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English To Swedish - For starters

Last activity 04 March 2012 by emile1380

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vijesh

When I checked-in to Goteborg about 3-months back, language was an initial barrier which I had to overcome. I started-off by compiling few commonly used terms in English and finding the Swedish word to familiarize. This helped me a lot and today its a blessing I cherish and would like to share with other expats out there looking for a smooth life in Sweden :-)

Greeting Someone
Hi = Hej (pronounced - 'hay')

Good Morning
God Morgon (pronounced - 'god mor' ron')

Saying Goodbye
Hej då/Adjö (pronounced - 'hay doh / ad-yuh')

See you later
Vi ses (pronounced - 'vee sehs')

Introducing Oneself or Someone Else
Jag heter ... (pronounced - 'yahg heh-ter')

What is your name ... ?
Vad heter du? (pronounced - 'vad heh-ter du')

This is ...
Det här är ... (pronounced - 'det hair air')

Thanking Someone
Tack (pronounced - 'tak')

Thanks very much
Tack så mycket/Tack ska du ha (pronounced - 'tak soh mick-et' /
'tak ska du ha')

Nice to meet you
Trevligt att träffas (pronounced - 'trevligt at tref-fas')

Answering in the Positive and Negative
Yes = Ja, Jo, Jaha, Javisst, Ja tack (the letter 'j' in Swedish is pronounced with the 'y' sound)
No = Nej, Nejdå, Nej tack (the Swedish letter å is pronounced 'oh')

Excusing Oneself
Ursäkta mig (pronounced - 'u-shektah may')

Forgive me
Förlåt mig (pronounced - 'furlote may')

When Something was not Heard
Vad sa du? (Pronounced - 'vah sah du')

What?
Hurså? (Pronounced - 'hur soh')

Pardon me?
Ursäkta? (Pronounced - 'u-shektah')

Inviting Someone
Välkommen (Pronounced - 'vailkom-men')

Asking for Help
Jag behöver hjälp (Pronounced - 'yahg behover yelp')

Where do I find ...?
Var hittar jag ...? *(Pronounced - 'var hittar yahg')

How do I get to ...?
Hur kommer jag till ...? (Pronounced - 'hur kommer yahg till')

Excuse me, what time is it?
Ursäkta, vad är klockan? (Pronounced - 'u-shektah, vad air klockan')

Hospital
Sjukhuset (Pronounced - 'shook-hoose-et')

Ambulance
Ambulans

Some of the common shopping list items;

How much does it cost?
Hur mycket kostar det? (Pronounced - 'hewr micket kostar det')

Vegetables - grönsaker ('gruhn-sahcker')

Cucumber - gurka

Onions - lök ('luhk')

Garlic - vitlök ('veetluhk')

Cabbage - vitkål ('veetkohwl')

Carrots - morötter ('moo-rut-ter')

Potatoes - potatis ('potah-tis')

Corn - majs ('my-s')

Mushrooms - champinjoner ('shampinyone-er)

Lettuce - sallad

Spinach - spenat

Tomatoes = tomater ('tomah-ter)

Sweet pepper = paprika

Eggplant = äggplanta/aubergine ('eggplanta/oh-bergeen')

Milk = mjölk ('myulk')

Cheese = ost ('oost')

Butter = smör ('smuhr')

Margarine = margarin

Fruit = frukt

Oranges = apelsiner ('appelseener')

Bananas = bananer

Strawberries = jordgubbar

Rasberry = hallon

Blueberry = blåbär ('blohwbear')

Apples = äpplen ('aiplen')

Pears = päron ('pair-ron')

Peaches = persikor

Pineapple = ananas

Melon = melon

Tea = te ('teh')

Coffee = kaffe ('kaf-feh')

Coffee cream = kaffegrädde ('kaf-feh greddeh')

Whipping cream = vispgrädde ('vispgreddeh')

Cake = kaka/tårta ('kah ka / tohrta')

