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Swedish for studying in Sweden

For your Erasmus or exchange semester in Uppsala, Lund or Stockholm: arriving at student housing, meeting your new corridor mates, lectures and seminars, fika, nations and sittning, the bank and seeing a doctor. Almost every Swede speaks excellent English, but a few phrases of Swedish help you fit in much faster. Every phrase comes with pronunciation.

Pronunciation in six rules

Written Swedish is fairly regular, but a few letter combinations turn into sounds English doesn't have, and the whole language has a sing-song melody. With these rules you will get along quickly.

The sj sound

sj, skj, stj, and sk before e, i, y, ä or ö make a breathy "sh", a little like blowing out a candle: sju (seven) ≈ "shew", skön (comfortable) ≈ "shön", stjärna (star) ≈ "SHEH-na". rs also turns into "sh": kurs (course) ≈ "kush".

Soft k and g

k, kj and tj before e, i, y, ä or ö make a softer sh, close to the h in "huge": kök (kitchen) ≈ "shök", tjej (girl) ≈ "shay". g before those vowels becomes a y sound: göra (to do) = "YÖ-ra". gj, hj, dj and lj are a y as well: hjälp (help) = "yelp".

å, ä and ö

å sounds like the aw in "saw" (på = "paw", två = "tvaw"), ä like the e in "bed", and ö like the vowel in British "fur" or German ö. Before r, ä and ö open up: här (here) sounds almost like "hair" with the r rolled.

o often sounds like oo

A long o usually sounds like oo: bok (book) = "book" with a long oo, stor (big) = "stoor". A long u, on the other hand, is an ee said with rounded lips: hus (house) ≈ "hews". The short u in Uppsala and Lund is close to the u in "put".

Long or short

A vowel is long before a single consonant and short before a double one, and that changes meaning: glas (glass) has a long a, glass (ice cream) a short one, just like tak (roof) and tack (thanks).

The melody

Swedish sings: many two-syllable words have a melody with two peaks, the second word accent. That is how Swedes tell anden (the duck) from anden (the spirit). You don't need to master it to be understood, but listening for it helps.

In the transcriptions the stressed syllable is in CAPITALS, syllables are joined with "-", words are separated by spaces and "·" separates sentences. Always sound the r: Swedish r is rolled or tapped, as in Scottish English, but before d, t, n and l it merges with the next sound and is hardly heard. ah as in "father", ay as in "say", eh the e in "bed", ee as in "see", oo as in "too", u the short u in "put", aw as in "saw", ö the vowel in British "fur", ew an ee with rounded lips, y the y in "yes" and sh the Swedish sj and tj sounds. Many little words sound different from how they are written: jag = "yah", det = "deh", och = "o", mig/dig = "may/day", de/dem = "dom". The transcription is an approximation.

Greetings and being polite

  • Hej! / Hej då!hay · hay DAWHello! / Bye!
  • Tack! / Tack så mycket!tak · tak saw MEW-kehThanks! / Thank you very much!
  • Ursäkta! / Förlåt!EW-shek-ta · för-LAWTExcuse me! (to ask something) / Sorry!
  • Jag förstår inte. Kan du säga det igen?yah för-SHTAWR IN-teh · kan dew SEH-ya deh ee-YENI don't understand. Could you say that again?
  • Jag lär mig svenska. Kan vi prata svenska?yah LAIR may SVEN-ska · kan vee PRAH-ta SVEN-skaI'm learning Swedish. Can we speak Swedish?

Arrival and student housing

  • Hej, jag heter Lena. Jag är utbytesstudent från Tyskland.hay yah HAY-ter LAY-na · yah eh EWT-bew-tes-stu-dent frawn TEWSK-landHi, I'm Lena. I'm an exchange student from Germany. (England: England, the US: USA)
  • Var hämtar jag nyckeln till mitt rum?vahr HEM-tar yah NEWK-keln til mit RUMWhere do I pick up the key to my room?
  • Jag är din nya granne i korridoren.yah eh din NEW-a GRAN-neh ee ko-ri-DOH-renI'm your new neighbour in the corridor.
  • Vems tur är det att städa köket?vems TEWR eh deh a STEH-da SHÖ-ketWhose turn is it to clean the kitchen?
  • Hur bokar man tvättstugan?hewr BOO-kar man TVET-stew-ganHow do you book the laundry room?

In student housing you usually live in a corridor (korridor): your own room with a bathroom, and a kitchen and common room shared with eight to twelve others.

Lectures and seminars

  • Är det här rätt sal för föreläsningen?eh deh HAIR ret SAHL för FÖ-reh-lehs-ning-enIs this the right room for the lecture?
  • Hej Anna, har du tid en stund efter seminariet?hay AN-na hahr dew TEED en STUND EF-ter seh-mi-NAH-ri-etHi Anna, do you have a moment after the seminar? (This is also how you talk to your professor.)
  • Kan jag skriva tentan på engelska?kan yah SKREE-va TEN-tan paw ENG-el-skaCan I write the exam in English?
  • Kan du förklara det en gång till?kan dew för-KLAH-ra deh en gong TILCould you explain that once more?
  • Jag har missat föreläsningen. Kan jag få dina anteckningar?yah hahr MIS-sat FÖ-reh-lehs-ning-en · kan yah faw DEE-na an-TEK-ning-arI missed the lecture. Could I have your notes?

