15 Scary Swedish Creatures Posted by Marcus Cederström on Oct 24, 2013 in Culture, Vocabulary
Halloween isn’t really a Swedish holiday. In fact, it hasn’t been until the last few years that Halloween has really made any sort of appearance in Swedish culture. Of course, just because there aren’t a bunch of witches and wizards running around looking for treats on October 31, doesn’t mean there aren’t witches and wizards in Sweden. Or at least the words for ghosts and goblins. With Halloween right around the corner, I’ve put together a super simple list of 15 scary creatures that you probably need to learn how to say. Because no Swedish conversation is complete without mentioning your fear of the zombie apocalypse.
Svenska |
Engelska |
En ande |
A spirit |
En djävul |
A devil |
En fladdermus |
A bat |
En häxa |
A witch |
En jätte |
A giant |
En spindel |
A spider |
En trollkarl |
A wizard |
En vampyr |
A vampire |
En varulv |
A werewolf |
En zombie |
A zombie |
Ett skelett |
A skeleton |
Ett spöke |
A ghost |
Ett spökhus |
A haunted house |
Ett troll |
A troll |
Liemannen |
The Grim Reaper |
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About the Author: Marcus Cederström
Marcus Cederström has been writing for the Transparent Swedish Blog since 2009. He has a Bachelor's Degree in Scandinavian Studies from the University of Oregon, a Master's Degree in Scandinavian Studies from the University of Wisconsin–Madison, and a PhD in Scandinavian Studies and Folklore from the University of Wisconsin–Madison. He has taught Swedish for several years and still spells things wrong. So, if you see something, say something.
Comments:
Glenn Jorde:
Sorry, but I think you meant “Ett troll”.
Elin:
It’s supposed to be Ett troll and not En troll.
Marcus Cederström:
Oops, good catch folks!
misterpi:
Ghost and skeleton are in the wrong order.
ett spöke – a ghost
ett skelett – a skeleton
Marcus Cederström:
@misterpi Ugh. Not my finest moment of trying to rearrange words on the fly. Sorry about that!
Disappointed Student:
Hej. It is rather sad that just about the only responses lately on this blog by readers have been corrections to hastily thrown-together postings. I have been reading older posts in the archives, which are quite edifying and show much more enthusiasm and dedication on the part of the team (with the exception of our good Katja, who has been fairly consistent). Perhaps some renewed dedication is in order? I write with respect.
Disappointed Student:
One more thought: some peer review would be a good idea before you post, so that both English and Swedish mistakes could be corrected. One of the problems with the very speed of the internet is the idea that you can just slap something online without thorough proofreading.
Marcus Cederström:
@Disappointed Student You’re right, we need to be doing a better job of checking these things. Switching between English and Swedish while writing sometimes results in the occasional mistake. Especially when the post is has both Swedish and English! Sometimes they’re silly ones like just putting something out of alphabetical order, other times they’re switching the en for the ett. Either way, I messed up on this. I do think that you’ll find though that the vast majority of the posts we write are well-researched and thorough. When we do make a mistake, we correct it as soon as possible. We’ll continue to work to avoid mistakes in the future.