One of the very first words of Swedish, right after hej and tack, that every foreigner learns is fika. Which also happens to be my favorite Swedish word, too. And you’d be hard pressed to find a word more Swedish to the core than fika. You could even say that fika is a social institution, and as such – a quintessential part of Swedish culture.
And that’s true. It’s hard to even imagine life in Sweden without fika.
But what is it exactly? That depends on who’s talking. And to whom. And when. And in what context. Does it sound complicated? It’s not, really.
At its most basic, fika means “to have a coffee break”. It can also be a noun meaning “a coffee break”. But that’s not all. It can also imply a date, or a meeting, or simply getting together over coffee, tea and snacks. And speaking of snacks – they’re of paramount importance. Drinking coffee (or tea) by itself does not a fika make. You need to have fikabröd to go along with your drinks. Oddly enough, fikabröd is not bröd (bread) at all. Rather, it means all kinds of sweet goodies you can much on while enjoying your beverage of choice.
