Uhuh, I knew this day would come. I knew that sooner or later someone would email me asking about the difference between “hemma” and “hem” and “hemifrån”. “Ute” and “ut”, and “inne” and “in”. Yeah, you get the picture…

It’s not very exciting stuff (hey, I’d much rather write about the lovely city of Lund), I know, I know, but essential nonetheless.

So what’s the deal with those particles?
Well, just like in English, in Swedish there’s a whole bunch of little words that are used to denote position (“where?”) and direction (“where to?” and “where from?”).

The two bits that often get confused by people learning Swedish are the ones that describe “where?” and “where to?” Why? They translate into English more or less as the same words.

So let’s take a closer look at them.

Position    –       Direction:
Where? –        Where to?        –         Where from?

• hemma (at home) – hem (home) – hemifrån (from home)
• borta (away) – bort (away) – bortifrån (from a long way away)
• inne (inside, indoors) – in (in, inside, indoors) – inifrån (from inside)
• ute (outside, outdoors) – ut (out, outside, outdoors) – utifrån (from outside)
• uppe (up [there]) – upp (up) – uppifrån (from above)
• nere (down [there]) – ner, ned (down) – nerifrån (from below)
• frame (in front [here]) – fram (forward, on) – framifrån (from the front)

Sven är hemma nu. – Sven is at home now.
Åsa måste gå hemifrån kl. 8 varje morgon. – Åsa has to leave home at 8 every morning.
Jag kommer hem kl. 7. – I get home at 7.

But wait, that’s not all.
Let’s say you are talking about places on a map. Then, just like you would in English, you use uppe (up) and nere (down) to describe places north and south of where you are (unless of course, you’re talking about Maine, which is always “down east” no matter where you are).

De bor nere i Lund. – They live down in Lund.
Sommaren tillbringar de uppe i Kiruna. – They spend the summer up in Kiruna.

PS. And I have no clue where my recent obsession with Lund came from. 🙂