Posts tagged with "fika"

Fika. Swedish Style.

Posted by Marcus Cederström 3 Comments
Dec 12 2011

After several years in Sweden and a move back to the United States, I realized I had picked up quite a few habits. Some decidedly Swedish. Like taking my shoes off every time I enter someone’s home. It’s just a nice thing to do in my opinion and it ensures that all of that gunk I’ve been walking on outside, doesn’t make its way inside.

One habit that I did not pick up was going out for a fika. Probably because I don’t drink coffee (on a side note, I was once told that me not drinking coffee made me a stereotypical American. Because Americans don’t drink coffee. Obviously.). But no trip to Sweden is complete without hearing the word fika on a regular basis.

A while back, Katja wrote about the classic snacks for a fika, and even took a look at the habit of fika-ing in cafes instead of at home.  Today, we’re going to talk a bit about the word and the cultural mainstay it has become.

First, what is it? Fika is a cultural phenomenon that is similar to English tea.  You’re supposed to have yourself some coffee, maybe some saft if you’re not into coffee, and some baked goods.  Fikas are common in the work place, where you’ll sometimes have both a morning and an afternoon fika.  They’re a common way to go on a first date. A common way to go on a last date.  A common way to meet new people, meet old friends, meet new colleagues.  Sometimes you might even have a job interview over a fika.

As you’ll notie above, there’s not much the fika can’t do.  It’s amazing really. The word itself is pretty impressive.  It can act as both verb and noun.  For example:

Verb form: Ska vi fika imorgon eftermiddag? (Shall we fika tomorrow afternoon?)
Noun form: Ska vi ta en fika lite senare? (Shall we grab a fika a little bit later?)

Fascinating isn’t it?  It gets better. Or at least for the linguistics amongst us it gets better.  Nationalencyklopedin has a very short, but very interesting (and unfortunately, now NOT free service) that describes how the word originated from a slang language used by marketplace merchants in Västergötland.  The Swedish word for coffee is kaffe, which became kaffi. Somehow, and this is where my linguistic knowledge hits a wall, the letters were rearranged and we are left with the word fika.

So next time you find yourself in Sweden and someone asks you out for a fika. Say yes. You’ll already have a great conversation starter (speaking of which, Katja has written a lovely post about a classic conversation starter in Swedish. Check it out.).

The verb ‘att fika’

Posted by Katja 10 Comments
Jul 27 2011

Swedes have a wonderful verb, ‘att fika’, meaning to have a cup of coffee (or tea) with something sweet or with a sandwich and preferably in the company of colleagues or friends.

There is no really good translation for this verb and many people think that the word should be imported into the English language.  Both the verb, as well as the custom of taking a well-earned break from a hectic lifestyle would be welcome additions to other cultures’ way of living.

 The Swedish café branch is growing like never before.  During the period 2007-2010, sales at cafés rose by 20% and if this trend continues, sales will surpass 4 billion Swedish Crowns this year.  Why is this so?  Earlier Swedes ‘fikade’ at home or at work, but now it has become more popular to ‘fika’ out on the town.  Cafés have become the new living rooms and Swedes have changed where they meet up with friends.  Going out for a ‘fika’ is cheaper and less time-consuming than meeting out for dinner, which could be another explanation.

 Good old-fashioned ‘kaffe’ (coffee) is still the choice of brew when ‘fika-ing’, though there are of course espressos, capachinos, lattes and teas.

Swedish Fika

Posted by Katja 4 Comments
Jan 7 2011

Are you familiar with the most common Swedish desserts (sötsaker)?

Hallongrottor

Originally these cookies only had raspberry jam in the middle. But as creative baking goes, now you can find multiple flavors.

Picture Copyright: Magnus Skog

Princess’tårta

Literally translated as princess cake and commonly eaten on occasions like mothers day, this cake is found in a lot of books about Sweden for foreigners. With its colorful marzipan and pink rose on top.

Kanelbullar

Cinnamon buns must be the most famous Swedish baked goods ever. Ikea places buns on their kitchen tables for the catalogs that are distributed all over the world. In the summertime “bullar” are very popular, often eaten accompanied by “hallon saft” (raspberry juice). In a lot of older traditional children’s literature like Astrid Lindgrens children’s books there is almost always a grandmother serving “Bullar och Saft” (Buns and juice). There is even a special day dedicated to buns called “Kanel bullens dag” The day of the cinnamon bun, on the 4th of October, and has been celebrated since 1999.

A lot of people think that buns are a big part of Swedish culture, and that opinion might be strengthened by the fact that in Home economic classes in school buns are made every school year. Meaning that almost all junior high school students can make basic Swedish cinnamon buns.


Picture Copyright: Pal Allan

Semlor

I would explain that the history behind ‘Semlor’ is that they are also called Lenten Buns, eaten at the time of Lent, the same way other countries eat pancakes.  The starting day for eating ‘semlor’ is ‘fettisdag’.

These Semlor are eaten in February. A slightly sweetened bread bun cut in half, with some of the contents scraped out. The bread is filled with whipped cream (Vispgrädde)and almond icing.


