All of us like things, and all of us love things! Some of us even like and love people, too. Human nature is amazing.

Frequently, we want to be able to talk about things and people we like and love. That’s why it’s important for you learners of Swedish to know how to say it på svenska!

There are two main verbs to use as an equivalent of the English “to like”: gilla and tycka om. Here are two examples of the same sentence, one with each of the verbs:

Sandra gillar fotboll och gott vin.
Sandra tycker om fotboll och gott vin.
Sandra likes football/soccer and good wine.

So what’s the difference between these two? Nothing. They have the exact same meaning, though individual people may have slightly different opinions on this – if you do, we’d love to hear about it in the comments! Both verbs can also be used with human objects, as well as verbal objects with “att”; for example: Sandra gillar/tycker om att simma. – Sandra likes to swim.

Pronunciation-wise, gillar is pronounced with double emphasis. Tycker om is pronounced with single emphasis on the om – not on the tycker! Remember that Swedish verbs are not conjugated for person, i.e. gillar and tycker om are the present tense for all subjects (including jag, “I”), regardless of number and gender. (If you’re wondering about the forms gilla and tycka om, they’re the infinitives.)

So now you know how to talk about “liking” things and people! That’s great. But what if you want to boost it up a notch to “love”? That’s when you use älska! Take a look:

Jag älskar att baka på vintern!
I love to bake in the winter!

Lina älskar Gabriella med hela sitt hjärta.
Lina loves Gabriella with all her heart.

So easy! The intonation of älska is the same as that of gilla – double emphasis.

Ah, it’s not Valentine’s season, but let’s spread the love anyway. Vad älskar du?