83 Common Swedish Phrases To Survive Your First Conversation With A Swede
Are you learning Swedish and want to be able to communicate with Swedish speakers? Or perhaps you're planning a trip to Sweden.
Even though most Swedes speak English at a fluent level, not all do and being able to communicate in their native language could be beneficial for any eager traveller.
Learning some common Swedish phrases goes a long way when wanting to fit in or speak with the locals.
In this post, you'll learn 83 common Swedish phrases. Read on to find out all the useful expressions you need to successfully communicate with a swede.
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Table of Contents
Common Swedish Phrases To Greet People
The first phrases you learn in any language are usually greetings
From greetings to transportation to shopping, there are many common Swedish phrases and expressions that are used in the course of an average day. Learning them can help you blend in with the natives in everyday situations.
Read and practice these common Swedish phrases, and then follow Sven-Olof through his day to see if you have learned how to use them.
Swedish greetings
Hello: Hej! Hejsan! Hallå! Tjena!
The formal Swedish “Hello” is simply Hej!, which can sometimes be confusing because it sounds just like the informal English “Hey!” Saying it twice: Hej, hej! makes it more informal, though this greeting is often used as a form of “Goodbye” as well.
Hejsan, hallå, tjena/tjenare are also informal ways to say “hello”.
Good…: God morgon, God dag, God kväll, God natt
God means good, so these are the “good greetings”: Good morning, Good day, Good evening, Good night. These can be both formal or informal depending on the tone.
The d at the end of god is rarely pronounced, so these words become like contractions when spoken: Go’morron, Go’dag, Go’kväll, Go’natt. Notice that the g in morgon is also not pronounced.
Goodbye: Hej då! Vi ses! Vi hörs!
The fo
Introduction to Swedish/Common phrases
Greetings
[edit | edit source]Hejsan/Hej
- Hello/Hi
God dag
- Good day
God morgon
- Good morning
God kväll
- Good evening
God natt
- Good night
Hur är det (med dig)?
- How are you?
Bra
- Good/Fine
Dåligt
- Bad
Inte så bra.
- Not so good.
Hur går det?
- How is it going?
Conversational Phrases
[edit | edit source]Vad heter du?
- What's your name? ('heter' is a transitive verb meaning "to be called")
Jag heter []
- My name is []
Var bor du?
- Where do you live?
Jag bor i []
- I live in []
Var kommer du ifrån?
- Where are you from?
Jag kommer ifrån []
- I'm from []
Hur gammal är du?
- How old are you?
Jag är [] år gammal.
- I am [] years old.
Vad gör du?
- What are you doing?
Goodbyes
[edit | edit source]Hej då/Adjö
- Good bye (the latter is formal and derived from the French word adieu)
Ha det bra!
- Have a nice day!
Vi ses!
- See you later!
Other Useful Phrases
[edit | edit source]Ja
- Yes
Nej
- No
Tackar!/Tack/Tack så mycket/Tusen tack
- Thanks!/Thank you/Thank you very much/A thousand thanks! (conversational)
Ingen ors
Jag pratar inte svenska. – I don’t speak Swedish. &#; but soon you will. Well, at least some basic Swedish ;) Are you going to Sweden? For a trip, work or maybe a semester abroad? You probably haven&#;t learned any Swedish yet. No Problem, Swedes speak excellent English. So you can communicate without learning a single Swedish word. But, of course, learning a few basic Swedish sentences, to impress the attractive shop assistant or barkeeper can&#;t be wrong. Top 10 Tips: Learning Swedish Fast – for Beginners & Advanced Learners To get prepared for simple Swedish conversations, here are basic Swedish sentences and phrases for Sweden tourists. Let&#;s get started with the number 1 word you have to know in Swedish&#; Swedish for Hello Hej! &#; Hello! Alternatively you can also say: .Basic Swedish survival phrases for travelers
Say Hello in Swedish
More Swedish greetings