1. Some Basic Phrases
God morgon Good Morning |
Hej / Goddag Hello / Good Day |
God kväll Good Evening |
God natt Good Night |
Hej då / Adjö (more formal) Goodbye |
Var snäll Please |
Tack (så mycket) Thank you (very much) |
Ingen orsak / Var så god Don't mention it / You're welcome |
Ja / Nej Yes / No |
Herr / Fru / Fröken Mister / Misses / Miss |
Hur är det? / Hur har du det? How are you? |
Hur mår du? How are you? (How are you feeling?) |
Bra Good / Fine |
Inte så bra. Not so good |
Vad heter du? What's your name? |
Vad är ditt namn? What's your name? |
Jag heter... I am called... |
Mitt namn är... My name is... |
Trevligt att träffas! Pleased to meet you!
|
Välkommen! Welcome! |
Varifrån kommer du? Where are you from? |
Jag kommer från... I'm from... |
Var bor du? Where do you live? |
Jag bor i... I live in... |
Hur gammal är du? How old are you? |
Jag är ___ år (gammal). I am ____ years old. |
Talar du svenska? Do you speak Swedish? |
Jag talar englska. I speak English. |
danska, norska, franska, italienska, spanska, tyska, holländska, ryska, japanska Danish, Norwegian, French, Italian, Spanish, German, Dutch, Russian, Japanese |
Ja, lite grann. Yes, a little bit. |
Nej, inte alls. No, not at all. |
Jag förstår [inte.] I [don't] understand. |
Jag vet [inte.] I [don't] know. |
Ursäkta / Förlåt Excuse me / Pardon me |
Ha det så bra! Take care! |
Vi ses senare / snart See you later / soon |
Hej / Hej då Hi / Bye |
Jag älskar dig. I love you. |
Jag saknar dig. I miss you. |
2. Pronunciation
Swedish letter(s) |
English sound |
ch |
sh |
ck |
k |
g |
g before a, o, u, å, or unstressed e |
g |
j before e, i, y, ä, ö and after l or r |
g |
k before t |
gj |
j |
k |
soft ch sound, before e, i, y, ä, ö |
q |
k |
sch |
sh |
ti(on) |
sh |
tj |
soft ch sound |
v, w |
v |
x |
ks |
z |
s |
3. Alphabet
a |
ah |
k |
kaw |
u |
ooh |
b |
bay |
l |
el |
v |
vay |
c |
say |
m |
em |
x |
eks |
d |
day |
n |
en |
y |
ew |
e |
ay |
o |
oh |
z |
say-tah |
f |
ef |
p |
pay |
å |
aw (with lips rounded) |
g |
gay |
q |
koo |
ä |
eh (as in bed) |
h |
haw |
r |
air |
ö |
er (with lips rounded) |
i |
ee |
s |
ess |
|
|
j |
yee |
t |
tay |
|
|
4. Nouns and Cases
Nouns in Swedish have two genders, common and neuter, which adjectives must agree with when modifying nouns. These genders are signified by the indefinite articles: en and ett. In the vocabulary lists, a noun followed by (n) means that it is a neuter noun and it takes the indefinite article ett. The majority of nouns in Swedish are common gender, so they take the indefinite article en.
The only case of nouns that is used in Swedish is the genitive (showing possession), and it is easily formed by adding an -s to the noun. This is comparable to adding -'s in English to show possession.
5. Articles and Demonstratives
There are two indefinite articles (corresponding to a and an) in Swedish: en and ett. En is used with most of the nouns (words denoting people almost always use en), but you will just have to learn which article goes with which noun. The definite article (the) is not a separate word like in most other languages. It is simply a form of the indefinite article attached to the end of the noun. Note that en words ending in a vowel retain that vowel and add an -n instead of adding -en. And ett words ending in -e just add a -t.
En words |
Ett words |
Indefinite |
Definite |
Indefinite |
Definite |
en banan |
a banana |
bananen |
the banana |
ett bord |
a table |
bordet |
the table |
en stol |
a chair |
stolen |
the chair |
ett kök |
a kitchen |
köket |
the kitchen |
en gata |
a street |
gatan |
the street |
ett äpple |
an apple |
äpplet |
the apple |
This, that, these and those are expressed in Swedish by using den, det or de plus the word här (here) and där (there). The noun is always in the definite form after these demonstratives. And if any adjectives follow the demonstrative, they must add an -a to the ending.
