English names that are words in Swedish

Fester - Parties
Rita - To draw (most verbs in Swedish ends with -a)
Ben - Leg AND Legs (this word stays the same in plural)
Tina - To unfreeze, thaw

(in progress, as always...)

Verbs

Most Swedish verbs always end with -a (in its first form/base form, e.g "to throw", "att kasta").

Buy - Köpa
Clean - Städa
Dance - Dansa
Draw - Rita
Drink - Dricka
Eat - Äta
Erase - Radera
Kill - Döda
Laugh - Skratta
Lie - Ljuga
Live - Leva
Paint - Måla
Place - Placera
Read - Läsa
Sing - Sjunga
Speak - Prata
Talk - Tala
Think (about something) - Tänka
Think (opinion-based) - Tycka
Throw - Kasta
Watch - Titta
Water - Vattna
Write - Skriva

Sjunga


Kasta


Some verbs don't end with an "a", and the ones I can think of right now are:

Hit - Slå
Flee - Fly
Pray - Be
See - Se
Sew - Sy
Stand - Stå

6 verbs in present, imperfect and past tense

ta, tog, tagit - take, took, taken
lära ut, lärde ut, lärt ut - teach, taught, taught
riva, rev, rivit - tear, tore, torn
berätta; säga till, berättade; sade till, berättat; sagt till - tell, told, told
tänka; tycka; tro, tänkte; tyckte; trodde, tänkt; tyckt; trott - think, thought, thought
kasta, kastade, kastat - throw, threw, thrown

At placement in Umeå

At the moment I'm having placement at Hagaskolan in Umeå, Sweden. I'll be there for a total of 6 weeks, planning lessons and teaching English to 13-year-olds.
Yesterday I prepared 20 English words for my 7th grade students (they're around 13 years old). These are the words they will be tested on next Thursday:

skeleton - skelett
closet - garderob
hide-and-seek - kurragömma
scary - skrämmande
basement - källare
rotten - rutten
janitor - vaktmästare
cleaning - städning
electricity - elektricitet
a couple of - några
doorknob - dörrhandtag
pull - rycka, dra
hinge - gångjärn
cloud - moln
dust - damm
(to) scream - skrika
slumped - hopsjunken
finally - till slut
identify - identifiera
champion - mästare

Words related to computers & Internet

Game - Spel
Computer - Dator
Keyboard - Tangentbord
Motherboard - Moderkort
Mouse - Mus
Program - Program
Printer - Skrivare
Search engine - Sökmotor
Folder - Mapp
Upload (verb) - Ladda upp
Upload (noun) - Uppladdning
Download (verb)- Ladda ned, ladda hem
Download (noun) - Nedladdning
Harddrive - Hårddisk
Desktop wallpaper - Skrivbordsbakgrund
Memory - Minne
"The web" - "Nätet"

Anatomy - face parts

Anatomy - basic

Some basic anatomy for you.

How to pronounce å, ä and ö

Åå
What you could think of here is the English word "afford". The 'o'-sound is very close to what 'å' sounds like. A fun fact is that "ha råd med" in Swedish means to afford something, so the word "råd" actually contains the letter defined here. "Råd" by itself means "a piece of advice".

Å - Stream (the noun)
Åkomma - Disease
Råtta - Rat
Får - Sheep
Påle - Pole

Ää
The word "hair" works well for this letter. "Här" sounds exactly the same (except for our r's, of course) and means "here".

Ärlig - Honest
Träd - Tree
Kärlek - Love
Färdighet - Skill

Öö
Think of the vowel sound in words like "bird" and "girl". That's the closest sound I can think of that resembles 'ö'. By itself, "ö" means "island".

Öva - Practice
Försöka & pröva - Try
Ödslig - Deserted, desolate
Frö - Seed

MP3

Swedish words spelt the same way in English

...and that also mean the same thing :)

Arm
Band (as in a rock band)
Bank
Finger
Funk
Information
Idiot
Lust
Monitor
Monster
Ombudsman
Park
Pedal
Pilot
Position
Post
Poster
Process
Ring
Situation
Social
Smart
Smorgasbord (Smörgåsbord with Swedish spelling)
Station
Stress
Student
Tradition
Under


Do you know any words that I can add to this list? Leave a comment! :)

Var & Vart

Var and vart is used in questions. It means where, but in different ways.
Say you wanted to know where you and your friends were going (a location).

