In english: busy
På svenska (in swedish): upptagen
Ex: Är du upptagen för middag? Are you busy for dinner?
Jag är upptagen men jag kommer snart. I’m busy but I will come soon.
adjectives, phrase | sweden-admin | 
February 19, 2009 5:43 pm | 
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In english: you know, ya know
På svenska (in swedish): vetja (shortened from “vet jag”)
Ex: Om du twittrar på svenska kolla in förteckningen på Svenskar Twitters vetja 
phrase | sweden-admin | February 17, 2009 1:43 pm | Comments (0)
In english: Valentine’s Day
På svenska (in swedish): Alla hjärtans dag
Swedes don’t care for Valentine’s Day as it is considered a commercial, Hallmark and chocolate candy soul sucking holiday. (okay, mine strong viewpoint at least) You will see a little bit here and there of stores having red hearts and little chocolates. But if you want a gift, roses or gold, the good people of Sweden will not entertain you.
phrase | sweden-admin | February 14, 2009 9:23 am | Comments (0)
In english: to cancel
På svenska (in swedish): avboka
Example: Du kan avboka bokningen före mandags kväll kl. 20.00. You can cancel the reservation before Monday at 8PM.
verbs | sweden-admin | February 9, 2009 3:04 pm | Comments (0)
There are many ways to say hello in swedish and it is easy. There are no formalities as in French or latin languages. People also do not distinguish temporal periods to say hello (compared to bonjour, bonsoir, bonnuit).
In english: hello, hi, hey!
På svenska (in swedish): hej, hejsan, tjena, tja, tjenare, hallå
However, you should restrict tjena and it’s similar forms to younger people; it would not be said to an elderly person.
And how to say goodbye in swedish? Hejdå or hej. Yes it is a bit confusing to use hej for both hi and bye in Swedish. But as we know, nordic languages are not that hard.
phrase | sweden-admin | February 6, 2009 4:28 pm | Comments (0)
In english: to look at, check out
På svenska (in swedish): kolla (på)
Example: -Nu ska vi kolla på film? Should we see the movie now?
Kolla din mail. Check your mail.
phrase, verbs | sweden-admin | February 4, 2009 10:24 am | Comments (0)
In english: to drink coffee
På svenska (in swedish): fika (verb)
På svenska (in swedish): en fika (noun)
Compound phrase: en fikapaus – a coffee break
Example: Ska vi ta en fika på lördag? Shall we go for a coffee on Saturday?
Fika is an interesting word because it serves as both a verb and a noun. Swedes consider having a coffee an important part of the culture. You can fika at work by taking a “coffee break,” fika with someone like a “coffee date,” or just drink a cup of coffee.
This is a great way to get to know Swedes and become part of the culture.
Sven also wrote: Ett skandinaviskt kulturfenomen främst rotat i Sverige som beskriver en ceremoni med syfte att främja det sociala mötet. Att fika betyder alltså i klarspråk ett möte mellan två eller flera personer där kaffe och fikabröd åtnjuts i trevligt sällskap.
nouns, phrase, verbs | sweden-admin | February 3, 2009 9:34 am | Comments (1)
In english: i don’t believe it
På svenska (in swedish): det går inte i mig Jag kan inte tro det är sant; or; Det är helt otroligt
(i made a mistake and thank you for noting!)
phrase | sweden-admin | February 2, 2009 11:17 am | Comments (5)
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