Swedish Word of the Day for Beginners RSS

lång

Sat, 31 Mar 2012 00:00:00 GMT

Lång means long, tall and can be used for height, distance or time.

kort

Fri, 30 Mar 2012 00:00:00 GMT

Kort means short and can be used for height, distance or time.

lunch

Thu, 29 Mar 2012 00:00:00 GMT

Swedes have taken lunch from the English.

rolig

Wed, 28 Mar 2012 00:00:00 GMT

Swedish for fun. If someone asks, Har du roligt? it means are you havingfun.

fest

Tue, 27 Mar 2012 00:00:00 GMT

Fest means party. It is popular to start a weekend night with a förfest, a warm-up party where you have a few drinks with your friends before going out on the town.

slut

Mon, 26 Mar 2012 00:00:00 GMT

Slut means finished, gone. You might go to a café and find all your favorite cinnamon buns are sold out for the day with a sign above it that says, Slut, meaning sold out.

nolltolerans

Sun, 25 Mar 2012 00:00:00 GMT

Nolltolerans means zero tolerance in English. For example, Swedish authorities have nolltolerans for driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs.

sommarprata

Sat, 24 Mar 2012 00:00:00 GMT

Literally to summer talk, att sommarprata means to host a popular radio talk show that airs on Sweden’s national radio during the summer months.

mössa

Fri, 23 Mar 2012 00:00:00 GMT

A mössa is a beanie or cap. A style of knitted cap worn by Swedish skier Ingemar Stenmark, called a Tärnabymössa, became incredibly popular in the 80's.

fildelning

Thu, 22 Mar 2012 00:00:00 GMT

Fildelning, or file sharing, is the copying of files across the internet using a peer-to-peer platform such as BitTorrent. The word is used as a verbal noun, so plurals don't really make sense in either language.

sunkig

Wed, 21 Mar 2012 00:00:00 GMT

This slang term from Stockholm finds its nearest English equivalent in shabby. Depending on context, the word has a wide spectrum of meanings such as unattractive or filthy.

nyspråk

Tue, 20 Mar 2012 00:00:00 GMT

Another import from English, nyspråk is a literal translation of newspeak, a concept invented by George Orwell in his novel "1984". Orwell's newspeak is a language where criticism of government policy is impossible and hence unthinkable. In current usage, newspeak is any political speech that attempts to whitewash an unpalatable truth through a particular choice of words.

sunkig

Mon, 19 Mar 2012 00:00:00 GMT

This slang term from Stockholm finds its nearest English equivalent in shabby. Depending on context, the word has a wide spectrum of meanings such as unattractive or filthy.

kafé

Sun, 18 Mar 2012 00:00:00 GMT

Sidewalk cafés are very popular once the worst of winter is over.

fika

Sat, 17 Mar 2012 00:00:00 GMT

To fika means to have a coffee or tea break. These breaks are very social and often accompanied by a bun.

bulle

Fri, 16 Mar 2012 00:00:00 GMT

Cinnamon bun is a favorite treat found in many bakeries. There are also cardamom, and custard filled varieties.

konditori

Thu, 15 Mar 2012 00:00:00 GMT

A konditori is a bakery and pastry shop. You can often recognize them by a twisted golden pretzel hanging in front of the shop.

söndag

Wed, 14 Mar 2012 00:00:00 GMT

Sunday. Notice that the days of the week are not capitalized in Swedish.

fin

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 00:00:00 GMT

Fin means anyhting from sweet to proper. When someone says, Du är så fin it's quite a compliment.

mingla

Mon, 30 Jan 2012 00:00:00 GMT

To mingle at a cocktail party becomes att minglain Swedish. While mingling, you may engage in småprat, or small talk.

trängselavgift

Sun, 29 Jan 2012 00:00:00 GMT

A trängselavgift, or congestion charge, was introduced in Stockholm in 2007 to alleviate traffic congestion. Also called trängselskatt (congestion tax).

pinkod

Sat, 28 Jan 2012 00:00:00 GMT

A pinkod, or pin code in English, is a string of digits that users enter into a terminal to verify their identity. Pin codes are used with bank teller machines, doors, and on mobile devices.

nyspråk

Fri, 27 Jan 2012 00:00:00 GMT

nolltolerans

Thu, 26 Jan 2012 00:00:00 GMT

Nolltolerans means zero tolerance in English. For example, Swedish authorities have nolltolerans for driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs.

konsumism

Wed, 25 Jan 2012 00:00:00 GMT

Konsumism is Swedish for consumerism, a western disease where the afflicted equate happiness with the purchase and consumption of material possessions. In both languages, the term is a noncount abstract noun, so you can't pluralize it.

hjärnsläpp

Tue, 24 Jan 2012 00:00:00 GMT

Literally brain drop, its nearest English equivalent is brain fart, though in Swedish you can use the term in polite company to describe an action or pronouncement that you would not have made had you been thinking.

dejt

Mon, 23 Jan 2012 00:00:00 GMT

Taken straight from English, dejt is a transliteration of date, in the romantic sense of that term.

gränsöverskridande

Sun, 22 Jan 2012 00:00:00 GMT

Gränsöverskridande means border-crossing or transboundary. The borders or boundaries to be crossed can be between countries, but also between abstract subjects such as academic fields of study.

skejta

Sat, 21 Jan 2012 00:00:00 GMT

Another direct transliteration from the English for to skate, as in to ride a skateboard, this neologism is replacing the more traditional Swedish term for the activity: åka bräda.

konsumism

Fri, 20 Jan 2012 00:00:00 GMT

sms:a

Thu, 19 Jan 2012 00:00:00 GMT

To write and read text messages on your mobile phone becomes att sms:a in Swedish. The colon is there to tell you that the first three letters are an acronym.