Vart ska vi gå nu?
Where shall we go now?
In this case you should use "vart" because theres' activity involved in the question. You're asking about where you're going; wherever it is, you're *going* to get there.

"Var" is used in questions that asks where a certain thing is located:

Var är min strumpa?
Where is my sock?
Therefore, "Var" is used in questions about something static, not moving from its place.

Most swedes are lazy with these two words, they only use "Vart" in both cases which is wrong. I don't know what's up with them people :)

Att & Som

Roughly translated, both att and som means that.
But they are different in one way,

Att is used in questions or statements that refers to possible or definite outcomes. "Is this going to happen?", "Will he make it?", "This is what we'll do." and so on.

Tror du att han klarar av det?
Do you think that he will make it?

In parts:

Tror du att - do you think that
han klarar av det - he will make it


Som on the other hand is a word to use when you're talking or asking about a subject, a place or an action, but not any kind of question. For example, questions with a request doesn't apply: "Could you fetch me my towel?". Instead, sentences like "There's that girl who won the game last night", and "Is that the dog who bit you?", "The man who would be king".
I hope you understand what I mean, because it is very difficult for me to explain.

Är det den där skivan som du så gärna ville ha?
Is that the album that you wanted so badly?

In parts:

Är det den där - Is that the
skivan - album
som du - that you
så gärna ville ha - wanted so badly

But the words kommer att together means will or going to, gonna:

Jag kommer att köpa en bil idag
I will buy a car today or
I'm going to buy a car today

I hope all this made sense!
Til next time, see you!

Things to find in a kitchen

KITCHEN - KÖK [ʃeu:k]
Plate, plates - Tallrik, -ar
Glass, glasses - Glas (the words is the same in plural)
Cutlery - Bestick
Knife, knives - Kniv, -ar
Spoon, spoons - Sked, -ar [sche:d]
Fork, forks - Gaffel, gafflar
Table, tables - Bord (same in plural)
Napkin, napkins - Servett, -er
Fridge - Kylskåp [ʃy:lskau:p]
Freezer - Frys
Chair, chairs - Stol, -ar
Dishwasher - Diskmaskin [disc maʃeen]
Sink - Diskho
Tap - Kran
Oven - Ugn [uŋn]

MP3

"Dåligast" and some verbs

At the moment I'm reading a book called "Världens dåligaste språk" (World's baddest language) written by a Swedish author named Fredrik Lindström. He's also a comedian and a director. The title of the book is a play with words, because the word "dåligaste" doesn't exist in the Swedish language. Although it is often used by kids, because they think of this rule:

Stark, starkare, starkast
Strong, stronger, strongest

A sentence could look like this:
Olof var den starkaste pojken i klassen
Olof was the strongest boy in the class
(it is written starkaste with an 'e' added, because it's a description of the boy)

But, take a look at this:
dålig, sämre, sämst [dawh-lihg, saemre, saemst]
bad, badder, baddest

All of a sudden, we've got two other words instead of expected "dåligare, dåligast". I don't know why this was decided, but it's just the way it is.
Fredrik Lindström doesn't know either, but he'd like to see a change.

Here are some verbs that the Swedish language helps making shorter:
Make the bed - bädda [baeddA]
Do the dishes - diska
Put out the cigarette - fimpa
Taking off clothes - näcka [naecka]
Sending a text message - sms:a
Sending a fax message - faxa
Having lunch - luncha

Basically, you could add an 'a' after almost every action in Swedish. It's useful! :)

Dates and different times of day

As requested by Rachael, I will explain a little about dates and times in this post.

