I decided to do a post with some special, weird, funny Swedish words. Some are dialectal (don’t exist in some parts of Sweden, or mean different things etc.). Here they are!
Fårgråt-Eye discharge. You know that goo in your eyes in the morning? That. There are many words for this (ögonvar, ögongegga, ögonsömn, etc. etc.), but sheep cry is possibly the best one, just for being ridiculous.
Skavfötters-A lying position with two people where each person’s feet are juxtaposed to the other person’s head. If you share a bed with someone (a friend) it is very common to sleep skavfötters instead of sleeping with your heads next to each other. Skavfötters = sore feet’s. Illogical, I know.
Tjafs-Fuss. Unnecessary talking, hassle.
Idas-have enough energy (to do something). Example: Jag ids inte gå till affären-I don’t have the energy to go to the store. Ids is probably, I’m not sure, but probably only used in the northern part of Sweden.
Orka-have enough power, energy, strength (to do something). Same as idas, but not restricted to the north. Example: Jag orkar inte städa nu-I don’t have the energy to clean up now. Another word for this is palla. Idas, orka and palla all mean basically the same thing.
He-Put, lay, turn (on/off). Best Swedish word ever, but it is only used by Swedes from the north. The Swedes of the south often don’t know what it means. Example: He på tvn-Turn the tv on. He nyckeln på bordet-Put the key on the table.
Börs/portmonnä/plånbok-Wallet. For some reason we have several words for this, and which word you use often depends on where in the country you are from. I use börs and I am from the north. Portmonnä is an older word. Plånbok is probably the most common in for example Stockholm. Plån is a small flat surface that can be used many times (like on a match box), and bok of course is book.
Skräcködla-Dinosaur/unnatractive woman. I don’t think I have to explain this further really. Skräck is horror, ödla is lizard.
(Att) bjussa på-To offer someone something/to treat someone (normally). Bjussa is another word for bjuda. Example: Kan du inte bjussa på biljettkostnaden?-Can’t you treat me to the ticket charge?
Leg-Identification card. Leg is short for legitimation. I have this in this post because it can be good to know that if someone is asking for your leg in Sweden, it’s not the body part they’re after. Pronounced basically the same tho, but more Swedish.
Fara-Go/travel. This is a dialect word. If you say fara in the south of Sweden it ONLY means danger. In the north it means both danger and to go somewhere. Dra or åka is used in the south, and they have the same meaning as fara. Example: Kan inte vi fara till disney world?-Can’t we go to disney world?
Grina-Cry. Another word for gråta. This is a word with double meanings. In Scania (and maybe around Gothenburg as well) it means to laugh, basically. In the rest of Sweden it means to cry. I guess Scania has taken the English meaning for grin, almost. Funnily enough, the translator of the HP books used grinade when it said grinned in the original versions, which made for some ridiculous sentences for most of Sweden. Grina can also mean to make faces. To grina illa means to twist your face in pain (mostly).
Haffa-Catch/arrest/capture/get a hold of. Common use is for example that the police haffar bad guys. Slang use is for example att haffa brudar-to pick up chicks.
Tupplur-Nap. Tupp means rooster and lur is an old word for a phone. Put together it becomes a nap. Example: Jag ska ta en tupplur-I’m gonna take a nap.
Latmask-Slacker/lazybones/dawdler/lazy. A lazy worm. That’s the meaning of that word. Example: Sluta vara en latmask och kliv upp ur sängen-Stop being lazy and get out of bed.
That’s enough for this post. Feel free to add words, or send me comments or requests 🙂
So here’s my post on Swedish pronouns. I limited it to these two groups because I think they are most confusing. Please correct any mistakes and ask questions if you have any! I realize some translations might be somewhat awkward, the material I was using to do this was made for Croatian-speaking (my first language) learners of Swedish.
I might do some more posts on Swedish grammar/linguistics if anyone is interested, so fire away with suggestions.
INTERROGATIVE
Vilken, vilket, vilka + obestämd substantiv/fras = WHICH
Vilken stad besökte du? = Which city did you visit?
Vilkendera, vilketdera (+ bestämd substantiv) = WHICH OF THE TWO
Vilkendera av Storbritanniens prinser tycker du mera om? = Which (of the two) British prince do you like more?
Vem (sg. animate, pl. vilka) = WHO
Vem sa det? = Who (one person) said that?
Vilka gjorde det? = Who (more people) did that?
Vems (poss. form of vem, animate) = WHOSE
Vems jacka är det? = Whose jacket is this?
Vad för (en/ett, någon) = constructions meaning WHICH/WHAT
Vad talar du för språk? = Which languages do you speak?
Vad för några bloomor har du köpt? = What flowers did you buy?
Hurdan, hurdant, hurdana + bestämd substantiv = WHAT KIND/WHAT is sth/sb LIKE (answer is an adjective, not so commonly used)
Hurdant är vädret? = What is the weather like?
