Planning a trip to Sweden? It’s helpful to know how to order a meal, ask for directions, and say simple phrases like “hello” (hej) and “thank you” (tack). This language guide equips you with essential Swedish phrases, pronunciation tips, and audio recordings from a native speaker.
While most Swedes are fluent in English, making an effort to speak Swedish will enhance your travel experience and earn you appreciation. This guide not only covers practical phrases, but also introduces basic grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation, and regional dialects for a well-rounded foundation in the language.
WHERE IS SWEDISH SPOKEN?
Swedish, or Svenska, is a North Germanic language that evolved from Old Norse, the language spoken by the Germanic peoples in Scandinavia during the Viking Era. It is the most widely spoken of the North Germanic languages, with over 10 million speakers.
Swedish is the national language of Sweden and the sole official language of the Åland Islands, an autonomous region of Finland made up of around 6,700 islands in the Baltic Sea.
In Finland, Swedish holds official language status alongside Finnish, although it is the mother tongue of only about 6% of the population. Swedish was the only administrative language in Finland until 1902, and remained the dominant language in culture and education until Finnish independence in 1917. Since then, the number of Swedish speakers in Finland has steadily declined, with most Swedish speakers now residing in coastal areas such as Ostrobothnia, Southwest Finland, and Nyland.
Before World War II, Swedish was also spoken in parts of Estonia and Latvia.
SWEDISH ALPHABET
The Swedish alphabet consists of 29 letters, including the 26 letters of the modern Latin alphabet (A to Z) along with three additional letters: Å, Ä, and Ö. Swedish features 20 consonants and 9 vowels: A, E, I, O, U, Y, Å, Ä, and Ö.
The letters Å, Ä, and Ö are distinct from A and O, meaning that while the English alphabet goes from “A to Z,” the Swedish alphabet runs from “A to Ö.”
Here are the letters of the Swedish alphabet and their pronunciation:
SWEDISH PRONUNCIATION
After Gustav I Vasa’s revolt against the Danes in 1525, which challenged their linguistic dominance over Sweden, significant changes in Swedish pronunciation occurred. This marked a determined effort to reduce the Danish influence on the Swedish language.
The start of Modern Swedish is commonly dated to 1526, when the first Swedish translation of the New Testament was printed.
SWEDISH VOWELS
Swedish features an impressive nine vowels, many of which are pronounced differently from their English counterparts, and some have no direct equivalent in English. While some may sound similar to English vowels, they often combine two vowel sounds.
Although mastering these sounds can be challenging, don’t worry—if you don’t get it exactly right, you will still be understood.
Each Swedish vowel has a short and long version, which means there are 17 distinct vowel sounds in total. Additionally, it’s important to note that in Swedish, the letter ‘y’ functions as a vowel, not a consonant.
SWEDISH GRAMMAR
When I began learning Norwegian, one of the first features I encountered was the use of enclitic definite articles, which is common in Scandinavian languages, including Swedish. Enclitic definite articles involve placing the definite article after the noun instead of before it. For example, “the cat” is “katten” in Swedish, Norwegian, and Danish, where the “-en” suffix indicates “the.”
In standard Swedish, nouns have no case endings, except for the possessive ‘s (similar to English). Swedish has only two grammatical genders: neuter and common. The common gender results from the merging of the feminine and masculine genders. However, in many Swedish dialects, all three genders (masculine, feminine, neuter) are still distinguished.
Similar to Norwegian, Swedish has a tone or pitch accent, which gives the language a melodic rhythm. This sing-song quality is even more pronounced in Norwegian.
SWEDISH VOCABULARY
Swedish vocabulary includes a large number of loanwords, particularly from Low German and High German. Examples of Germanic words in Swedish include mus (“mouse”), kung (“king”), and gås (“goose”).
A significant portion of Sweden’s religious and scientific vocabulary has Latin or Greek origins, but many terms were borrowed from French and, more recently, English.
In the 18th century, a large influx of French words entered Swedish, adapted to the Swedish spelling system. These words often retain a French-like pronunciation or accent, with emphasis on the last syllable. For example, nivå (from French niveau, “level”), fåtölj (from French fauteuil, “armchair”), and affär (“shop; affair”).
SWEDISH DIALECTS AND STANDARD SWEDISH
Traditionally, there are six main groups of Swedish dialects: Norrland dialects, Finland Swedish, Svealand dialects, Gotland dialects, Götaland dialects, and South Swedish dialects.
This travel phrase guide uses Standard Swedish, which began to develop in the 17th century. It mainly formed from the Svea dialects spoken in Stockholm and around Lake Mälar, with some influences from the Göta dialects.
Standard Swedish is spoken by almost all Swedes and most Swedish-speaking Finns. In Sweden, it’s known as rikssvenska or standardsvenska (“Standard Swedish”), while in Finland, it’s called högsvenska (“High Swedish”).
HOW TO CORRECTLY PRONOUNCE SWEDISH PLACE NAMES
Even though most Swedes speak excellent English, they may not recognize the English pronunciation of common place names. This can be particularly confusing at train stations, airports, or bus stations. Here’s how to pronounce some common Swedish place names like a local:
- Gothenburg or Göteborg is pronounced yer-te-BORY.
- Umeå is pronounced YOU-meh-oh or YOU-meh in the northern accent near Umeå.
- Luleå is pronounced Lew-leh-oh.
- Växjö is pronounced Vac h’oh, where the “oh” sound is similar to the French eau. Don’t stress the “o” in ho.
- Köping is pronounced almost like the English word “shopping.” There are several köpings in Sweden (Norrköping, Nyköping, Köping, Söderköping, Enköping) and all share the same pronunciation. Nyköping (a Ryanair airport for Stockholm, also known as Skavsta) is pronounced Ne-Shopping, with Ne as in Nemo.
- Öland is pronounced er-land, while Åland is pronounced O’-land. These two can sound similar to an English ear, so be careful to distinguish between them.
- Götaland is pronounced Yertalaand, while Gotland is pronounced Got laand or Got land. It’s important to differentiate these two.
- Åre is pronounced Oh-reh, not Ah-reh.
- Cities like Stockholm, Kiruna, and Malmö are pronounced similarly to their English versions.
- For Copenhagen, the Swedish spelling is Köpenhamn, pronounced Shop-en-hamn.
- If you’re heading to Helsinki, the Swedish name is Helsingfors, pronounced Helsing-forsh.
- The Swedish name for Turku in Finland is Åbo, pronounced Oh-boh.
USEFUL SWEDISH PHRASES FOR TRAVELLERS
USEFUL SWEDISH PHRASES FOR TRAVELLERS [INFOGRAPHIC]
