Läget? Sjukt bra! Posted by jennie on Jan 11, 2010 in Swedish Language
I understood something important about communication last week. When the polite gym instructor/sales assistant/Tesco cashier/woman in the pub looks at me, nods and says “Alright?”, he or she does NOT expect me to answer “Yes, thank you, how are you?”. This is just another way of saying “Hi there” and he or she is NOT interested in my well being. Honestly, this is something I realized just the other day, after almost two years in UK and 22 years of English studies.
This, and a comment from Michael here made me think about the differences between the language we are taught and the language we actually speak. For example, a standard phrase to teach a Swedish newbie would be “Hur mår du?” (How are you?) but I can’t think of the last time I used that actual phrase. I would probably use it if I talked to a kid – who’s not aware of slang – or to someone who is grieving or is sick – whom I’m really concerned about and I would ask the question with a worried expression on my face. But, in every day small talk I would rather use any of the following phrases:
Är allt bra? = Is all good?
Allt bra? = All good?
Allt väl? = All good?
Hur är allt? = How’s everything?
And the ones that are harder to translate but still mean “Hur mår du?”:
Hur är det? = “How is it?”
Hur är läget? = “How’s the situation?”
Läget? = “The situation?”
So, based on the Swedish conversations I’ve had with friends and family the last couple of days- here are three expressions that Swedes (mostly the younger generations) often use to emphasize the answer to the questions above (bra/good – we assume this is a very happy and positive Swede) in every day spoken Swedish.
Hur är läget? Det är asbra!
Det är grymt bra!
Det är sjukt bra!
(To answer properly: Jättebra = very good)
As… = As… is a prefix that can be put in front of almost every adjective to emphasize the word. Something can be asbra (very good) assnygg (very good looking) asdyr (very expensive) etc.
OBS! “As” is not pronounced as the as I just used, instead it is pronounced with a long vowel, “aaaas”.
Grymt = another word used mostly to emphasize adjectives, for example grymt bra (very good) grymt snygg (very good looking) grymt dyr (very expensive).
Grymt can also be used on its own as a reply to the questions above, for example “Hur är läget?” “Grymt!” (Very good/great!)
Sjukt = see above. Things can be sjukt bra (very good) sjukt snygg (very good looking) sjukt dyr (very expensive). Sjukt can aslo be used to describe something crazy and insane for example “Hur var filmen?” (How was the movie?) “Den var helt sjuk!” (It was totally insane/sick!)
OBS! Sjuk ordinarily means sick in Swedish, as being in “Jag är sjuk” (I am sick) and is pronounced “schuuk”.
But remember, when your possible future employer asks you “How good are you with computers?”, “Asbra!” might not be the proper answer to give. Jättebra works jättebra in all jättebra situations.
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Comments:
Martin:
I’d just like to say that since the overhaul of the blog it is postings like this that I most value – ones that focus on language and cultural understanding combined. I suspect they take a bit more time to write but they’re what I find most useful. Thanks and keep it up. Asbra!
Tom:
Thanks Jennie, this is really really useful, as it seemed that every time I talked to a new Swede they produced a different phrase for “how are you?”, which was confusing!
Another one I think I’ve heard is “hur går det?” (which I guess is closest to “how’s it going?”) – did I hear right?
Also, it’s worth saying on this post that you can reply by putting ‘själv’ on the end of the same question you received to send it straight back!
– Hur är det?
– Asbra, tack! Hur är det själv?
Another idea for a language post would be the differences between the following words, which all seem to be used to say either ‘yet’ or ‘still’ but I never know which to use… might be hard to explain though!
– än
– ännu
– ändå
– fortfarande
Michael:
Thank you for this post. This is the Swedish we cannot get in texts.
It is common in American English today among people in teens-30’s to use “sick” as an adjective meaning very good. “That is a sick movie!” as my son said of Avatar.
Speaking of sjuk, this initial sound is quite difficult for many of us learning the language. It is technically described as a “voiceless palatal-velar fricative” meaning that you place our tongue somewhere between the middle and back of your palate and expel air without making a sound with you vocal cords. I think the actual sound differs throughout Sweden, but it takes practice for us who do not have that sound in our language.
Thanks again for the posting — sjukt värdefull!
Kenia:
Great post Jennie! I can stop saying “hur mår du?” now =). It´s very useful to get hints on the common phrases, you know the coolest way to speak, no book can teach you that. But i have a question, i’ve heard “asbra” is something teenagers say mostly, is that so?
I agree with Tom, and I´ve had that problem myself, i don´t know when to use neither of those 4 words (än, ännu, ändå, fortfarande), explain please =).
jennie:
Cheers guys! Really appreciate your inputs and I promise to dedicate my next post to än ännu ändå and fortfarande. It might get a bit messy, but I’ll give it a go 🙂
Jonas:
I would like to clarify some things.
‘As’ is Swedish for carrion.
‘Asätare’ is Swedish for Scavenger.
‘Grymt’ is Swedish for cruelty.
‘Grym’ = cruel.
Just like ‘Sjukt bra’ or ‘Grymt snyggt’ is making something bad as being sick or cruel into something positive, so does ‘Skit’.
‘Skit’ is Swedish for sh!t but works just like ‘Sjukt bra’ or ‘Grymt snyggt’ – ‘Skit bra’, ‘Skit snyggt’ etc.
However, being originally a swearing word you should be careful when using ‘Skit’ but you will probably hear people say it daily.
Swearwords are often used as an amplifier even if no harm is intended.
David:
I must say that the phrase that leaps most quickly to my mind is simply “Är det bra?” (lit. Is it good?).
To the list of amplifying prefixes one might also add “tok-” as in “Det går tokbra!” (It’s going fantastically!) “Tok” means “fool, madman”. A similar expression is “galet bra” (insanely well). “Stabilt” (stable, as an adverb) is also used, such as in “stabilt som fan!” (stable like hell, where “fan” means the Devil). Like with all slang, these expressions might have fallen out of fashion completely in 10 years time, or may already have.
Cupless Bra:
Ohhh I learn a little bit of new language today. Thanks
Woodge:
This is a great Swedish language blog. I keep coming back. I’d second everything Martin said above.
Hanna Brandner:
Hej! Thanks for the Swedish language tips it was very useful!
I do not agree however with your answer to ‘alright?’ as I often use it to mean ‘How are you?’ and do expect the person to naturally say something along the lines of ‘yeh good thanks you?’ So this would be if your going up to a friend, for example.
But…. if someone in a shop asks you ‘alight?’ they generally mean ‘are you alright?’ and therefore you could answer ‘yes fine thanks’ as in you don’t require there help.
So really there are two meanings to the word ‘alright’.
Thanks!
Hanna