Hurudan är hon som talesperson? = What kind of a spokesperson is she?
Vad, vilken can be used in exclamative constructions in informal spoken language
Vilken fin rock har du köpt! = What a nice dress you have bought!
Vad vacker du är! = How pretty you are!
RELATIVE
Important to note here is while a nonrestrictive relative clause will always be separated by a comma, restrictive clauses, unlike in English, can be used both with commas and without.
Som vs. vilken, vilket, vilka
used to introduce relative clauses, both used for both animate and inanimate antecedents (som stays the same for both genders and plural)
som is preferred in normal speech, vilken/t/a is used in more formal speech or for stylistic reasons
Jag har en syster, som/vilken läser spanska. = i have a sister(,) who studies Spanish.
Böckerna(,) som/vilka jag har använt(,) står på bordet. = The books which I used are on the table.
if the relative clauses contains a preposition, both vilken and som can be used with the preposition at the end of the relative clause (in my experience, som will almost always be used in this case)
however, only vilken and not som can be preceded by the preposition
Jag har köpt boken, som/vilken du talat om. = I have bought the book which you talked about.
Pojken, om vilken vi talat igår, har kommit. = The boy about whom we talked yesterday has come.
relative pronoun can be omitted form the relative clause unless it is the subject
Pojken, som spelar piano, är min son. = The boy who is playing the piano is my son.
Pojken, (som) du ser, är min son. = The boy (whom) you see is my son.
Vilket can also be used as a sentential relative, where his antecedent is a phrase or a clause (in this case it can be replaced by något som)
Han gifte sig, vilket/något som förvånade mig. = He got married, which surprised me.
Vars vs. vilkens, vilkets, vilkas
used to introduce relative clauses with the meaning WHOSE, both for animate and inanimate antecedents
vars can be used for both genders, singular and plural
in singular vars is preferred, and vilkens/vilkets is considered formal
Bodil, vars (vilkens) föräldrar är skilda, är min bästa vän. = Bodil, whose parents are divorced, is my best friend.
Huset, vars (vilkets) ägare jag känner, brann ner.. = The house, (whose owner I know) the owner of which I know, burned down.
in plural Swedish speakers prefer using vilkas, although vars is also accceptable
Barnen, vilkas (vars) föräldrar jobbar mycket, kan vara ensama. = Children whose parents work a lot can be lonely.
Vad is used as a relative pronoun in the meaning ‘det som’ = WHAT
Jag vet vad han gjorde. = I know what he did.
when it is the subject of the relative clause, som has to be added
Vad som förvånar mig är… = What surprises me is…
I think this post is great and I think it’s very useful, though there are some things I want to point out.
When it comes to “som vs. vilken, vilket, vilka” I’d say that vilken/t/a is HIGHLY uncommon. I actually had to look it up because it sounds super unnatural to me (native Swedish speaker). I guess I could understand it being used for stylistic reasons, but I don’t know how formal you have to get to use it. I’ve never seen it in newspapers, in textbooks, in science magazines etc. I’d say it’s better to just use “som” at all times.
The thing with the “pojken, om vilken vi talat om igår, har kommit” phrase is not something you’d say. The most natural way to say it would be “pojken, som vi talade/pratade om igår, har kommit”. Vilken/t/a is not really used as an equivalent to “som”, rather only “vilket” is used as “which”, and also as a sentential relative as you mentioned. I’m not good with the grammatical terms for things so I apologise for not being super structured.
Also considering “vars vs. vilkens/vilkets/vilkas” I’d say that sticking to “vars” is the best. My phone even autocorrected “vilkets”. Even though it is technically correct to use the other plural forms, I’ve never really seen them and they sound awkward. It’s like you didn’t know “vars” existed and tried to figure it out on your own.
And then only some small spelling errors like “bloomor” instead of “blommor” and “ensama” instead of “ensamma”. Those were probably not intentional though!
Great post otherwise and I’d love to see more!
EDIT: I talked to my dad about the use of vilken/t/a and vilkens/vilkets/vilkas and he said that he uses them sometimes, though ONLY in written form. This is not something you use in speech. He also said that it’s mainly used for administrative purposes, like in his job. If you’re not in that field I’d suggest sticking to “som” and “vars” instead👍
hello! first of all i recommend Astrid Lindgren, she’s the epitome of children’s literature! and if you want to understand swedish culture (which i guess is part of the point in learning a language?) i think reading her works would be a major key.
