{"id":9218,"date":"2021-04-23T01:27:10","date_gmt":"2021-04-23T01:27:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/swedish\/?p=9218"},"modified":"2021-04-23T01:27:10","modified_gmt":"2021-04-23T01:27:10","slug":"11-swedish-slang-words-and-their-meanings","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/swedish\/11-swedish-slang-words-and-their-meanings\/","title":{"rendered":"11 Swedish Slang Words and Their Meanings"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Image by Jonas Olsson from Pixabay. Sergels torg in Stockholm<\/p><\/div>\n

Mastering slang in your foreign language is not always smooth sailing. Use it well and you\u2019ll impress native speakers. Use a word incorrectly and you risk being misunderstood, or maybe even embarrassing yourself a little bit\u2026 but wouldn\u2019t you say that also just comes with the territory of navigating the deep waters of language learning? Today, I\u2019ll list 11 Swedish words considered slang, from the \u201cmust-knows\u201d to the Swedified English words, and through in some regional slang, too! <\/span>H\u00e4ng med!<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Why study slang in your foreign language?<\/span><\/h2>\n

Slang is more than just keeping up with the teenagers. Slang is a benchmark of social change. As groups of people share experiences, they create new ways to talk about them. Studying slang in your foreign language gives you the opportunity to not only hang with the locals but also to connect in a shared experience. Slang varies a lot; each workplace, school, region, city, even neighborhood adopt different in-words and codes.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

11 Swedish Slang Words<\/span><\/h2>\n

We’ll start with a few need-to-know words you’ll hear ALL the time, to the more obscure, and end with some regional slangord.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Beginner Slang<\/span><\/b><\/b><\/h2>\n

1. typ<\/i><\/b> – \u201clike\u201d <\/span>
\n<\/span>Typ<\/span><\/i> can mean \u201caround\/about\u201d <\/span>
\n<\/span>Det fanns <\/span><\/i>typ<\/i><\/b> 30 personner p\u00e5 festen. <\/span><\/i>There were around 30 people at the party. <\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>But it also works as the dreadful equivalent of the slang usage of English \u201clike.\u201d Swedes sprinkle it anywhere an English speaker would insert \u201clike.”<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Hon sa <\/span><\/i>typ<\/i><\/b> att hon inte skulle h\u00e4nga med och d\u00e5 blev jag <\/span><\/i>typ<\/i><\/b> j\u00e4tteirriterad.<\/span><\/i>
\n<\/span>She said like that she wasn\u2019t going to come and then I was like really annoyed. <\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>It\u2019s good to recognize typ<\/em><\/strong>, but be careful when adopting it, it\u2019s easy to overuse and you don\u2019t need it. <\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

2. <\/i>v\u00e4rsta<\/i><\/b> – it means \u201cthe worst\u201d but it\u2019s used to refer to someone or something that is actually \u201cthe best.\u201d \u201c<\/span>Johan \u00e4r <\/span><\/i>v\u00e4rsta<\/i><\/b> fotbollsspelaren<\/span><\/i>\u201d means Johan is actually a great soccer player.<\/span>
\n<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

3. The prefix <\/span>as- <\/i><\/b>can be added to any adjective to give it a little extra kick. <\/span>
\n<\/b>Johan \u00e4r <\/span><\/i>asbra<\/i><\/b> p\u00e5 fotboll.\u00a0 \u00a0 <\/span><\/i>Johan is really<\/em><\/strong> good at soccer.<\/span><\/p>\n

Swedified English Slang<\/span><\/h2>\n

<\/b>This category is HUGE. Lots of Swedish slang comes from English and is adopted rather quickly thanks to the internet and social media. Nouns like \u201ccringe\u201d and the verb \u201cto flex\u201d are commonly used in Swedish slang, too!<\/p>\n

<\/span>As you have probably noticed in your Swedish study, it works out pretty well for English verbs to adopt a Swedish ending. For example, the English verb: \u201cto exist\u201d becomes existera<\/em> in Swedish. <\/span>Here are two more examples of<\/span> l\u00e5neord<\/span><\/i> verbs from English that I\u2019ve heard a lot lately:<\/span>
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

4. att bonda<\/i><\/b> \u2192\u00a0 to bond, to connect with<\/span>
\n<\/span>bondar \u2192 bondade \u2192 har bondat <\/span><\/i>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Det \u00e4r inte s\u00e5 l\u00e4tt att <\/span><\/i>bonda <\/i><\/b>med folk under coronatider. <\/span><\/i>
\n<\/span>It is not so easy to bond with people during the coronavirus.<\/span>
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

5. att digga<\/b>\u00a0 \u2192\u00a0 to dig, as in \u201cto like\u201d<\/span>
\n<\/span>diggar \u2192 diggade \u2192 har diggat<\/span><\/i>
\n<\/span><\/i>
\n<\/span>Vad \u00e4r det h\u00e4r f\u00f6r kaffe? Jag <\/span><\/i>diggar <\/i><\/b>det!<\/span><\/i> \u00a0 <\/span>
\n<\/span>What kind of coffee is this? I dig it!<\/span>
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

Slang I’ve Recently Learned:<\/span>
\n<\/span><\/h2>\n

6. att<\/em><\/strong> prella<\/i><\/b> \u2192 to preliminarily decide something<\/span>
\n<\/span>prellar \u2192 prellade \u2192 har prellat<\/span><\/i>
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