A föreläsning is a lecture, a tenta an exam and an uppsats an essay or paper. You address lecturers and professors by their first name and as du.

Fika, nations and sittning

  • Ska vi fika?ska vee FEE-kaShall we have a fika? (coffee with something sweet and time to talk)
  • En kaffe och en kanelbulle, tack.en KAF-feh o en ka-NAYL-bu-leh takA coffee and a cinnamon bun, please.
  • Vilken nation är du med i?VIL-ken nat-SHOON eh dew MAY eeWhich nation are you in?
  • Ska du gå på sittningen på lördag?ska dew GAW paw SIT-ning-en paw LÖ-daAre you going to the sittning on Saturday?
  • Skål!skawlCheers!
  • Det var jättekul! Tack för i kväll!deh vah YET-teh-kewl · tak för ee KVELThat was great fun! Thanks for tonight!

In Uppsala and Lund student life revolves around the nations, student societies with their own buildings, pubs, clubs and cheap lunches. A sittning is a formal dinner with table songs, and before each schnapps there is singing, for example Helan går. In Stockholm the student union (kåren) and the course societies organise most of this.

Bank, paying and everyday life

  • Jag har inget personnummer än.yah hahr ING-et PASH-on-num-mer ENI don't have a personal identity number yet.
  • Kan jag öppna ett konto utan BankID?kan yah ÖP-na et KON-to EW-tan BANK-ee-dehCan I open an account without BankID?
  • Kan jag swisha dig?kan yah SVISH-a dayCan I send you the money by Swish?
  • Tar ni kontanter?tahr nee kon-TAN-terDo you take cash?
  • Kan jag få se legitimation?kan yah faw SAY leh-gi-ti-ma-SHOONCan I see some ID, please? (What the cashier asks at Systembolaget.)

BankID and Swish need a Swedish bank account, and you usually only get one with a personnummer, the Swedish personal identity number. As a rule it is only issued if you will stay in Sweden for at least a year. For one semester your own bank card plus Apple Pay or Google Pay is usually enough.

Doctor and emergencies

  • Jag behöver träffa en läkare.yah beh-HÖ-ver TREF-fa en LEH-ka-rehI need to see a doctor.
  • Jag har ont i halsen och feber.yah hahr UNT ee HAL-sen o FAY-berI have a sore throat and a temperature.
  • Jag har ett europeiskt sjukförsäkringskort.yah hahr et eh-u-ru-PAY-iskt SHEWK-för-shehk-rings-kortI have a European Health Insurance Card.
  • Var ligger närmaste vårdcentral?vahr LIG-ger NAIR-mas-teh VAWD-sen-trahlWhere is the nearest health centre? (your first stop instead of a GP)
  • Hjälp! Ring 112!yelp · ring et et TVAWHelp! Call 112!

Emergency number throughout Sweden: 112. For health questions, the advice line 1177 (Vårdguiden, from a foreign phone +46 771 11 77 00) is open around the clock and also tells you which vårdcentral to go to. Police when it is not an emergency: 114 14. Bring your EHIC (or GHIC from the UK) and insurance details.

Good to know

Everyone says du

Since the "du reform" of the 1960s and 70s, Swedes say du to everyone, including professors, landlords and doctors, and you call your lecturers by their first name. The formal ni sounds stiff or old-fashioned.

Fika is serious

The coffee break with a cinnamon bun is a fixed part of Swedish life, and many departments have fika at a set time. If someone invites you for fika, say yes: it is the easiest way to get to know fellow students and staff.

Alcohol comes from Systembolaget

Wine, spirits and stronger beer are sold only by the state chain Systembolaget, from the age of 20, and you will be asked for ID if you look under 25. Supermarkets only sell beer up to 3.5 percent. Systembolaget closes in the afternoon on Saturdays and is shut on Sundays, so shop in good time before a party.

Almost everything is cashless

In Sweden people pay by card or phone almost everywhere, and some cafés and shops no longer take cash at all. Students send each other money by Swish, but for that you need a Swedish bank account. Ask your university's international office which bank opens accounts for exchange students.

A course for exactly your semester in Sweden

A phrasebook can only guess what you're planning. In LingoTrip you tell it: an Erasmus semester in Lund, a room in a corridor, courses in English, but joining in at the nation and sorting out the cleaning rota. LingoTrip builds a course around exactly those conversations, with audio, speech recognition and spaced review until you leave.

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FAQ

Don't Swedes speak perfect English anyway?

Almost all of them do, and many courses for exchange students are taught in English. That is exactly why Swedes switch to English straight away, and it's easy to end up spending the whole semester with other exchange students. A few phrases of Swedish help you fit in faster in the corridor, at fika and at your nation, and notices, letters and the conversations at the next table are in Swedish after all.

Is Swedish hard?

Less than you might think. Many words look like English ones, such as hus (house) or kaffe (coffee), and verbs don't change with the person: jag är, du är, vi är (I am, you are, we are). The sj sound and the melody are the tricky parts, which is why it pays to practise the phrases out loud.

How long does it take to learn these phrases?

For the phrases on this page, one to three weeks with a few minutes a day is enough. Many Swedish universities also offer free Swedish courses for exchange students, and these phrases give you a good head start.

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