan – stand with the beard in the mailbox – you have tried to do something smart and you failed, and you are now in an awkward position that is difficult to get out from – caught with their hands in the cookie jar
  • Rund under fötterna – round under your feet – to be a little tipsy 
  • Döm inte hunden efter håren – don’t judge the dog by the hair – don’t judge someone or something by its appearance – don’t judge a book by its cover
  • Gå som katten kring het gröt – walk like the cat around hot porridge – To avoid speaking or acting directly about something – to beat around the bush
  • Ta sig vatten över huvudet – take water over your head – to take on more than you can handle – bite off more than one can chew
  • Hålla tummarna – hold the thumbs – hope for the best and hope for luck – fingers crossed
  • Vara på kanelen – be on the cinnamon – to be intoxicated, drunk or tipsy
  • Ha en räv bakom örat – to have a fox behind your ear – to be cunning
  • Dra alla över en kam – Pull everyone over a comb – to generalize and lump together – to apply a broad brush approach
  • Ha en gås oplockad – to have an unplucked goose – to have some unfinished business with someone –  to have a bone to pick
  • Känna som sin egen ficka – know like one’s own pocket – be intimately knowledgable about – know like the back of one’s hand
  • Att hålla låda – to hold the box – Means to basically say a monologue, no input from the people you’re talking to
  • Trolla med knäna – make magic with your knees – do the impossible



My final thoughts

Twere some of the sometimes crazy expressions and idioms I prepared for today’s episode. While I was doing this I couldn’t help but wonder, how can anybody learn a new language? I grow up in Sweden and have never really reflected on how crazy the language can seem from the outside.
So I did a quick check on the internet about how hard Swedish is to learn for someone that is natively speaking English and found this (which surprised me) 

The United States Foreign Service Institute (FSI) categorizes all languages. They compare them to how English native speakers can reach fluency. Then they marked them from 1 to 5, one being an easy language to learn, and 5 being more difficult.
Swedish is a category 1 language, according to the FSI. So, this makes Swedish one of the easiest languages to learn. The FSI also assigned a number to how long it will take to be completely fluent. To go from zero knowledge to speaking to locals fluently in Swedish, an average native English speaker would need 1100 hours of study. If you happen to be an average Swedish learner, have English as your first language, and devote 8 hours per day to study, it would take you 137 ½ days to become fluent. 

In my next episode, I will tell you about something almost as Swedish as fika, and that is the red little cottage. 

Until then, as we say in Sweden 

Hej Då!

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