Picture Copyright:  Marie Louise Johansson

Ordlista – Wordlist

Desserts – Efterrätt, Sötsaker

Whipped cream – Vispgrädde

Cinnamon Buns – Kanelbullar

Cookies – Kakor

Afternoon sweet snack – Fika

Swedish bonanza

Posted by jennie 3 Comments
Dec 30 2009

Let us finish off 2009 with some great websites for anyone with a heart that pounds a little bit extra for Sweden.

The local
A great news site about Sweden, the Swedes and anything Swedish – all written in English. Excellent articles, fun facts and packed with information about everything from Stockholm’s exclusive nightlife to job classifieds and discussion forums for hot – yet Swedish – topics.

Very Swedish
If you never have tried a traditional Swedish Fat Tuesday Bun, this is definitely the click for you. This bun – traditionally eaten in February, is a must and this recipe will give you 16 heavenly buns. But you had better start practicing straight away…

Steig Larsson
Swedish author Stieg Larsson died tragically before his nail-biting triology about the journalist Mikael Blomqvist and the troubled hacker Lisbeth Sallander was published. Today, his books have sold more than 12 million copies worldwide and he was the second best selling author of 2008. If you by any chance haven’t read “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo”, “The Girl Who Played With Fire” or “The Girl Who Kicked The Hornets’ Nest” – start today! You’re in for a real treat and three pieces of Swedish modern classics. Of course, there’s movies as well, great ones. But we all know who wins book vs. film almost everytime, don’t we?

Let the right one in
I might have to take back what I wrote above straight away. “Let the Right One In” is an amazing Swedish vampire-horror-love story (sounds strange, I know) based on a best selling novel by the author Johan Ajvide Lindqvist. And this time the movie might be the winner. Vampires are trendier than ever, and the trendiest of the bunch is Eli, a 200 year old vampire, trapped in the body of an 12 year old girl and stuck in the suburbs of Stockholm. “Let the Right One In” has been a huge success all over the world and it very much represents the Swedish movie scene of today: amazing photography, realistic scenery and brilliant acting. And of course, a hype that no-one ever could predict (Swedes are, as you know, very modest and humble).There is definitely a life after Ingmar Bergman, be sure about that.

Fika
When I wrote my post about Swedish words that I miss in English, I completely forgot the best one of them all. Fika. Fika is a word that Swedes use all the time and fika simply describes what you do when you have a coffee and perhaps a bun togehter with your mates in a coffeeshop. You fikar. London-based Fika is a café/restaurant/bar that serves great traditional Swedish food – breakfast, lunch, lightbites, dinner – or just simply coffee and buns. Just make sure to bring your mates. Even if you are nowhere near London, Fika is fun website for food inspiration. And – a very useful Swedish word to know!

The Swedish World Heritage
Interesting reading and great pictures of the amazing Swedish places that are inscribed on UNESCO world heritage list. You’ll find a radiostation (!), a cemetery and a whole town. Amongst many others.

When a Short, Sharp Intake of Breath Means “Yes”

Posted by Transparent Language 7 Comments
Mar 19 2009

My friend had to go to the doctor the other day, and afterwards, when we were having fika, he said: “wow, I guess I’m seriously sick. The doctor was making those scared little noises at pretty much everything I told her.”

As you can very easily guess, my friend is an expat and hasn’t been in Sweden all that long. And during his time here, it’s obvious that he’s been interacting mostly with fellow expats. The doctor’s visit was evidently the first time he got to talk to a real Swede. And judging from his description of their conversation, a real Swede it was indeed.

First I had to laugh (but just a tiny bit) and then crashed my friend’s expectations of being sjukskriven (being on sick leave) for a long time, because yeah, while he was sick, it wasn’t with anything really life threatening. Then proceeded to explain to him the meaning of those sharp intakes of breath – those scared little noises, as he called them.

Frankly, I got so used to those noises that I don’t even notice them anymore. And quite probably, you could even catch me producing them myself on a not-so-rare occasion.

My readers in Sweden know exactly what I’m talking about, and for the rest of you – I’ll do my best to explain.

At its simplest, I am talking about a sharp, sudden intake of breath. Some compare it to a “terrified” or surprised noise, or as my guy does – a choking attack in the middle of a conversation. Personally, the first time I heard it, I thought it was a sudden hiccup. Why? That’s exactly what it sounds like. Unfortunately, it signifies none of the above. At its simplest, it’s a sign that your speaker agrees with you, or acknowledges that he/ she heard and understood what you had to say.
(And here Anna draws a sharp breath.)

People (both Swedes and foreigners alike) say that in some regions of the country this custom is more prevalent than in others, but I’ve seen (or rather heard) it all over. Though maybe a bit more in the North than elsewhere. People also say that it’s a generational thing. Supposedly, older folks are more likely to start making that funny noise when you talk to them, but in my experience, plenty of younger ones do it just as frequently and with equal proficiency. One of my ex-coworkers, a woman in her twenties could even construct a whole vocabulary just out of sharp, sudden intakes of breath.

And yes, speaking of women, they tend to use this form of “yes” a bit more often than men. Frankly, I have very rarely had a guy go “hiccupping” on me like that.

And what about foreigners in Sweden? They either stubbornly resist, or after a few years, consciously or not, begin to do it themselves. So, when you also start adding this short, sharp intake of breath to you normal, every-day vocabulary, you know the time has finally come when you can honestly say that you have completely and utterly assimilated. Congratulations!

Back to the Top