First these:
First - Första
Second - Andra
Third - Tredje
Fourth - Fjärde
Fifth - Femte
Sixth - Sjätte
Seventh - Sjunde
Eighth - Åttonde
Ninth - Nionde
Tenth - Tionde
Eleventh - Elfte
Twelfth - Tolfte
Thirteenth - Trettonde
Fourteenth - Fjortonde
Fifteenth - Femtonde
Sixteenth - Sextonde
Seventeenth - Sjuttonde
Eighteenth - Artonde
Nineteenth - Nittonde
Twentieth - Tjugonde

And now some times of day:
Morning - Morgon, Förmiddag (said about the time before 12)
Midday - Mitt på dagen
Afternoon - Eftermiddag
Evening - Kväll
Night - Natt

MP3

Clock:
Twelve o'clock - Klockan tolv
(The movie starts at twelve o'clock - Filmen börjar klockan tolv)
Five minutes past twelve - Fem minuter över tolv
Ten past twelve - Tio över tolv
Quarter past twelve - Kvart över tolv
Twenty past twelve - Tjugo över tolv
Twentyfive past twelve - Fem i halv ett
Twelve thirty (Half twelve) - Halv ett
Twenty five to one - Fem över halv ett
Twenty to one - Tjugo i ett
Quarter to one - Kvart i ett
Ten to one - Tio i ett
Five to one - Fem i ett
One o'clock - Klockan ett

MP3

Holidays and events:
Christmas Eve & Day - Julafton, Juldagen
Midsummer's Eve - Midsommarafton
Easter - Påsk
Halloween - Allhelgonadagen
First day of May - Första Maj

MP3

Professions and occupations

Here are some occupations and professions in Swedish:

Doctor - Doktor, läkare
Teacher - Lärare
Nursery nurse - Förskollärare (from the word 'förskola', which means nursery and 'lärare')
Photographer - Fotograf
Lawyer - Advokat
Salesman - Försäljare, or just säljare
Dentist - Tandläkare
Pilot - Pilot
Painter - Målare
Electrician - Elektriker
Musician - Musiker

Occupation - Yrke
Service occupation - Serviceyrke
Occupation in the care sector - Vårdyrke

MP3

Weekdays and months

Monday - Måndag
Tuesday - Tisdag
Wednesday - Onsdag
Thursday - Torsdag
Friday - Fredag
Saturday - Lördag
Sunday - Söndag
-------
January - Januari
February - Februari
March - Mars
April - April
May - Maj
June - Juni
July - Juli
August - Augusti
September - September
October - Oktober
November - November
December - December

MP3

Moods and states

Happy - Glad, Lycklig
Sad - Ledsen
Angry - Arg, Ilsken
Hungry - Hungrig
Full - Mätt
Drunk - Full
Quiet - Tyst
Down - Nere, Hängig
Nervous - Nervös
Cold - Kall
Warm - Varm
Boring - Tråkig
Funny - Rolig

I've caught a cold - Jag är förkyld
I have a headache - Jag har huvudvärk
I'm fine - Jag mår bra
I'm not so well - Jag mår inte så bra
So-so - Sådär

MP3

Hallway - a couple of things

Click on the image for a full-sized version.

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Directions

These are a couple of useful phrases and words to use when giving or asking for directions.

- "Ursäkta, vet du var banken ligger?"
- "Jadå, du går uppför den här gatan, sedan tar du vänster och då hittar du banken på höger sida av gatan."
- "Tack så mycket."
- "Excuse me, do you know the way to the bank?"
- Certainly, just walk up this road, then take left and you'll find the bank on the right side of the street."
- Thanks a lot."

- "Hej, hur hittar jag till biografen här i stan?"
- "Först går du nedför den här gatan. När du ser den stora blå skylten som säger 'Nu har du gått för långt!' så svänger du in till vänster strax innan. Bion ligger rakt fram på Astralgatan 14, höger sida."
- "Tackar."
- "Hello. Can you tell me how to find the cinema?
- "First, go down this road. When you see the big blue sign saying: 'Now you've gone too far!', turn left just before it. The cinema is located straight ahead on Astralgatan 14, on your right."
- "Thanks a bunch."

