Foreign Service Institute Swedish Basic Course
Unit 1: Getting Around
Listen to or download audio (right click and choose Save As...) First you will hear the phrases below in bold, then all of the words and phrases will be pronounced twice.
Basic Sentences
Useful Words and Phrases
| good | god, gott, goda |
| day | dag -en -ar |
| Hello (how do you do?) | Goddag. |
| Hi. | Hej. * |
| morning | morgon -en, mor(g)nar |
| Good morning. | God morgon. |
| night | natt -en, nätter |
| Good night. | God natt. |
| Good-bye. | Adjö. |
| Mr. | Herr |
| gentleman | herr/e -en -ar |
| Mr. Berg. | Herr Berg. |
| Mrs., wife | fru -n -ar |
| Mrs. Stromback. | Fru Strömbäck. |
| Miss (also to waitress or salesgirl) | fröken, fröken, fröknar |
| Miss Hansson. | Fröken Hansson. |
| how | hur |
| to stand | att stå -r, stod, stått |
| stand(s) | står |
| it | det |
| to | till |
| How are you? | Hur står det tilI? * |
| thank you | tack |
| fine, well | bra |
| to feel | att må -r, mådde, mått |
| feel(s) | mår |
| you (sing.) | du |
| self | sjäIv |
| Thanks, fine. How are you? | Tack, bra. Hur mår du själv? |
| to speak | att tal/a -ar -ade -at |
| speak(s) | talar |
| Swedish (the language) | svenska -n -ø |
| Do you speak Swedish? | Talar du svenska? |
| yes | ja |
| little | Iite |
| bit | grann |
| Yes, a little bit. | Ja, Iite grann. |
| no | nej |
| not | inte |
| at all | aIIs |
| No, not at all | Nej, inte alls. |
| to understand | att förstå -r, förstod, förstått |
| understand(s) | förstår |
| me | mig |
| Do you understand me? | Förstår du mig? |
| I | jag |
| you (obj. form) | dig |
| No, I don't understand you. | Nej, jag förstår dig inte. |
| to be | att vara, är, var, varit |
| be (imperative) | var |
| kind, good | snäll -t -a |
| please | var snäll |
| and | och |
| speak (imperative) | tala |
| slowly | långsamt |
| Please speak slowly. | Var snäII och taIa långsamt. |
| now | nu |
| Thanks, I understand now. | Tack, jag förstår nu. |
| Excuse (me). | Ursäkta. |
| where | var |
| to be found, exist | att finnas, finns, fanns, funnits |
| is (found) | finns |
| there is (are) | det finns |
| a, an | en, ett |
| telephone | telefon -en -er |
| Where is there a telephone? | Var finns det en telefon? |
| restaurant? | en restaurang -en -er |
| hotel? | ett hoteII -et -ø |
| restroom? | en toalett -en -er |
| room? | ett rum -met -ø |
| bus | buss -en -ar |
| stop | hållplats -en -er |
| here | här |
| in | i |
| in the vicinity, nearby | i närheten |
| subway | tunnelban/a -an -or |
| station | station -en -er |
| Is there a bus stop nearby? | Finns det en busshållpIats här i närheten? |
| a subway station? | en tunnelbanestation? |
| a train station? | en järnvägsstation? |
| there | där |
| away | borta |
| Yes, over there. | Ja, där borta. |
| right | höger |
| To the right. | TiII höger. |
| left | vänster |
| To the left. | TiII vänster. |
| straight | rakt |
| ahead, forward | fram |
| Straight ahead. | Rakt fram. |
| to be able to | att kunna, kan, kunde, kunnat |
| can | kan |
| to help | att hjälp/a -er -te -t |
| Can I help you? | Kan jag hjälpa dig? |
| to say, to tell | att säg/a -er, sade, sagt |
| one, you | man |
| to walk, to go | att gå -r, gick, gått |
| walk(s) | går |
| to | till |
| the American Embassy | amerikanska ambassaden |
| Can you tell me how you get to the American Embassy? | Kan du säga mig hur man går till amerikanska ambassaden? |
| walk (imperative) | gå |
| just, on ly | bara |
| to see | att se -r, såg, sett |
| see(s) | ser |
| Just walk straight ahead. You'll see the Embassy on your left. | Gå bara rakt fram. Du ser ambassaden till vänster. |
| so, very | så |
| much | mycket |
| Thank you very much. | Tack så mycket. |
| no | ingen, inget, inga |
| cause, reason | orsak -en -er |
