February 19th- Upptagen

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.

Feb 17th- Vetja

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

Feb 14th- Valentine Day

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.

February 6th- Hej Hejda

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.

To ask in Swedish – Kolla

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.

Meaning of Fika

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.

I don’t believe it in Swedish

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!)