20 basic Swedish phrases to get you started

Swedish has a reputation for being tricky, mostly because of its sing-song melody and those extra letters: å, ä and ö. But for English speakers it's one of the friendliest languages to start. It's a Germanic language like English, its grammar is fairly light (verbs don't change for the person: jag är, du är, hon är, all "is/am/are"), and many basic words feel familiar.

Here are 20 phrases to get you going, grouped by situation. The pronunciation hints are rough approximations for English speakers, not exact transcriptions.

Greetings and goodbyes

1. Hej! — Hi! / Hello! (sounds like "hey") The all-purpose greeting. You can use it with anyone, from your neighbour to your boss. Swedish is quite informal.

2. Hej då! — Bye! (roughly "hey doh") You'll also hear Hej hej!, which can mean either hello or goodbye depending on the moment.

3. God morgon! — Good morning! The d in god is usually silent, so it's roughly "goo MOR-ron".

4. Hur mår du? — How are you? Answer with Bra, tack. Och du? (Good, thanks. And you?)

5. Vi ses! — See you! Casual and very common.

6. Ha det bra! — Take care! (literally "have it good")

Being polite

7. Tack! — Thanks! Swedes say tack a lot. Tack så mycket means "thank you very much".

8. Varsågod. — Here you are / You're welcome. Said when handing something over, or inviting someone to help themselves. One word, roughly "VAR-sho-good".

9. Ursäkta. — Excuse me. Use it to get someone's attention or to get past someone.

10. Förlåt. — Sorry. For when you actually apologise, for example when you bump into someone.

11. Det gör inget. — No problem / Never mind. A gentle reply when someone apologises to you.

Getting to know someone

12. Vad heter du? — What's your name? Answer with Jag heter... (My name is...). Heter is like the old English "hight", meaning "to be called".

13. Trevligt att träffas. — Nice to meet you.

14. Jag kommer från England. — I'm from England. Swap in your country: USA, Kanada, Irland, Skottland, Australien.

15. Jag lär mig svenska. — I'm learning Swedish. Worth saying, because many Swedes speak excellent English and will switch to it to be helpful. Adding Kan vi prata svenska? (Can we speak Swedish?) usually gets a warm reaction.

When you're stuck

16. Jag förstår inte. — I don't understand.

17. Kan du prata lite långsammare? — Can you speak a bit more slowly?

18. Pratar du engelska? — Do you speak English? A useful backup. The answer is very often ja.

Out and about

19. Vad kostar det? — How much does it cost? And when ordering, Kan jag få en kaffe, tack? (Can I have a coffee, please?) is the natural pattern. Kan jag få...? works for almost anything.

20. Ska vi fika? — Shall we have a fika? Fika is a coffee break, usually with something sweet like a kanelbulle (cinnamon bun), and it's a cherished social ritual. Being invited for fika at work or by a new acquaintance is a good sign.

Three things that make Swedish easier

Verbs don't change for the person. Jag talar, du talar, vi talar (I speak, you speak, we speak). Compare that with French or Spanish, where each person has its own ending.

Lots of shared vocabulary. Hus (house), bok (book), vatten (water), finger, hand, arm, vinter (winter): English speakers get a head start.

Swedish is relaxed about formality. There used to be a formal "you" (ni), but today du is used with almost everyone. You don't need to worry about offending someone with the wrong form.

And two things to watch

The melody. Swedish has a pitch accent: some words with the same spelling differ by their tune. Don't panic about it at the start; context will usually make you understood. Listening a lot and imitating is the best approach.

The "sj" sound. Words like sju (seven) and sjö (lake) start with a breathy sound that has no English equivalent. Listen to native audio and copy it, and don't worry if it takes a while.

Where to go from here

If you can say these 20 phrases comfortably, you can handle greetings, introductions, a café and the basics of politeness. The next step is building simple sentences of your own: Jag vill ha... (I want...), Jag behöver... (I need...), Var är...? (Where is...?).

Parlumi's Swedish course starts from exactly this kind of everyday language, with audio you can play at normal or slow speed, which really helps with that melody. A few minutes of listening and repeating each day will get your ear tuned surprisingly fast.

Lycka till! Good luck!