{"id":341,"date":"2010-01-11T20:36:10","date_gmt":"2010-01-12T00:36:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/swedish\/?p=341"},"modified":"2010-01-11T20:36:10","modified_gmt":"2010-01-12T00:36:10","slug":"laget-sjukt-bra","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/swedish\/laget-sjukt-bra\/","title":{"rendered":"L\u00e4get? Sjukt bra!"},"content":{"rendered":"

I understood something important about communication last week. When the polite gym instructor\/sales assistant\/Tesco cashier\/woman in the pub looks at me, nods\u00a0and says “Alright?”, he or she does NOT expect me to answer “Yes, thank you, how are you?”. This is just another way of saying “Hi there” and he or she is NOT interested in my well being.\u00a0Honestly, this is something I realized just the other day, after almost two years in UK and 22 years of English studies.<\/p>\n

This, and a comment from Michael here<\/a> made me think about the differences between the language we are taught and the language we actually speak. For example, a standard phrase to teach a Swedish newbie would be “Hur m\u00e5r du?” (How are you?) but I can’t think of the last time I used that actual phrase. I would probably use it if I talked to\u00a0a kid – who’s not aware of slang – or to someone who is grieving\u00a0or is sick\u00a0 – whom I’m really concerned about and I would ask the question with a worried expression on my face. But, in every day small talk I would rather use any of the following phrases:<\/p>\n

\u00c4r allt bra?<\/strong> = Is all good?
\nAllt bra?<\/strong> = All good?
\nAllt v\u00e4l?<\/strong> = All good?
\nHur \u00e4r allt?<\/strong> = How’s everything?<\/p>\n

And the ones that are harder to translate but still mean “Hur m\u00e5r du?”:<\/p>\n

Hur \u00e4r det?<\/strong> = “How is it?”
\nHur \u00e4r l\u00e4get?<\/strong>\u00a0= “How’s the situation?”
\nL\u00e4get?<\/strong> = “The situation?”<\/p>\n

So, based on the Swedish conversations\u00a0I’ve had with friends and family the last couple of days- here are three\u00a0expressions that Swedes (mostly the younger generations) often use to emphasize the answer to the questions above (bra\/good – we assume this is a very happy and positive Swede) in every day spoken Swedish.<\/p>\n

Hur \u00e4r l\u00e4get? Det \u00e4r asbra!
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Det \u00e4r grymt bra!
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Det \u00e4r sjukt bra!<\/p>\n

(To answer properly: J\u00e4ttebra = very good)<\/p>\n

As… <\/strong>= As… is a prefix that can be put in front of almost every adjective to emphasize the word. Something can be asbra<\/strong> (very good) assnygg<\/strong> (very good looking) asdyr <\/strong>(very expensive) etc.
\nOBS! “As” is not pronounced as the as I just used, instead it is pronounced with a long vowel, “aaaas”.<\/p>\n

Grymt<\/strong> = another word used mostly to emphasize adjectives, for example grymt bra<\/strong> (very good) grymt\u00a0snygg<\/strong> (very good looking) grymt dyr<\/strong> (very expensive).
\nGrymt can also be used on its own as a reply to\u00a0the questions above, for example\u00a0“Hur \u00e4r l\u00e4get?”\u00a0 “Grymt!” (Very good\/great!)<\/p>\n

Sjukt <\/strong>= see above. Things can be sjukt bra<\/strong> (very good) sjukt snygg<\/strong> (very good looking) sjukt dyr<\/strong> (very expensive). Sjukt can aslo be used to describe something crazy and\u00a0insane for example \u00a0“Hur var filmen?” (How\u00a0was the movie?)\u00a0“Den var helt sjuk!” (It was totally insane\/sick!)
\nOBS! Sjuk ordinarily means sick in Swedish, as being in “Jag \u00e4r sjuk” (I am sick) and is pronounced “schuuk”.<\/p>\n

But remember,\u00a0when your\u00a0possible future employer asks you “How good are you with computers?”, “Asbra!” might not be the proper answer to give. J\u00e4ttebra works j\u00e4ttebra in all j\u00e4ttebra situations.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I understood something important about communication last week. When the polite gym instructor\/sales assistant\/Tesco cashier\/woman in the pub looks at me, nods\u00a0and says “Alright?”, he or she does NOT expect me to answer “Yes, thank you, how are you?”. This is just another way of saying “Hi there” and he or she is NOT interested…<\/p>\n

Continue Reading<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":""},"categories":[3079],"tags":[3170,530995,3412],"class_list":["post-341","post","type-post","status-publish","hentry","category-swedish-language","tag-emphasize","tag-slang","tag-small-talk"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t