A while back we wrote a post about back-to-school vocabulary titled School in Sweden Vocabulary List. It’s maybe not the most exciting title ever, but it describes what you’re getting. With school starting up again in the next few weeks, we thought it might be time to write another post about language learning in Swedish. This time, we’ll focus on a few useful phrases that can come in handy in a classroom setting as you learn Swedish.

That’s Stockholms stadsbibliotek, a public library in Stockholm and a wonderful place to ask some of the questions you’re learning in this post.

Let’s start with a couple of common questions for beginning students:
Vad betyder _______? = What does _______ mean?

For example: Vad betyder “törstig”? = What does “törstig” mean?

So our curious student might say:
Vad betyder “törstig”?

And our helpful teacher might respond:
Det betyder _______. = It means _______.

Or, more specifically:
Det betyder “thirsty”.

Sometimes, as we learn a new language we get stuck on a word and can only think of it in our native language. It can be really frustrating, which is why it’s super helpful to be able to ask how to say something in, for example, Swedish.

Our student above happens to be hungry and ready for lunch, but just can’t think of the word in Swedish. The student might ask:
Hur säger man “hungry” på svenska? = How do you say “hungry” in Swedish?

The teacher, who is also starting to think about lunch at this point, might respond:
Man säger “hungrig” på svenska. = You say “hungrig” in Swedish.

The student, still thinking about lunch, has begun writing a short essay. But spelling is hard in Swedish sometimes (and very important. Remember that ful and full mean two very different things. That one “l” is the difference between describing a person as ugly or as drunk.). The student is stuck and can’t remember how to spell the word for “chicken” in Swedish and asks:
Hur stavar man “chicken” på svenska? = How do you spell “chicken” in Swedish?

The teacher, with growling stomach, might respond:
Man stavar “chicken” k-y-c-k-l-i-n-g på svenska.

Now it’s time for the student to read the essay outline. But pronunciation is tricky for some words, especially kyckling with that soft k. So the student might ask:
Hur uttalar man “chicken” på svenska? = How do you pronounce “chicken” in Swedish?

The teacher will probably respond:
Man uttalar “chicken”, kyckling på svenska.

Now you should be able to ask what something means, how to say something, how to spell something, and how to pronounce something. A quick recap:

Vad betyder _______? = What does _______ mean?
Hur säger man _______ på svenska? = How do you say _______ in Swedish?
Hur stavar man _______ på svenska? = How do you spell _______ in Swedish?
Hur uttalar man _______ på svenska? = How do you pronounce _______ in Swedish?

Good luck to everyone starting classes (especially if you’re lucky enough to be taking a Swedish course)!