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Swedish Lesson #1: Learn some basic Swedish words.
The Swedish for ONION is LÖK (LOOK)
Imagine you look like an onion.
The Swedish for CAKE is TARTA (TORTA)
Imagine your daughter eating cake.
The Swedish for MUSHROOM is SVAMP (SVAMP)
Imagine a large mushroom growing in a swamp.
The Swedish for MEAT is KÖTT (SHUT)
Imagine you shut the door on someone throwing meat at you.
The Swedish for SUGAR is SOCKER (SOCCER)
Imagine a game of soccer on a field of sugar.
The Swedish for WATER is VATTEN (VATTA)
Imagine you get fatter with water.
The Swedish for SOUP is SOPPA (SOPA)
Imagine soup that tastes like soap.
Swedish Meaning Swedish Meaning
adel nobility ädel noble
aga punish äga own
agg grudge ägg egg
akta take care äkta genuine
al alder tree ål eel
alv subsoil älv river
bal dance,ball bål bowl
bar bare bår stretcher bär berry
bast bast bäst best
bota cure böta pay a fine
fall fall fäll rug, pelt fåll hem
fara travel fåra furrow
fasta fast fästa secure
gast seaman gäst guest
hal slippery hål hole häl heel
hall hall håll direction häll flat rock
hast haste häst horse
kaka eake,cookie käka eat
kalla call källa well spring
kapa cut down kåpa garment
kapp compete käpp cane
man man män men mån degree
massa mass mässa church mass
mossa moss mössa cap
ort community ört herb
raka shave råka encounter räka shrimp
rata refuse räta straighten
rova turnip röva rob
saga story såga saw säga tell\
skada injury skåda behold
skal shell skäl reason skål bowl
skålla scald skälla bark
skara crowd skära cut skåra cut
slakt slaughter släkt family
tala speak tåla endure
talja pulley tälja whittle
tät tight tåt string
trad trade träd tree tråd thread
vag vague väg road våg wave, scale
val whale väl well
Swedish Lesson #2: Speak the Swedish alphabet.
A a
is differently depending on whether the quantity of the vowel is long or short. When long, the letter is pronounced approximately
like the "a" in the English word "far". When short, the letter is pronounced approximately like the "a"
in Spanish "casa".
C c
is usually pronounced as "s" before e, i, ä, and ö, and otherwise pronounced as "k".
D d
is pronounced almost as in English, except that the tongue should not be half-curled back (that is, Swedish /d/ is not
a retroflex). (*)
E e
is pronounced as in the English word "deck", even when long; that is, never like "e" in English "be".
(The letter "i" is used for that phoneme.)
G g
is pronounced hard, like English "g" before /a/, /o/, /u/, and /å/, and soft (as Swedish "j") before
/e/, /i/, /y/, /ä/, and /ö/. After the sound /l/ or /r/ in the same syllable "g" is usually pronounced as /j/ as
well. In other cases, it is usually pronounced as /g/. In loan-words, especially Greek and Latin loan-words, "g"
is often pronounced /g/ even after /r/. In rare cases, such as "energi" (energy), the "g" is pronounced
roughly like "sj" (see below).
I i
is pronounced as English "e" in "be".
J j
is pronounced as English "y" in "yawn". Never as "j" in "jaw".
L l
is pronounced as in English, except that when the sound is made (with the tip of the tongue touching the upper palate)
the tongue should not be half-curled back, as in English, but straight. (*)
O o
is, depending on context, pronounced as either "oo" in English "too" (usually when the sound is long),
or "o" in English "for" (usually when short).
Q q
is a very rare letter in Swedish since the spelling reform about a century ago. It occurs almost exclusively in names,
and a few foreign loan-words (most from latin), and almost always followed by a "u" or, less often, by a "v".
The sound of "qu" or "qv" is equivalent to Swedish "kv".
R r
is normally pronounced with a very slight quiver of the tongue; more distinct than is normal in English, but not quite
as distinct as in German. (*)
T t
is pronounced almost as in English, except that the tounge should not be half-curled back. (That is, not retroflex.) (*)
U u
in Swedish is pronounced in a way that is somewhat difficult to describe with reference to English, which has no sound
similar to it. For those familiar with the IPA phonetic alphabet, it can be written .
W w,
as Q, is a rare letter in Swedish, and almost exclusively used in names. It is pronounced as "v", except when
used in foreign (especially English) names, when it is usually pronounced as it would be in the language the name came from
(e.g: "Wayne" and "Washington" would normally be pronounced more or less as they are in English).
Y y
is pronounced almost as "y" in English names such as "Terry", "Teddy" or "Cheryl",
both when long and when short. It is never pronounced as the "y" in "reply".
Z z,
as Q and W, is a rare letter in Swedish. It is usually pronounced as English "s", but can be pronounced as an
English "z" if one wants to emphasise the fact that the word is spelled with a "z", not an "s".
As usual, in foreign names, the pronunciation is often that of the language the names come from.
Swedish Lesson #3:Swedish Language.
Singular (Referring to one person)
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Personal pronouns Objective forms
jag = I ser (see) mig/mej = me
du = you
(Ni = you [polite form]) dig/dej = you
(Er = you [polite form])
han = he hónom = him
hon = she hénne = her
den = it den = it
det = it det = it
Plural (Referring to two or more people)
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Personal pronouns Objective forms
vi = we oss = us
ni = you
(Ni = you [polite form]) er = you
(Er = you [polite form]
de (‘dom’) = they dem ('dom') = them
i -- in
* på -- on
* av -- of, by
* från -- from
* till -- to
* ur -- out of, deriving from
* (e)mot -- toward, against
* om -- about, around
* under -- under, during (time)
* över -- over
* vid -- at, by, near
* åt -- to, toward, for ... sake, on ... behalf
* för -- for, affecting
* med -- with
* utan -- without
* innan -- on the inside of, before (time)
in i -- into
* ut i -- out into
* inne i -- inside of
* ute i -- out in
* ute på -- out on
* bakom -- behind
* framför -- in front of
* bredvid -- next to
* inom -- within
* ut ur -- out of, out from inside of
* bort från -- away from
* bortom -- beyond
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