Swedish swear words

Posted by Katja 8 Comments
Jan 27 2012

The first words many foreigners learn in a new language are usually swear words. I don’t think this is uncommon for anybody, no matter where you come from or what language you want to learn.

The point of this post is not to encourage swearing but to explain the degree of different swear words in Swedish vs. English.

In Swedish there are four “real” swear words. Jävlar, Satan, Fan and Helvete. All of these are religiously related words. Jävel (Jävlar), Satan and Fan are all synonyms for the devil. Helvete is the Swedish word for hell. All these have become down-toned over the years but can still not be used by politicians in public for example.

“Jävla bords-jävel”

“Damn table devil” To be roughly translated. Probably something you might say when having trouble with a table.

Excrement bases words are also common. For example; skit (shit) can be used not only as a swear word but as an emphasis like “very”. Skit-snygg (very good looking) or skit-ful (very ugly).

Then there are sex based swear words, which are the foulest of the used swear words in Sweden. Very many foreigners learn and over-use these without really understanding to what extent they insult somebody. These and words relating to ethnic background.

In Sweden however, F*** You is not at all as severe as in other, English-speaking countries, and even the Swedish equivalents are used a lot among younger people. This can be quite a shock for especially English speakers, when they hear young people, even kids, using the phrase without concern.

There are therefor many other, much less offending, words that you can learn instead. Honestly, who doesn’t need a couple of words to express the pain after stubbing your toe or something like that?!

The milder and mostly harmless (even among the grandparents) swear words are:

Swedish word / English literal translation (or as close you can get, feel free to give better translations if you know of any)

Fanken – darn

Fasiken – darn

Järnspikars också – iron nails

Söte göte – dear göte

göta petter – göta petter (Just a name)

Jösses – dear me

jäklar – darn

förgrymmat också – damn it

förbaskat (också) – darn it

tusan – shoot

förbövelen (this is yet another religious word but not as severe) – literally it means executioner

Sjutton också – sjutton means seventeen but religiously the number meant more than it does today

järnvägar – railroads

attans – darn

attans bananer – darn bananas

sjutusan – seven thousand

det var som sjutton – that was like seventeen (this is a pure literal translation since there are no English equivalents)

fy katten – darn cat

nedrans – darn

rackarns – shoot

hujeda mig – dear me

fy bubblan – my gosh

milda matilda – gracious Mathilda

Bomber och granater – bombs and grenades

These milder words were thought of because the first syllable is the same as many other more harsh words, giving the impression you are going to say something vulgar but changing your mind at the last minute.
Good luck, and try to chose appropriate language when speaking in Sweden ;)

Svenska Samtalsbordet

Posted by Marcus Cederström 1 Comment
Jan 25 2012

We’re always looking for learning language tips here at Transparent. It’s why everyone who works so hard on the various language learning software is so proud of what they do (if you haven’t already, check out what Transparent has to offer). But sometimes, some of the best things in life are free. Or, at least they don’t cost any money. When it comes to learning a language, there are some easy activities you can arrange to help you practice your new language.

One such way is the language conversation table, or samtalsbord. It’s a simple enough idea. Grab a few language learning friends, meet up once (or twice, or three times, or however many you want) and speak Swedish for an hour. Only Swedish. Only an hour. You’d be surprised how much you can actually say and how much you can actually understand.

The key is of course making sure that your conversation table becomes a recurring event. The best way to do so is to pick a time that works for a decent amount of people. Maybe your group does best right around 5:30 after work. Maybe your group likes to meet at lunch. Maybe you are a morning coffee person. It doesn’t matter, but make it regular. By choosing a set time every single week, it is easier to make your conversation table a habit.

Make sure that all levels are welcome. In fact, encourage it. Advanced language learners can learn a lot by helping beginners with pronunciation, word order, and vocabulary. It forces you to think about the language in a way you may not have done before. Beginners can learn a lot from watching and listening to more advanced speakers. It’s a mutually beneficial relationship that can also lead to a lot of great friendships.

Some conversation tables like to have a script to work from. A sort of introductory discussion that gets repeated at every meeting and gets the ball rolling. Others like to let the conversation come organically. That’s up to you. I’m a proponent of the organic conversation. It’s more realistic and in my opinion more interesting. You never know what you’ll learn how to say in Swedish if you just let things happen.

Finally, if you have some Swedes in the area, invite them along. It’s great to have a native speaker to practice with and more often than not, they are excited to be able to use their language and help others learn.

A great place to start when forming a language table is in your classroom. Many of you are learning Swedish with a bunch of other students who share your interest in the language. Take advantage of that and get together. Even if you find yourself actually in Sweden learning Swedish, it can be a great exercise to meet up with other learners to share your experiences (in Swedish of course). If you are an industrious soul trying to learn on your own, check around. You might be surprised by the Swedish community in your area. Look for Swedish-American clubs, community colleges or universities, or check for online communities willing to share a samtalsbord online. You might be surprised by how many people are actively trying to learn the language right alongside you.

As always, good luck, and please be sure to let us know how it goes for you, whether you are staring a new language table or if you’re already a part of one.

Why does ‘hand’ become ‘händer’ in plural?

Posted by Steve 3 Comments
Jan 24 2012

This is one question that boggles the minds of many learners of the Swedish language (as well as the other Nordic languages). Why doesn’t ‘hand’ just become ‘hander’ or ‘handar’ in plural?