|
with en words |
with ett words |
with plural words |
this / these |
den här biljetten - this ticket |
det här tåget - this train |
de här biljetterna - these tickets |
that / those |
den där biljetten - that ticket |
det där tåget - that train |
de där tågen - those trains |
6. Subject (Nominative) Pronouns
Subject Pronouns
jag |
yah |
I |
|
vi |
vee |
we |
du |
doo |
you (singular) |
|
ni |
nee |
you (plural) |
han |
hahn |
he |
|
de |
dahm |
they |
hon |
hohn |
she |
|
|
|
|
den |
den |
it (with en words) |
|
|
|
|
det |
deh |
it (with ett words) |
|
|
|
|
man |
mahn |
one |
|
|
|
|
Note: Man can be translated as one, we, they or the people in general. When referring to nouns as it, you use den for en nouns, and det for ett nouns. Formerly, du was the informal you and ni was the formal, but these distinctions are rarely used anymore.
7. To Be and to Have
The present and past tenses of verbs in Swedish are very simple to conjugate. All the forms are the same for each personal pronoun. The infinitive of the verb to be in Swedish is vara, and the conjugated present tense form is är and the past tense is var. The infinitive of the verb to have is ha, and the conjugated present tense form is har and the past tense is hade.
vara - to be |
ha - to have |
I am |
jag är |
I was |
jag var |
I have |
jag har |
I had |
jag hade |
you are |
du är |
you were |
du var |
you have |
du har |
you had |
du hade |
he is |
han är |
he was |
han var |
he has |
han har |
he had |
han hade |
she is |
hon är |
she was |
hon var |
she has |
hon har |
she had |
hon hade |
it is |
den är |
it was |
den var |
it has |
den har |
it had |
den hade |
it is |
det är |
it was |
det var |
it has |
det har |
it had |
det hade |
one is |
man är |
one was |
man var |
one has |
man har |
one had |
man hade |
we are |
vi är |
we were |
vi var |
we have |
vi har |
we had |
vi hade |
you are |
ni är |
you were |
ni var |
you have |
ni har |
you had |
ni hade |
they are |
de är |
they were |
de var |
they have |
de har |
they had |
de hade |
To form the future tense of verbs, just add ska before the infinitive. Jag ska vara = I will be; hon ska ha = she will have; etc.
8. Useful Words
sometimes |
ibland |
already |
redan |
always |
alltid |
perhaps |
kanske |
never |
aldrig |
both |
båda |
often |
ofta |
some |
någon, något, några |
usually |
vanligen |
again |
igen, åter |
now |
nu |
between |
mellan |
and |
och |
a lot, many |
många |
but |
men |
of course |
naturligtvis |
or |
eller |
a little |
lite gran |
very |
mycket |
not at all |
inte alls |
here |
här |
almost |
nästan |
there |
där |
really? |
verkligen |
also |
med |
there is/are |
det är |
another |
varandra |
That's too bad! |
Vad tråkigt! Vad synd! |
9. Question Words
Who |
vem |
|
Whose |
vems |
What |
vad |
|
Which |
vilken, vilket, vilka |
Why |
varför |
|
Where to |
vart |
When |
när |
|
Where from |
varifrån |
Where |
var |
|
How |
hur |
Which has three different forms depending on the gender and number of the noun that follows it. Vilken is used with en words, vilket is used with ett words and vilka is used with plural words.
10. Cardinal and Ordinal Numbers
0 |
noll |
|
|
1 |
en, ett |
1st |
första |
2 |
två |
2nd |
andra |
3 |
tre |
3rd |
tredje |
4 |
fyra |
4th |
fjärde |
5 |
fem |
5th |
femte |
6 |
sex |
6th |
sjätte |
7 |
sju |
7th |
sjunde |
8 |
åtta |
8th |
åttonde |
9 |
nio |
9th |
nionde |
10 |
tio |
10th |
tionde |
11 |
elva |
11th |
elfte |
12 |
tolv |
12th |
tolfte |
13 |
tretton |
13th |
trettonde |
14 |
fjorton |
14th |
fjortonde |
15 |
femton |
15th |
femtonde |
16 |
sexton |
16th |
sextonde |
17 |
sjutton |
17th |
sjuttonde |
18 |
arton |
18th |
artonde |
19 |
nitton |
19th |
nittonde |
20 |
tjugo |
20th |
tjugonde |
21 |
tjugoen, tjugoett |
21st |
tjugoförsta |
22 |
tjugotvå |
22nd |
tjugoandra |
30 |
trettio |
30th |
trettionde |
40 |
fyrtio |
40th |
fyrtionde |
50 |
femtio |
50th |
femtionde |
60 |
sextio |
60th |
sextionde |
70 |
sjuttio |
70th |
sjuttionde |
80 |
åttio |
80th |
åttionde |
90 |
nittio |
90th |
nittionde |
100 |
hundra |
100th |
hundrade |
1,000 |
tusen |
1,000th |
tusende |
million |
en miljon |
|
|
billion |
en miljard |
|
|
trillion |
en biljon |
|
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11. Days of the Week / Veckans dagar
Monday |
måndag |
Tuesday |
tisdag |
Wednesday |
onsdag |
Thursday |
torsdag |
Friday |
fredag |
Saturday |
lördag |
Sunday |
söndag |
day |
dag |
morning |
morgon |
afternoon |
eftermiddag |
evening |
afton (before 6 pm) / kväll |
night |
natt |
today |
idag |
tomorrow |
imorgon |
tonight |
ikväll |
yesterday |
igår |
last night |
igår natt |
week |
vecka |
weekend |
helg |
daily |
daglig |
weekly |
veckotalig or var/varje vecka | Note: To say "on" a certain day, use på before the day.