MP3


Uppför or Upp - Upwards, Up
Nedför or Nedåt or Ner - Downwards, Down
Vänster - Left
Höger - Right
Framåt or Rakt fram - Straight ahead
Bakåt - Backwards

MP3

Sk-, Skj- and Stj-words

So, time for the other part of different sounds. There are three different spellings for the one I'm about to demonstrate:

Skjorta (shirt)
Stjärna (star)
Skära (to cut something)

These sound the same when pronounced. Again, it's difficult for me to explain how it sounds, but the nearest I can get might be something like "whh".
All words spelled with Skj- and Stj- that I can think of, sounds like this. Some nouns spelled with Sk- doesn't use that sound, though, like these:

Sko (shoe)
Skola (school)
Skåp (cupboard)
Skapa (create)


More Sk-, Skj and Stj-words to learn:

Skinka (ham)
Sked (spoon)
Skylt (sign)
Skinn (skin)
Skjuta (to shoot)
Stjärt (bottom)

MP3

K-, Kj- and Tj-words

The Swedish language is known for its variety in pronunciations for words that might look like they're pronounced the same. Long sentence there, sorry :) I hope you get what I mean. I'll give an example:

Käpp (cane)
Kille (guy)

The first word is pronounced with a "schh"-sound, and the other one uses a normal "k"-sound.

Another example:

Kyrka (church)
Tjära (tar)

In thise case, it's a bit trickier. These two words have different spellings, but sounds the same in the beginning. Unfortunately, I can't write down the phonetics for these so you'll have to listen carefully to the mp3-file.

More words that has identical initial sounds:

Kjol (skirt), Tjock (fat), Tjuv (thief), Kind (cheek), Kön (sex, gender)

Eventually, by reading this, you might know how to pronounce certain words as they're spelled.
Next time I will go through a different, but similar thing; The Skj- and Stj-sound.

MP3

Some animals

Horse - Häst
Cow - Ko
Cat - Katt
Dog - Hund
Hen - Höna
Chicken - Kyckling
Guinea Pig - Marsvin
Hamster - Hamster
Rat - Råtta
Parrot - Papegoja
Fishes - Fiskar
Hedgehog - Igelkotte
Moose - Älg
Monkey - Apa

MP3

Family and relations

Father - Pappa
Mother - Mamma
Sister - Syster
Sisters - Systrar
Brother - Bror
Brothers - Bröder
Cousin - Kusin
Aunt - Moster (mothers sister), Faster (fathers sister)
Uncle - Morbror (mothers brother), Farbror (fathers brother)
Grandmother - Mormor, Farmor (same here as above)
Grandfather - Morfar, Farfar
Girlfriend - Flickvän
Boyfriend - Pojkvän

MP3

Foodstuff

Milk - Mjölk
Butter - Smör
Bread - Bröd
Cereals - Flingor
Juice - Juice (sometimes "Jos")
Coffee - Kaffe
Jam - Sylt
Cheese - Ost
Bacon - Bacon
Ham - Skinka
Eggs - Ägg
Meat - Kött
Potatoes - Potatis
Apples - Äpplen
Bananas - Bananer
Fish - Fisk
Beer - Öl
Crisps - Chips
Candy, Sweets - Godis
Chocolate - Choklad

MP3

Some random useful words

Thank you - Tack
Thank you very much - Tack så mycket
Yes - Ja
No - Nej
Really - Verkligen
Computer - Dator
House - Hus
Family - Familj
Road - Väg
Street - Gata
Car - Bil
Bike - Cykel

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"En", "Ett", "Den" and "Det"

The Swedish language doesn't have an equivalent for the English word "the". Instead, the name of the object of matter will be longer.

Example:
a dog - en hund
the dog - hunden
a glass - ett glas
the glass - glaset

As you can see, objects ends either with -en or -et in definite form (singular).
But, how does one know when to put -en or -et after a word? That's up to you to remember. It's one of the more difficult stages in learning Swedish, unfortunately.

All words ending with -en, like hunden, are using Den, when referred to.
All words ending with -et, like glaset, are using Det, when referred to.

Example:
"I bought a new skirt today. Do you like it?"
"Jag köpte en ny kjol idag. Gillar du den?"

Now we know that the word "kjol" means skirt, and that it should end with -en when referred to; kjolen.

When to use "en" or "ett" (which is the words for "a") is easy to know.
If "den" is being used, "en" is the correct word.
If "det" is being used, "ett" is the correct word.


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