Photo by Emmanuel Ikwuegbu on Unsplash

“Work on your Swedish every day. Just thinking about your last class or current vocabulary list can help with your Swedish studies. Ask yourself, can I name all the clothing items I’m wearing? Can I describe all the activities I see while I’m out and about?” Your Swedish instructors are probably constantly suggesting study tips and tricks for you to incorporate language study into your daily routine, right? Well, I’ve got another great tip for you – subscribe to Transparent Language’s Swedish word of the day! The blog this week will feature vocabulary from the last five Swedish words of the day and provide resources for you to better expand and retain.

Subscribe to Transparent Language’s Swedish Word of the Day

This free Swedish word of the day tool is a great resource. Sign-up here with your email address, confirm your registration, and you’re ready to build your ordförråd (vocabulary). Each day, you’ll get an email with the word of the day, the part of speech, and an example sentence. The best part is, you can click to hear the word and sentence pronounced! The best way to remember new words is to build context around it. Below, I’ll highlight the last 5 words of the day and provide a Swedish text to practice even more!

Thursday, December 16: (ett) bröst

noun: chest
Example sentence: Jag har ont i bröstet.
English: My chest hurts. (literally: I have pain in the chest).

Expand further! Spend some more time with this vocabulary word with Vårdguiden 1177, a version of English “WebMD.” The section on ont i bröstet covers the causes of chest pain and some things to look for when experiencing it.

Wednesday, December 15: (en) fuktighet

noun: humidity
Example sentence: Det är inte värmen, utan det är fuktigheten.
English: It’s not the heat, it’s the humidity.

Expand further! Visit SMHI, Sveriges meteorologiska och hydrologiska institut (Swedish Meteorological and Hydrological Institute), to read about luftfuktighet (the air’s humidity).

Tuesday, December 14: att hänga

verb: to hang
conjugations: att hänga → hänger → hängde → har hängt
Example sentence:Det hänger spindelnät från taket.
English: There are cobwebs hanging from the ceiling.

Expand further! Go to Swedish IKEA’s website and see what you find when you type “hänger” into the search bar! There should be several product listings to explore, from clothing hangers to lighting fixtures, to hooks and shelving.

Monday, December 13: marinblå

adjective: navy (blue)
Example sentence: I mörkret satte jag av misstag på mig en marinblå och en svart strumpa.
English: In the dark, I accidentally put on one navy sock and one black.

Expand further! Check out paint supplier Beckers.se to explore marinblå and other colors! The linked page is titled Kulör, another word for färg, or color, often used when speaking of paint and pigment.

Sunday, December 12: våghalsig

adjective: reckless
Example sentence: ​​Vilken våghalsig bilförare, som sms:ar!
English: What a reckless driver – he’s texting!

Expand further! Våghalsig can almost mean daring, or adventuresome. The first text example I found with this word was for a Netflix series called Pappa sökes, or Dad Wanted:

Vad gör en våghalsig ung tjej om hennes mamma förbjuder henne att delta i en BMX-tävling? Letar upp en skådespelare som kan låtsas vara hennes medgörlige pappa.

The series happens to be in Spanish, but the Swedish language description caught my attention and it looks pretty great!

Hopefully, after this week, you’ve picked up some ideas for how to expand on your daily Swedish practice. Don’t forget to subscribe to our Swedish word of the day!