A little over a week ago, a trending hashtag on Twitter was #swedishsayings. It was an entertaining look at some of the different sayings in Swedish and their literal English translations. Since then, there has been a steady stream of different idioms that have been translated to English. And it entertains me to no end. Mostly because I find myself doing this all too often.

Direct translations are funny. They can be especially entertaining when they are idioms that already seem a bit strange. Tibor has written a couple of posts about Swedish idioms like Swedish Idioms and Swedish Idioms I. (animals). Jennie has also added a few like Today’s expression: Att bära hundhuvudet and There is a dog buried here somewhere.

I’ve added a few here that I quite enjoy:
Inte mycket att hänga i julgranen. Literally translates as not much to hang on the Christmas tree, but actually means something isn’t worth much.

Med skägget i brevlådan. Literally means with your beard in the mailbox. Actually means you were caught by surprise.

And in reference to Katja’s great post Swedish swear words:
Nu har du skitit i det blå skåpet. Literally means that now you have s*** in the blue cupboard. Actually means that you’ve made a fool of yourself.

Of course, if you’re trying to learn Swedish, this can be one of the greatest challenges. You might understand each and every word listed here, but if you find yourself translating literally in your head, your head is going to be swimming (which, incidentally, sounds quite entertaining translated directly to Swedish: ditt huvud kommer att simma).

The question then is how to make sure that once you’ve begun to master the vocab and grammar, you start understanding meaning. Real meaning. The kind of meaning that results in you laughing at jokes, or not looking confused when someone tells you that you have defecated in a blue cupboard. We’ve written a post titled Swedish Language Learning Tips that has a few ways to move towards a more advanced fluency. When it comes to idioms, a great way to practice is of course to find yourself a native speaker. That’s not always easy though. Swedish radio and TV is widely available online however and allows you to hear a native usage of the language no matter where in the world you are. You’ll start hearing some idioms that may not make perfect sense but as you start to understand the context in which it is used, you’ll eventually feel comfortable hearing about your beard in the mailbox. And if all else fails, check back here every now and again for more translations of Swedish idioms.

What do you find most helpful in gaining a greater understanding of the various nuances of the Swedish language? And of course, have any other fun idioms to share? Please do so below!