Looking to get married soon and want to propose to your Swedish swedie in Swedish?
Here’s the thing to remember, att gifta sig is a reflexive verb. So don’t drop the reflexive part off!
Refresher to reflexive pronouns in Swedish:
mig myself
dig yourself
sig himself/herself/itself
oss ourselves
er yourselves
sig themselves
in english – Will you marry me?
på svenska – Vill du gifta dig med mig?
Diska [ diskar, diskade, diskat, diska! ] - verb
To wash dishes.
Not to be confused with tvätta, to wash (clothes, windows, cars) or städa, to clean.
Best word ever on when you write a report and have to stuff it with extra words.
In english- bullshitting, word shitting, literally translated as “word pooping”
På svenska- ordbajsa – verb
Bajsa – verb- to poop
Next time you need to add more words to a paper and make it lengthy, just know you are ordbasja.
mjölka- to milk a cow, to milk someone for information
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.
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.
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.
In english: to drink heavily
På svenska (in swedish): Supa
Example: Ikväll ska vi supa. Tonight we’re going to get wasted.
In english: to eat (slang)
På svenska (in swedish): käka
Example: Ska vi käka? Shall we eat?
In english: the 13th day after Christmas (Epiphany)
På svenska (in swedish): Trettondedag Jul or Trettondagen