Meeting people in Swedish
How are you, what is your name, where are you from, I like it: the first five minutes. Play the ten Swedish words against the clock, with a note on how locals really use each one after every answer. All ten are written out below.
All 10 Swedish phrases in this lesson
- Hur mår du?hoor mawr doo
- How are you?
- Jag mår brayah mawr BRA
- I'm fine, thanks
- Och du?ok DOO
- And you?
- Vad heter du?vad HEH-ter doo
- What's your name?
- Jag heter...yah HEH-ter
- My name is...
- Var kommer du ifrån?var KOM-er doo ee-FRAWN
- Where are you from?
- Jag kommer från...yah KOM-er frawn
- I'm from...
- Jag gillar detyah YIL-ar deh
- I like it
- Det är vackertdeh air VAK-ert
- It's beautiful
- VälkommenVEL-kom-en
- Welcome
The standard how are you. Unlike English, Swedes may actually answer honestly. "Hur mår du?" is a real question; budget a moment. The formal "hur mår ni?" addresses a group or uses the polite plural, now increasingly old-fashioned.
Literally "I feel good". The superlative: "jättebra" (very well). The honest downgrade: "sådär" (saw-DAIR, so-so). Swedes appreciate directness; saying sådär when you mean it is more respected than the automatic "fine" of other cultures.
Always return it. The och (and) in Swedish speech is pronounced "ok" or "o" rather than "okh". "Och" is one of those words that looks impossible and turns out to be easy when you hear it.