The answer to this lies in a major change that occurred throughout Germanic Europe in the Early Middle Ages (which in Scandinavia was the middle of the Iron Age, 450~500 AD). The process is known today as the i-omljud in Swedish (in English the Germanic umlaut, i-umlaut, or i-mutation). What happened during this change was that an unemphasized i (prounced like ‘ee’ in modern English) in a word brought emphasized back vowels (vowels produced in the back of the mouth: a, o, u) forward, closer to i. For example, what you’re here to find out:

- The plural of hand in Old Norse was handiar. But since it is natural for human beings to simplify things, people began to say hændar (/´hændər/), combining the a with the i, creating a new sound, æ (pronounced similarly to the a in hat). From there, the æ as well as the ar at the end became more and more weakly pronounced, leading to its modern pronunciation, /´hɛndər/, orthographized as händer. The singular form, hand, however, remained the same because it lacked an i to change it.

The i-omljud also affected the other back vowels, o and u. Before this process, Old Norse only had five vowels: a, e, i, o, and u, like the rest of the Indo-European languages of that time. After the i-omljud, though, three more vowels had developed, namely y (what you get when you combine i and u), æ (i and a combined, as shown above), and ø (from i and o). The letters æ and ø were used when the Latin alphabet was first adopted but were replaced by the Low German ä and ö toward the end of the Middle Ages (in Sweden, 1050~1520 AD). Previously, Swedish was written completely in runes.

What about å then? When did that appear? Check back in one week and you’ll be able to find out!

“This” and “these”

Posted by Katja 6 Comments
Jan 19 2012

In Sweden there are lots of different dialects, and of course people use different words for the same thing. Something as simple as “this” you’ll find lots of variations of and for someone learning Swedish that can be a bit confusing. Especially if the word everybody is using in some areas is grammatically incorrect, and never before mentioned in a textbook.

Swedish English equivalent
 

detta

denna

det här

 this  
Swedish English equivalent
 

dessa

domma

de här

dom här

  these 

Domma is said especially around Jönköping and maybe Stockholm a little bit(?) but is found in other parts of Sweden as well.  This is not grammatically correct, but you will still hear many people say it.

So you know the en and ett rules by now right? Well, just to check. Table which is in Swedish bord. Ett bord, we do not say en bord. Detta and denna follow the same priciple, you would say “detta bord” and not “denna bord”. You could also say “det här bordet”.

Then to point out to somebody which tables you were meaning, you would say “dessa bord” meaning these tables (bord is a exception, we do not say bordar for several tables, we just say ett bord, flera bord. One table, several tables). The noun you use after “dessa” is in in-definitive plural form, like dessa stolar (these chairs) dessa dörrar (these doors) etc.

Domma is used when you are actually supposed to be using dessa.

De här is strictly speaking only supposed to be used in written language but when people talk they still pronounce it as de här. This is maybe illogical but we don’t say de här bord, instead we say de här borden. So we specify by using bord-en or for one table,  or det här bordet. Det här works for all nouns, regardless if it is a en or ett.

Dom här is used the same way as de här, so no worries there :)

Short dialog 

Ett par går runt i IKEA och tittar på bord.

A couple are walking round in IKEA looking at tables.

Person A) Dom där borden är fina.

Person B) Dom här? (pekar)

Person A) Nej, dessa. (pekar på ett annat bord)

Person B) Jaha. Ja, jag tycker om dom också.

Swedish English equivalent
 

bord

peka

fin (plu. fina)

annat

tycka (progressiv form; tycker)

också

jaha

  

table

to point

nice

other, different

to think, like

as well, too

oh

Next time you hear some Swedish see if you can hear the differences.

Helpful Swedish Phrases

Posted by Marcus Cederström No Comments
Jan 18 2012

We try to give you a basic understanding of Swedish here at Transparent Language. We mix vocab in with grammar in with culture in with news. It’s always a challenge trying to make sure that these posts have a little bit for everyone. And we realize that that is nearly impossible. Some of you have been studying Swedish for years and come here to just clean up a few of those nagging little questions. Some of you just started learning Swedish recently and are trying to absorb as much as possible. And some of you have no interest in the language at all and come here to just check in on Swedish culture.

With all that in mind though, I thought it might be useful to offer up a few common phrases in Swedish that could be helpful if you find yourself in Sweden or just speaking with a Swede. It’s a great way to show off your linguistic chops and start a conversation. Even if you have to switch to English a little bit.

Keep in mind, this will not include every useful phrase, and some of you might not agree with my definition of useful. That’s ok. In fact, I prefer it that way. All I ask then is that you add your useful phrase in the comments section below! Also, please note that I have not given literal translations, but instead focused on the colloquial meaning of these phrases. Good luck!

Hej. Hello.
Tjena. Hey.
Jag heter ________. My name is ________.
Mitt namn är ________. My name is ________.
Vad heter du? What is your name?
Hur är läget? How’s it going?
Läget? How’s it going? (Slangy)
Hur går det? How’s it going?
Hur mår du? How are you feeling?
Var kommer du ifrån? Where do you come from?
Ja, tack. Yes, please.
Nej, tack. No, thank you.
Tack Thanks.
Tack så mycket. Thank you so much.
Det var så lite. No problem.
Varsågod. You’re welcome.
Hur mycket kostar ________? How much does ________ cost?
Jag behöver en biljett till ________. I need a ticket to ________.
Var ligger ________? Where is the ________?
Var är toaletten? Where is the toilet?
Var är toan? Where is the toilet? (Slangy)
Är du hungrig? Are you hungry?
Jag är hungrig. I am hungry.
Är du törstig? Are you thirsty?
Jag är törstig. I am thirsty.
Ska vi ta en öl? Should we grab a beer?
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