here are some classics:
Astrid Lindgren:
Bullerbybarnen
Pippi Långstrump
Bröderna Lejonhjärta
Madicken
Mio, min Mio
Lotta på Bråkmakargatan
Rasmus på Luffen
Vi på Saltkråkan
Emil i Lönneberga
Ronja Rövardotter
Karlsson på taket
Elsa Beskow (her illustrations are also iconic for the swedish national romanticism and the jugend era, so if you’re interested in swedish art, Elsa Beskow is a good place to start):
Sagan om den lilla, lilla gumman
Solägget
Tant Brun, tant Grön och tant Gredelin
Tomtebobarnen
Olles skidfärd
Peter Cohen:
Olssons pastejer
Herr Bohm och sillen
Gunilla Bergström:
Alfons Åberg
Barbro Lindgren:
Loranga, Masarin och Dartanjang
Sunkan flyger
Ulf Nilsson:
Adjö, Herr Muffins
Selma Lagerlöf:
Nils Holgerssons underbara resa genom Sverige
Gösta Berlings saga
Erik Åkerlund:
Bland tomtar och troll (old norse / swedish mythology, made famous by the John Bauer illustrations (and for being an amazing piece of literature))
Tove Jansson (she was a finnish author but she was a finn-swede and alors, she wrote in swedish):
As we all know, languages work differently. There’s the grammar, words that don’t exist in other languages, and there are different proverbs and sayings etc. that don’t translate well into other languages. I made a post once about Swedish proverbs, and what they mean in English. Now I thought I’d make a post with English phrases/sayings/proverbs that don’t work directly translated into Swedish, and how one would say it in Swedish instead. Not all English sayings work as well as Do unto others as you would have them do to you-
gör mot andra som du själv vill bli behandlad. But of course that’s from the bible, so of course it would translate well. Anyways, here they are:
E-The English saying/phrase/proverb S-How you would say it in Swedish ( ) – How it translates in the other language
1.
E-Raining cats and dogs – (Regnar katter och hundar) S-Det spöregnar – (It’s spear-raining/it’s raining like spears)
In Sweden we have a lot of words for different types of rain and snow – spöregn, duggregn, isregn, pudersnö, mjuksnö, klibbsnö etc.
2.
E-No idea – (Ingen idé) S-Ingen aning – (No idea/inkling/suspicion / I don’t know)
I had a problem with this very phrase when I was in England in 2009, because I got so used to saying no idea, that I said ingen idé, which doesn’t work AT ALL in Swedish. If you say ingen idé, you probably mean that there is no point to something. Det är ingen idé att prata med henne, hon svarar inte – There’s no point in talking to her, she won’t reply.
3.
E-Between a rock and a hard place – (Mellan en sten och en hård plats) S-Pest eller kolera – (Plague or cholera)
Yes, if we have to bad alternatives, we do say it’s like choosing between the plague or cholera. That’s just the way we phrase it.
4.
E-The birds and the bees – (Fåglarna och bina) S-Blommor och bin – (Flowers and bees)
Like, what does the birds have to do with it? We switched it.
5.
E-Cut to the chase – (Klipp till jakten) S-Kom till saken – (Come/get to the thing)
If you say klipp till jakten it sounds like you are editing a video and you want to cut the video and put in a chasing scene. Kom till saken on the other hand means basically get to the point.
6.
E-By the skin of my/her/his/their/your teeth – (Genom huden av mina/hennes/hans/deras/dina tänder) S-Med nöd och näppe – (With need and narrowly / barely)
By the skin of your teeth is such a weird saying. You have no skin on your teeth?
7.
E-Drive up the wall – (Köra upp på väggen) S-Driver mig till vansinne – (Driving me crazy /driving me to insanity)
These two are not completely the same, but it’s the closest I could think of. Worth noting is that driver does not mean driving, if you want to say I am driving you do not say Jag driver, you say Jag kör. Jag driver means I am kidding, coincidentally.
8.
E-Piece of cake – (Tårtbit) S-Lätt som en plätt – (Easy as a small pancake)
I dunno if plättar exists in other countries, but they are basically small pancakes, the same batter and everything. Oh, and if you answer the question How did it go? with Tårtbit! it literally will not make any sense.
9.
E-There’s no such thing as a free lunch – (Det finns inget sådant som en gratis lunch) S-Ingenting är gratis här i världen – (Nothing is free in this world)
I find this expression so funny, because in Sweden, lunch can be free. We have free school lunches from kindergarten and until we’re 18/19 years old. Worth clarifying is that Swedish have two words for Free. One is to BE free – FRI (Jag är fri). The other is that you get something for free – GRATIS (Jag fick resa gratis).
10.
E-Feel a bit under the weather – (Känns lite under vädret) S-Känns lite krasslig – (Feel a bit unwell/bad)
To be under vädret makes absolutely no sense. The Swedish language is often very LITERAL. Which means, if you say you are under vädret, you are literally saying you feel like you are under a weather, which is ridiculous.
Okay, that’ll do for now. Message me if you have any comments or questions 🙂 (Or just reblog if you want)
to
contribute – att bidra to
edit – att redigera to
print – att trycka to
publish – att publicera to
quote – att citera to
interview – att intervjua to
tell – att berätta to
broadcast – att sända
lav3nderwolftumblr 
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