Cookies = småkakor (småkahkor')

Crackers/wafers = kex

Pie = paj ('pie')

Sugar = socker ('sokker')

Flour = vetemjöl ('vetemyul')

Cinnamon = kanel

Baking Powder = bakpulver ('bahlpulver')

Baking soda = bikarbonat ('bikarbonaht')

Yeast = jäst ('yest')

Pork = fläskkött ('flesk-shutt')

Steak = nötkött ('nut-shutt')

Ground beef = nötfärs ('nutt-fairsh')

Ground pork = köttfärs ('shutt-fairsh')

Lamb = lamm

Ham = skinka ('shinka')

Chicken = kyckling ('shickling')

Turkey = kalkon ('kalkone')

Duck = anka

Goose = gås ('gohs')

Sausage = korv

Fish = fisk

Salmon = lax

Cod = torsk ('torshk')

Herring = sill

Tuna Fish = tonfisk ('tonefisk')

Shrimp = räkor ('reh-kor')

Mussels = musslor

Lobster = hummer

Crayfish = kräftor ('krehf-tor')

Mayo = majonäs ('myonehs')

Mustard = senap ('seh-nap')

Ketchup = ketchup

Beer = öl ('uhl')

Wine = vin ('veen')

Water = vatten

Soda = läsk ('lehsk')

Dish Soap = diskmedel

Toothpaste = tandkräm ('tandkrehm')

Detergent = tvättmedel ('tvehtmedel')



All about the alphabets and the way they Sound....

The Swedish alphabet is made up of 29 letters. 26 of which are the same as in the English alphabet plus three additional letters:
Å/å - pronounced - 'oh'
Ä/ä - pronounced - 'eh'
Ö/ö - pronounced - 'uh'
These letters are placed at the end of the Swedish alphabet and in the order they are placed above.
Some of the letters in the Swedish alphabet have very different sounds than they do in the English alphabet.
These includes:
G pronounced - 'y' in Swedish
J pronounced - 'y' in Swedish
W pronounced- 'v' in Swedish


I am sure there's a long way to perfect it, but as an expat all you need is a sense of humor to get corrected when spell it wrong. Believe me, Swedes are extremely passionate about their language and they love to see you speak Swedish.

Add-in to the list and it will be fun to learn some bad words too ;-))

Cheers
VIJESH :-))

Armand

Thanks Vijesh!

Brilliant post :top:

cgc7422

great post!..thanks!!:)

Supertony

Dear friends,

This is from a wonderful web page I enthusiastically recommend. Don't miss the mp3 files for your Listening. Enjoy!

Swedish I

http://www.ielanguages.com/swedish1.html

Vocabulary

arbetare: obrero


1. Basic phrases

God morgon
Good Morning   

Hej / God dag
Hello / Good Day

God kväll
Good Evening   

God natt
Good Night


Hej då / Adjö (more formal)
Goodbye   

Snälla
Please

Tack (så mycket)
Thank you (very much)   

Ingen orsak / Varsågod
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?   





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 [inte] engelska.
I [don't] 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.   

Men: but (Jag talar svenska, men lite grann).

Mycket, ganska: very


Nej, inte alls.

No, not at all.


Tillika: también

only:    blott, enda, bara, endast



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.

Pratar du svenska? is also a common way to ask Do you speak Swedish?, though it is considered more informal.

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 & 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. However, if the noun already ends in -s, then you add nothing (unlike English where we add -' or -'s). Anders bok = Anders's book

5. ARTICLES & 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 (common)
Ett words (neuter)


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 & OBJECT PRONOUNS
Subject & Object Pronouns
jag    I    mig (mej)    me
du    you (singular)    dig (dej)    you
han    he    honom    him
hon    she    henne    her
den    it (with en words)    den    it
det    it (with ett words)    det    it
man    one    en    one
vi    we    oss    us
ni    you (plural)    er    you
de (dom)    they    dem (dom)    them

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. The forms in parentheses are the informal ways of spelling these words, which is closer to the actual pronunciation.

