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Just a few language notes
There are a few extra letters in the Swedish language than in English, as I am sure you have noticed. These are quite common and very important...but very hard for most non Swedish speakers to get right when pronouncing them
Å or å
This is pronounced more like OR (In British spoken English). So Hej då! would be pronounced more along the lines of "Heydoor".
Ö or ö
This is the hardest extra letter in my opinion.
The only way I can describe it is kind of like an "EUGH" noise! It is used less often than the other letters but get it wrong and you never know what you might be saying. For example bröd should sound a bit like "Breughd".
Ä or ä
This is the easiest one to get right if you are a British English speaker. This sounds most like you are saying AIR (I guess in Swedish Claire could be spelt Clä!). So for example här should sound like "hair" when you pronounce it.
Oh, and another thing
More often than not, all letters in Swedish words are pronounced, especially when at the end of the words...so if there is an e at the end of a Swedish word, be sure to pronounce it and don't drop it like is often the case in English!
A quick intake of breath in / almost a whistle - If you hear a Swede do this, mainly in the North like Umeå, don't think they are having a panic attack and call a medic, they are just agreeing with you! It is a local way of saying "Yes"! It kind of sounds like they have stubbed their toe or are about to say "SHOE" whilst breathing in!
Standing Man - Does exactly as his name suggests! This statue is a bit of a cult icon in the city and some kind people even dress him up with hats and scarves in winter!
Just a few to get by on - The underlined words have a sound file attached to them so you can hear the pronunciation. It will open up in a new window.
| English | Svenska (Swedish) |
|---|---|
| Welcome | Välkommen (sg) Välkomna (pl) |
| Hello | Hej, Hallå, God dag (frm) |
| How are you? I'm fine, thanks. And you? |
Hur står det till? Hur mår du? (inf) Hur är det? (frm) |
| Bara bra tack. Och du? | |
| Long time no see | Det var länge sedan vi sågs sist! |
| What's your name? My name is ... |
Vad heter du? |
| Jag heter ... | |
| Where are you from? I'm from ... |
Varifrån kommer du? |
| Jag kommer från ... / Jag är från ... | |
| Pleased to meet you | Trevligt att träffas, Trevligt att råkas |
| Good morning | God morgon |
| Good afternoon | God eftermiddag |
| Good evening | God kväll |
| Good night | God natt |
| Goodbye | Hej då |
| Good luck | Lycka till! |
| Cheers/Good health! | Skål! |
| Have a nice day | Ha en trevlig dag! Ha en bra dag! |
| Bon appetit (Have a good meal) |
Smaklig måltid! |
| Bon voyage (Have a good journey) |
Trevlig resa! Lycklig resa! |
| I don't understand | Jag förstår inte |
| Please speak more slowly | Var snäll och tala långsammare |
| Please write it down | Skulle du kunna skriva ned det åt mig? |
| Do you speak Swedish? Yes, a little |
Talar du svenska? |
| Ja, lite | |
| How do you say ... in Swedish? | Hur säger man ... på svenska? |
| Excuse me | Ursäkta! |
| How much is this? | Hur mycket kostar det? |
| Sorry | Förlåt! |
| Thank you Response |
Tack (thanks) Tack så mycket (thanks very much) Tusen tack (a thousand thanks) |
| Inget att tacka för, Var så god, Ingen orsak Det var så lite |
|
| Where's the toilet? | Var är toaletten? |
| This gentleman/lady will pay for everything |
Den här herren betalar för allting (gentleman) Den här damen betalar för allting (lady) |
| Will you dance with me? | Vill du dansa med mig? Får jag lov? (May I?) |
| I love you | Jag älskar dig |
| Get well soon | Krya på dig! |
| Leave me alone! | Lämna mig ifred! |
| Help! Fire! Stop! | Hjälp! Det brinner! Stanna! |
| Call the police! | Ring polisen! |
| Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year |
God jul och gott nytt år |
| Happy Easter | Glad Påsk |
| Happy Birthday | Grattis på födelsedagen |
Some useful language resources
Digitala Spåret - You can choose your level and run through different types of excercises. An excellent learning resource.
Lexin - Translator with learning aids - Great Swedish-English translator and works both ways. There are also learning aids on the left hand menu.
Swedish Slang - Here is a link to some Swedish slang words...some are pretty X rated so parental guidance is advised!
Wikiversity - If you want to drill yourself with grammer this is quite a good place to go as it is explained very well in English as well as Swedish.
SFI: 090-162875
(Swedish for Immigrants) This link will take you straight to the right part of the site and it should be in English! http:www.umea.se
Easy Swedish Radio - Following this link you can listen to Sweden's news in easy to understand Swedish. Even if you don't understand much of it it is good to get used to the language being spoken.
My blog! I have put together an article with some resource links and my thoughts on the ones I have used. You can find it by clicking here.
Verbs - I had a nightmare with verbs when learning Swedish so I have put together a help guide.
I am myself still at the very beginning of my learning of Swedish so I will update this page when I come across things that I think will be useful!
FIKA - One thing you SHOULD learn...
The most sacred of all Swedish traditions! Basically it means "coffee and cakes" the Swedish equivalent to the english afternoon tea, but it can be at any time of the day or night. It is a time for relaxing, taking time out to catch up with friends and family and not think about work etc. When you have had fika at someone's house it is polite to say "Tack för fikat" on your way out. On special occasions basic fika is stretched to include buns, biscuits etc as a first course and then a cake of some description as a second course - usually the kind of cake that needs slicing like a pavlova or a gateau.
