Hejhej! We got some great results on the Swedish Autumn quiz from last week! Now it’s time for me to post the correct answers. Even if you haven’t done the quiz (which it’s never too late to do! Just click the link right there^), you can learn some extra Swedish with the answers here.

1. Green leaves become brown in the Fall. = Gröna löv blir bruna på hösten.
Yes, “Fall” or “Autumn” is höst in Swedish, and to say “in the Fall”, we say på hösten. Here, you’ll see that we use the preposition på before seasons. Also, we usually talk about seasons in definite form, just as in English (we say på hösten, not *på höst), but we can say things like: Det var en vacker höst. → “It was a beautiful Autumn.”

• vår(en) = Spring, vinter(n) = Winter, sommar(en) = Summer

2. It gets dark earlier in the day. = Det blir mörkt tidigare på dagen.
Notice that mörk is in neuter form (-t-form). This is in congruency with the “formal subject”, as we call it in Swedish (formellt subjekt), which is det (“it”). Det is neuter, so the adjective associated with it must be neuter as well.

• natt(en) = (the) night, ljus(t) = light/bright, mjuk(t) = soft

3. You need a thicker jacket. = Man behöver en tjockare jacka.
Swedish comparatives are made in two ways, depending on the adjective. Tjock means “thick”, and adding -are makes it “thicker” (tjockare). Most short adjectives are changed this way; others take mer(a) or “more” before them, just as in English (mer beroende = “more dependent”).

• bred(are) = wide(r), tunn(are) = thin(ner), smal(are) = slim(mer)

4. I will buy a new hat today. = Jag ska köpa en ny mössa idag.
There are several kinds of “hats” in Swedish. En mössa is the soft kind that you’d wear when it’s cold outside (or if you’re really hip, inside as well). En hatt is something like a top-hat, and en keps is what Americans may know as a baseball cap.

• vante(-ar) = mitten(s), strumpa(-or) = sock(s), förkläde(n) = apron(s)

5. My dog likes the cold. = Min hund gillar kylan.
Kylan and förkylningen both mean “the cold”, but they have totally different meanings! Kyla is cold as in coldness, while en förkylning is “a cold” where you’re sneezing and coughing.

• kall(et) = (the) calling/vocation, känga(n) = (the) boot, förkylning(en) = (the) headcold

6. Vitamin C is very important! = C-vitamin är väldigt viktigt!
The adjective viktig is built from vikt, which means “weight”, and -ig, which is similar to the English suffix “-y”. So it’s kind of like saying “weighty”.

• onödig(t) = unnecessary, vacker(t) = beautiful, vanlig(t) = usual/ordinary

7. My kids want to play in the leaves. = Mina barn vill leka i löven.
Leka and spela both mean “[to] play”, but leka has the connotations of a child playing with a soccer ball, or an chemical engineer “playing” (toying) with a formula. Spela is used to talk about playing an instrument or a videogame.

• springa = [to] run, hoppa = [to] jump, gunga = [to] swing

8. A warm soup is good for the soul. = En varm soppa är bra för själen.
Careful here! There are two words whose base form is pronounced själ, the other being skäl. En själ is a soul, while ett skäl is a reason. (A more common word for ett skäl is en anledning.)

• säl(en) = (the) seal (as in the animal), skäl(et) = (the) reason, säd(en) = (the) grain

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