7. TO BE  (vara) & TO HAVE (ha)
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.



att vara - to be
att 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    oftast    again    igen, åter
now    nu    between    mellan
and    och    a lot, many    många
but    men    of course    naturligtvis
or    eller    a little    lite grann
very    mycket / väldigt    not at all    inte alls
here    här    almost    nästan
there    där    really?    verkligen
with    med    it is    det är
each other    varandra    there is/are    det finns
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 & 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        
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
day after tomorrow    i övermorgon
tonight    ikväll
yesterday    igår
day before yesterday    i förrgår
last night    igår natt
week    vecka
weekend    helg
daily    daglig
weekly    veckolig

To say "on" a certain day, use på before the day.
12. MONTHS OF THE YEAR / ÅRETS MANADER

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    månatlig / varje månad
yearly    årlig

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
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
              
left    till vänster         
right    till höger         
straight ahead    rakt fram         
15. COLORS
orange    orange, orangea
pink    rosa / 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, vitt, vita
green    grön, grönt, gröna

Since colors are adjectives, most of them agree with the noun they describe. The first word is used with en words, the second with ett words and the third with plural words. Some words remain the same for all three (such as lila.)
16. TIME / TID
What time is it?    Vad är klockan?
It is 2 AM    Klockan är två på natten
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
About/around 8.    omkring åtta
At 8.    klockan åtta
early    tidigt
late(r)    sent (senare)
Sweden uses the 24 hour clock for official times such as train schedules.
17. WEATHER / VADER
How's the weather today?    Vad är det för väder idag?
It's cold    det är kallt
beautiful    vackert / fint
hot    jättevarmt
clear    klart
icy    isigt
warm    varmt
windy    blåsigt
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
Child / Baby    barn / baby / bebis / spädbar
Adult    vuxen (n)
Man    man
Woman    kvinna
Friend (m)    vän
Friend (f)    väninna
19. TO KNOW PEOPLE & FACTS
känna - to know people
veta - to know facts
present (know, knows)   
känner
vet
past (knew)   
kände
visste
future (will know)   
ska känna
ska veta
20. FORMATION OF PLURAL NOUNS
An en word takes one of the following endings when it is pluralized: or, ar, er. An ett word takes an n or no ending at all.
Indefinite Plural
En words that end in -a
drop -a and add -or
en klocka - klockor
a watch - (some) watches
En words that end in -e
drop -e and add -ar
en pojke - pojkar
a boy - (some) boys
En words with stress on last vowel
add -er
en kamrat - kamrater
a friend - (some) friends
Ett words that end in a vowel
add -n
ett ställe - ställen
a place - (some) places
Ett words that end in a consonant
no ending
ett rum - rum
a room - (some) rooms
To form the definite plural, you must first form the indefinite plural and then add these endings to that word.
Indef. Plural En words    add -na    klockor - klockorna    (some) watches - the watches
Indef. Plural Ett words that end in a vowel    add -a    ställen - ställena    (some) places - the places
Indef. Plural Ett words that end in a consonant    add -en    rum - rummen    (some) rooms - the rooms
There are some nouns that change their vowel in the plural. These nouns usually take the -er ending when forming the indefinite plural.
en natt - nätter    a night - nights    en bonde - bönder    a farmer - farmers
en stad - städer    a town - towns    en ledamot - ledamöter    a member - members
en hand - händer    a hand - hands    en fot - fötter    a foot - feet
en tand - tänder    a tooth - teeth    en rot - rötter    a root - roots
en strand - stränder    a beach - beaches    en bok - böcker    a book - books
en rand - ränder    a stripe - stripes    en man - män    a man - men
ett land - länder    a country - countries    mannen - männen    the man - the men

emile1380

@Supertony

thanks for the sight mate, had a look at it and must say there is alot to learn.

thanks you

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