Swedish Language Blog

Have you ever had that feeling that you want to try to speak with somebody that you are almost sure is a Swede? For example; you are out shopping and you hear what you are certain to be Swedish, since you spend so much of your free time learning Swedish it would be cool to try speaking to the person in question and try out a little of what you have learned. All of a sudden you wonder what you are actually going to say to the person, you don’t want to be a nuisance but then again the person might actually appreciate the fact that you have approached them. They have no way of knowing that you are a Swedish speaker undercover (or at least becoming one). So why not use the phrases given to you here and try making a new acquaintance, for all you know you might get along really well, or have lots in common.

The phrases below are there for you to have some sort of conversation starter to have ready up your sleeve. Good luck!

I think most of you can agree on how important it is to be able to small talk. As a part of small talking I find some phrases are used more than others, for example phrases expressing your appreciation for something. Like saying “That’s cool” or “Wow, awesome”.

Here are some “coolness” phrases in Swedish to help your everyday conversations. Remember though that this is slang, and to adapt your language use thereafter, old ladies probably won’t understand much even though these phrases are now considered a part of the Swedish language. There will of course be regional differences as well, along with some ages thinking it just weird to use some words but in general I think these are the most common ones.

“Va coolt!” (originates from “Vad coolt det är!”) Eng: “Cool!”

“Va ballt” (originates from “Vad ballt det är!”) Eng: “Cool!”

The word “cool” can be substituted for all the following words.

Fräckt! “Cool!”

Skönt! “Sweet, chill”

Tufft! “Cool!”

Fett! “Awesome!”

Checkt! (pronounced sheck) “Sweet”

Schyst! 

Then there are words that might sound a little weird if you say “Vad toppen det är!” so better in that case to just say “Toppen!” which means “great!”.

To express to what degree people think something is cool many people ad a slight swear word which can commonly be heard in everyday language nowadays.

Sentences such as “Det var coolt som fan” or “Tack som fan!” or even “Fan vad nice!” (pronounced najs). “Fan” which means devil is now used regularly as plain slang but has is now used as an expression for “very much” instead. The regular use of this word is seen by many as loss of control of your own language use, in other words almost a little looked down upon when such slang language is used in say more formal situations. So I would not recommend you using this sort of language without fully understanding what image you are creating for yourself. However it is always helpful to know what things mean because the word does crop up in every other sentence in some conversations.

Sentences you can use these words can be:

“Vad _____ det är.” “That’s _____.”

“Vad _____ det var.” “That was (really) _____.”

Go on out there and try them out! If you don’t live in Sweden or anywhere near you can try practicing when out running or walking and you see something cool. Try saying one of the phrases expressing that.

We try to give you a basic understanding of Swedish here at Transparent Language. We mix vocab in with grammar in with culture in with news. It’s always a challenge trying to make sure that these posts have a little bit for everyone. And we realize that that is nearly impossible. Some of you have been studying Swedish for years and come here to just clean up a few of those nagging little questions. Some of you just started learning Swedish recently and are trying to absorb as much as possible. And some of you have no interest in the language at all and come here to just check in on Swedish culture.

With all that in mind though, I thought it might be useful to offer up a few common phrases in Swedish that could be helpful if you find yourself in Sweden or just speaking with a Swede. It’s a great way to show off your linguistic chops and start a conversation. Even if you have to switch to English a little bit.

Keep in mind, this will not include every useful phrase, and some of you might not agree with my definition of useful. That’s ok. In fact, I prefer it that way. All I ask then is that you add your useful phrase in the comments section below! Also, please note that I have not given literal translations, but instead focused on the colloquial meaning of these phrases. Good luck!