Last week we learned about animals. It’s fun, it helps the vocabulary, but the word for hippo might not be all that useful (it’s flodhäst, in case you’re wondering). But one thing that will be useful is how to start a conversation with someone you just met. That’s one of the beauties of traveling. New places, new people, new food, new experiences. But if you’re going to be meeting all of these new people, you might as well have something to say to them.

Let’s start with the very basics: Hello.

In Swedish? It’s hej. Pronounced, for the most part, like hey. See? You’re basically fluent already.

My name is Marcus. What is your name?

Jag heter Marcus. Vad heter du?

Or maybe you want to get a little personal. Keep in mind that most Swedes find it strange, if not downright ridiculous, that Americans ask “how are you” so often. That being said, it’s still a useful phrase.

Hur går det? is a good way of asking how things are going. Hur mår du? can also be used, although it usually suggests you’re concerned about their physical well-being. You can even ask Hur är det? or Hur är läget?

Maybe you’re trying to make a deep connection with someone. Clearly you need to know where they are from. So, Var kommer du ifrån? means “where are you from?”

Unfortunately, that deeper connection didn’t work out. Oh well. Maybe next time. You can still be polite. To say “good bye, nice to meet” you simply say Hej då, det var trevligt att träffas.

As you meet more and more people, you’ll notice different variations of how all of this works. Sometimes, upon meeting someone, a person will say their own name as way of introduction followed by the phrase, nice to meet you. Hej, Marcus, trevligt att träffas. Sometimes they won’t even add the träffas part. Hej, Marcus, trevligt. You’ll get the hang of it. Promise.

If you already know someone, you can be a bit more informal. Tjena, läget? Is essentially, “Hey, how’s it going?” Imagine that much more slangy though. Maybe without the –g on going. “How’s it goin’?”

Let’s work our way through a short conversation. Marcus is just about to meet Alexandra.

-Hej, jag heter Marcus. Vad heter du?
-Hej, mitt namn är Alexandra.
-Var kommer du ifrån, Alexandra?
-Jag kommer från Sverige. Var kommer du ifrån?
-Jag kommer från USA.
-Oj, jag hatar USA. Jag vill inte prata med dig längre.
-Det var synd, men det var trevligt att träffas. Hej då, Alexandra!
-Hej då, Marcus! Jag hoppas vi aldrig ses igen.

So, in English:
-Hi, my name is Marcus. What is your name?
-Hi, my name is Alexandra.
-Where are you from, Alexandra?
-I’m from Sweden. Where are you from?
-I’m from the USA.
-Oh, I hate the USA. I don’t want to talk to you anymore.
-That’s too bad, but it was nice to meet you. Bye, Alexandra.
-Bye, Marcus. I hope we never meet again.

Turns out Alexandra wasn’t very nice, but hopefully you’ve learned yourself some Swedish.