12. Months of the Year / Årets månader
January |
januari |
February |
februari |
March |
mars |
April |
april |
May |
maj |
June |
juni |
July |
juli |
August |
augusti |
September |
september |
October |
oktober |
November |
november |
December |
december |
month |
månad |
year |
år |
monthly |
månatalig or var/varje månad |
yearly |
årlig | Note: To say "in" a certain month, use i before the month.
13. Seasons
Winter |
vinter |
in (the) winter |
på vintern |
Spring |
vår |
in (the) spring |
på våren |
Summer |
sommar |
in (the) summer |
på sommaren |
Fall |
höst |
in (the) fall |
på hösten |
Note: You can also use i before the names of the months to express this: i vinter = this winter
14. Directions
North |
norr |
Northeast |
nordost |
South |
söder |
Northwest |
nordväst |
East |
öster |
Southeast |
sydost |
West |
väster |
Southwest |
sydväst |
15. Colors
orange |
orange |
pink |
skär, skärt, skära |
purple |
lila |
blue |
blå, blått, blåa |
yellow |
gul, gult, gula |
red |
röd, rött, röda |
black |
svart, svart, svarta |
brown |
brun, brunt, bruna |
gray |
grå, grått, gråa |
white |
vit, vitta, vita |
green |
grön, grönt, gröna |
Note: Since colors are adjectives, most of them decline according to which words they are used with. The first word above is used with en words, the second with ett words and the third with plural words. Some words remain the same for all three. Another color is rosa (also indeclinable) which means pink or rose-colored.
16. Time / Tid
What time is it? |
Vad är klockan? |
(It is) 2 AM |
Klockan är två på natten |
2 PM |
14.00 (but said as två) |
6:20 |
tjugo över sex |
half past 3 |
halv fyra |
quarter past 4 |
kvart över fyra |
quarter to 5 |
kvart i fem |
10 past 11 |
tio över elva |
20 to 7 |
tjugo i sju |
noon |
mitt på dagen |
midnight |
midnatt |
in the morning |
på morgonen |
in the evening |
på kvällen |
It's exactly... |
den är precis |
At 8. |
omkring åtta |
early |
tidigt |
late(r) |
sent (senare) |
17. Weather / Väder
How's the weather today? |
Hur är vädret idag? |
It's cold |
det är kallt |
beautiful |
vackert |
hot |
hett |
clear |
klart |
icy |
isig |
warm |
varm |
windy |
vindigt |
cloudy |
molnigt |
hazy |
disigt |
muggy |
rått |
humid |
fuktigt |
foggy |
dimmigt |
It's snowing |
det snöar |
It's raining |
det regnar |
It's freezing |
det är kallt/kyligt |
18. Family / Familj
Parents |
föräldrar |
Mother |
mamma / mor / moder |
Father |
pappa / far / fader |
Son |
son |
Daughter |
dotter |
Brother |
bror |
Sister |
syster |
Grandfather |
farfar (father's father) / morfar (mother's father) |
Grandmother |
farmor (father's mother) / mormor (mother's mother) |
Grandson |
sonson (son's son) / dotterson (daughter's son) |
Granddaughter |
sondotter (son's daughter) / dotterdotter (daughter's daughter) |
Niece |
brorsdotter (brother's daughter) / systerdotter (sister's daughter) |
Nephew |
brorson (brother's son) / systerson (sister's son) |
Cousin |
kusin |
Uncle |
farbror (father's brother) / morbror (mother's brother) |
Aunt |
faster (father's sister) / moster (mother's sister) |
Boy |
pojke |
Girl |
flicka |
Baby |
barn |
Adult |
vuxna |
Man |
man |
Woman |
kvinna |
Friend (m) |
vän |
Friend (f) |
väninna |
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