60 Essential Swedish Words and Phrases

Your first weeks in Sweden are full of new words: on signs, in letters from authorities, at the supermarket checkout. Many Swedes switch to English right away – but if you have a few Swedish words and phrases ready, everyday life gets much easier, and people will appreciate the effort.

We have put together 60 words and phrases you'll really need – sorted by situation and with English translations.

Greetings and politeness

• Hej! – Hi! / Hello! Works always and with everyone, even your boss.
• God morgon! – Good morning!
• Hej då! / Hej hej! – Bye!
• Tack! – Thanks! The most important word of all – Swedes say thank you all the time.
• Tack så mycket! – Thank you very much!
• Varsågod! – Here you are! / You're welcome! (when handing something over or inviting someone in)
• Ursäkta! – Excuse me! (to get attention or get past someone)
• Förlåt! – Sorry!
• Hur mår du? – How are you? Answer: Bra, tack! (Fine, thanks!)
• Vi ses! – See you!

Swedish has no direct word for "please". Instead you say tack at the end ("En kaffe, tack!" – A coffee, please!) or ask politely with "Skulle du kunna …?" ("Could you …?").

Shopping

• Vad kostar det? – How much is it?
• Kan jag betala med kort? – Can I pay by card? (Cash is used less and less.)
• Swisha – to pay via Swish, Sweden's mobile payment app. "Jag swishar dig!" – I'll Swish you!
• Kvitto – receipt. "Vill du ha kvittot?" – Do you want the receipt?
• Påse – bag. "Behöver du en påse?" – Do you need a bag?
• Extrapris – special offer
• Jämförpris – comparison price, e.g. per kilo or litre
• Kassa – checkout; självscanning means self-scanning
• Pant – deposit on cans and bottles
• Öppettider – opening hours

Dealing with authorities

• Personnummer – personal identity number, needed almost everywhere
• Folkbokföring – population registration
• Skatteverket – the Swedish Tax Agency, also responsible for population registration and personnummer
• Försäkringskassan – the Social Insurance Agency (e.g. child benefit, parental benefit)
• Blankett – form
• Ansökan – application; ansöka om means to apply for
• Beslut – decision
• Legitimation (short: leg) – ID. "Har du legitimation?" – Do you have ID?
• Handläggare – case officer
• Mina sidor – "My pages", your personal online account with an authority, usually via BankID

At the doctor's and the pharmacy

• Vårdcentral – health centre, your first point of contact like a GP
• 1177 – phone number and website for healthcare advice when you don't know where to go
• Jag har ont i … – I have a pain in … (ont i huvudet = headache, ont i magen = stomach ache)
• Jag är sjuk. – I'm ill.
• Feber – fever
• Boka tid – to book an appointment
• Recept – prescription (not a recipe!)
• Apotek – pharmacy
• Akuten – the emergency department (A&E / ER)
• VAB – vård av barn: staying home to care for a sick child. "Jag vabbar idag." – I'm home with my sick kid today.

In an emergency, call 112, just like everywhere in Europe.

Around your home

• Hyresvärd – landlord
• Hyra – rent; also the verb "to rent"
• Hyreskontrakt – rental contract
• I andra hand – sublet (andrahandskontrakt = sublet contract)
• Bostadsrätt – a cooperative flat you buy the right to live in, similar to a condo
• Tvättstuga – the shared laundry room in the building, usually with a booking system
• Felanmälan – maintenance request to your landlord, e.g. for a dripping tap
• Sopsortering – waste sorting; soprum is the bin room
• Förråd – storage room
• Granne / grannar – neighbour / neighbours

Small talk and getting to know people

• Vad heter du? – What's your name?
• Jag heter … – My name is …
• Jag kommer från … – I'm from … (e.g. Tyskland = Germany, England, USA)
• Jag pratar lite svenska. – I speak a little Swedish.
• Kan du prata lite långsammare? – Could you speak a bit more slowly?
• Vad jobbar du med? – What do you do for a living?
• Vilket fint väder! – What lovely weather! (Weather is small-talk topic number one.)
• Ska vi ta en fika? – Shall we grab a coffee?
• Trevlig helg! – Have a nice weekend!
• Vad mysigt! – How cosy! One of the Swedes' favourite words.

Bonus: Å, Ä, Ö and common abbreviations

The Swedish alphabet has three more letters than the English one: å, ä and ö. They come at the very end of the alphabet – important when you look something up in lists, directories or a dictionary.

• å sounds roughly like the "o" in "more" – e.g. in gå (to go).
• ä sounds like the "e" in "bed", ö a bit like the "u" in "fur".
• On a Swedish keyboard, å, ä and ö each have their own key on the right-hand side.

In letters, on websites and on signs, you'll also constantly come across these abbreviations:

• t.ex. (till exempel) – e.g.
• bl.a. (bland annat) – among other things
• osv. (och så vidare) – etc.
• kl. (klockan) – o'clock, e.g. kl. 14 (2 pm – Swedes use the 24-hour clock)
• ca (cirka) – approximately
• mån–fre – Monday to Friday, lör = Saturday, sön = Sunday (common in opening hours)

How to learn the words best

• Listen to the pronunciation: many words sound different from how they're written. Kort sounds roughly like "koort", and sjuk starts with the breathy sj-sound.
• Learn by situation: go through the relevant list before shopping or a doctor's appointment.
• Use the words right away: a "Hej!" and "Tack!" at the checkout are the perfect start.
• Flashcard apps help with repetition – a few minutes a day is enough.
• Don't be afraid of mistakes: Swedes are happy when you try in Swedish.

If you want to learn more, the free language course SFI (Svenska för invandrare) is the next step.

Our conclusion

With these 60 words and phrases you're well prepared for the most important everyday situations – from shopping and official letters to chatting with your neighbours. Start with hej, tack and ursäkta and build up your vocabulary step by step. You'll see: even a few words of Swedish open doors. Lycka till!