-N\u00e4r ska vi tr\u00e4ffas? Klockan 3?<\/span><\/i> \u00a0 -When should we meet? At 3 o\u2019 clock?\u00a0 <\/span>
\n<\/span>-Ja, vi <\/span><\/i>prellar<\/i><\/b> klockan 3.<\/span><\/i> \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0-Yes, let\u2019s say 3:00. <\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>I heard this one for the first time the other day while messaging a friend. I quite like it!<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

7. <\/i>st\u00e5lers<\/i><\/b>\u00a0 – this is a shortened version of the adjective \u201c<\/span>str\u00e5lande<\/span><\/i>\u201d or \u201cbrilliant \/ stunning.\u201d I\u2019m told it\u2019s used often by \u201chipster\u201d-type folk in exclamation. \u201c<\/span>St\u00e5lers<\/i><\/b>, Annika!<\/span><\/i>\u201d <\/span>
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

Regional Slang<\/span><\/h2>\n

8. <\/i>brillor<\/i><\/b> – A quite common<\/span> slangord<\/span><\/i> that means \u201csunglasses.\u201d But did you know in Stockholm they\u2019re also called <\/span>glajjor<\/span><\/i>?
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>\u00c4r dina <\/span><\/i>glajjor<\/i><\/b> nya?<\/span><\/i>\u00a0 Are your sunglasses new? <\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

9.<\/i> pjuks<\/i><\/b>, also spelled <\/span><\/i>pjux. <\/i><\/b>Another<\/span> Stockholmsslang<\/span><\/i> term, this one means shoes or boots. It comes from the Swedish noun <\/span>pl\u00e4xja<\/span><\/i>, \u201cski boot.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

10. att krabba<\/i><\/b> can be used when something doesn\u2019t end well or isn\u2019t looking too good. <\/span>Det krabbar <\/span><\/i>is sort of like, \u201cIt\u2019s done. It\u2019s over.\u201d This one is commonly heard in <\/span>Sm\u00e5land<\/span><\/i>, where I\u2019ve spent a large amount of time learning my Swedish, so I had to include it.
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>krabbar \u2192 krabbade \u2192 har krabbat<\/span><\/i>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Det krabbar f\u00f6r mig nu<\/i><\/b>.\u00a0 <\/span><\/i>It\u2019s not looking good for me now.<\/span>
\n<\/span><\/i>
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

11. Finlandsvenskt<\/strong><\/span><\/i> slang<\/strong> – Slang in Finland Swedish<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>F<\/span><\/i>inlandssvenska<\/span><\/i> is spoken by Finns whose native language is Swedish. Because I’m no expert in finlandssvenska<\/em>, I did some research and found a quiz based on slang amongst young<\/span> speakers. What does \u201c<\/span>Sluta flexa<\/span><\/i>\u201d och \u201c<\/span>Jag blir salty<\/span><\/i>\u201d mean? Take the quiz to find out! I got 8\/12 correct, can you do better?<\/span>
\n<\/span>Quiz: Sluta flexa, jag blir salty \u2013 f\u00f6rst\u00e5r du de trendiga slangorden?<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

How to Practice Slang<\/span><\/h2>\n

Diversify your sources.<\/b> Different speakers use different vocabulary, so keep a variety of target language materials in your rotation. Podcasts and interview format shows are great for this. <\/span>Check your work<\/b>. The best resource I\u2019ve found for Swedish slang is <\/span>http:\/\/www.slangopedia.se\/<\/span><\/a> It provides definitions, origins, and example sentences. Click <\/span>\u201cslumpa\u201d<\/span><\/i> in the upper lefthand corner of the site to shuffle to a random <\/span>slangord<\/span><\/i>. <\/span>
\n<\/span><\/i>
\n<\/span><\/i>Remember that slang depends a lot upon context. The slang I’ve above will differ from region to region and speaker to speaker, but that\u2019s the fun part! Don’t be afraid to ask folks around you for clarification if there’s a word you are curious about. I’ve found that Swedes are quite happy to try and explain nuanced language like slang.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve stopped at 11 words this week but there are mountains of Swedish slang to explore. Do you have a favorite Swedish slangord<\/em>? Share it in the comments below!<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\"\"

Mastering slang in your foreign language is not always smooth sailing. Use it well and you\u2019ll impress native speakers. Use a word incorrectly and you risk being misunderstood, or maybe even embarrassing yourself a little bit\u2026 but wouldn\u2019t you say that also just comes with the territory of navigating the deep waters of language learning?…<\/p>\n

Continue Reading<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":168,"featured_media":9219,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":""},"categories":[3,6,138,3079,13],"tags":[3446,8239,364872,34680,364865],"class_list":["post-9218","post","type-post","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-culture","category-grammar","category-slang","category-swedish-language","category-vocabulary","tag-swedish","tag-swedish-culture","tag-swedish-language","tag-swedish-vocabulary","tag-vocabulary"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/swedish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9218","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/swedish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/swedish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/swedish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/168"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/swedish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9218"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/swedish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9218\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9222,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/swedish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9218\/revisions\/9222"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/swedish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9219"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/swedish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9218"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/swedish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9218"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/swedish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9218"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}