| Don't mention it. (You're welcome.) | Ingen orsak. |
| to be allowed (to); to receive | att få -r, fick, fått |
| may | får |
| to buy | att köp/a -er -te -t |
| some, a few, any | någon, något, några |
| postcard | vykort -et -ø |
| I would like (to buy) some postcards. | Kan jag få köpa några vykort. * |
| many | många |
| to want | att vilja, vill, ville, velat |
| want(s) | vill |
| you (polite form, and plural) | ni |
| to have | att ha -r, hade, haft |
| How many do you want? | Hur många viII ni ha? * |
| what | vad |
| to cost | att kost/a -ar -ade -at |
| cost(s) | kostar |
| How much does it cost? | Vad kostar det? |
| crown | kron/a -an -or |
| fifty | femtio |
| ore | öre -t -n |
| One crown and 50 ore. | En krona och femtio öre (en och femtio). * |
| to give | att ge -r, gav, gett |
| give (imperative) | ge |
| day | dag -en -ar |
| news | nyhet -en -er |
| too, also | också |
| Please give me a Dagens Nyheter too. | Var snäll och ge mig en Dagens Nyheter också. * |
| Here you are. (Be so good.) | Var så god. |
| to become, to be | att bli -r, blev, blivit, blir |
| become(s), will be | blir |
| How much will it be? | Hur mycket blir det? * |
| four | fyra |
| It will be four crowns. please. | Det blir fyra kronor, tack. |
Eating and Drinking in a Restaurant
| to eat | att ät/a -er, åt, ätit |
| eat(s) | äter |
| lunch | lunch -en -er |
| dinner | middag -en -ar |
| breakfast | frukost -en -ar |
| We are having lunch. | Vi äter lunch. |
| dinner | middag. |
| breakfast. | frukost. |
| to look, to see | att se -r, såg, sett |
| at, on | på |
| menu | matsedeI -n, matsedIar |
| May I look at the menu? | Kan jag få se på matsedeln? |
| a couple, pair | ett par -et -0 |
| cheese | ost -en -ar |
| sandwich (open faced) | smörgås -en -ar |
| May I have a couple of cheese sandwiches? | Kan jag få ett pa r ostsmörgåsar? * |
| waitress | servitris -en -er |
| to drink | att drick/a -er, drack, druckit |
| coffee | kaffe -t -ø |
| Waitress: What would you like to drink? | Servitrisen: Vad vill ni ha att dricka? |
| Coffee? | Kaffe? |
| glass | glas -et -ø |
| milk | mjölk -en -ø |
| May I have a glass of milk, please? | Kan jag få ett glas mjölk? |
| water | vatt/en -net -ø |
| beer | öI -et -ø |
| wine | vin -et -er |
| cup | kopp -en -ar |
| tea | te -et -ø |
| A cup of coffee, please. | En kopp kaffe, tack. |
| tea | te |
| some, a little | Iite |
| butter | smör -et -ø |
| bread | bröd -et -ø |
| Some bread and butter. | Lite smör och bröd. |
Numbers
| 0 | noll | 20 | tjugo |
| 1 | en, ett | 21 | tjugoen, tjugoett |
| 2 | två | 22 | tjugotvå |
| 3 | tre | 23 | tjugotre |
| 4 | fyra | 24 | tjugofyra |
| 5 | fem | 25 | tjugofem |
| 6 | sex | 26 | tjugosex |
| 7 | sju | 27 | tjugosju |
| 8 | åtta | 28 | tjugoåtta |
| 9 | nio | 29 | tjugonio |
| 10 | tio | 30 | trettio |
| 11 | elva | 31 | trettioen, trettioett |
| 12 | tolv | 32 | trettiotvå |
| 13 | tretton | 40 | fyrtio |
| 14 | fjorton | 41 | fyrtioen, fyrtioett |
| 15 | femton | 50 | femtio |
| 16 | sexton | 60 | sextio |
| 17 | sjutton | 70 | sjutio |
| 18 | arton | 80 | åttio |
| 19 | nitton | 90 | nittio |
| 100 | (ett)hundra |
| 200 | tvåhundra |
| 1,000 | (ett)husen |
| 2,000 | tvåtusen |
| 100,000 | (ett)hundra tusen |
| 1,000,000 | en miljon |
| 2,000,000 | två miljoner |
| 1,000,000,000 | en miljard |
| 2,000,000,000 | två miljarder |
| one trillion | en biljon |
Notes on Basic Sentences
At this point we'd like to call your attention to some of the things you've been learning to say in the Basic Sentences. Sometimes it will be important for you to practice grammatical patterns from the sentences; for this purpose we are including a Points to Practice section, where you will find explanations as well. However, there are some other points which you should understand now, even though you don't need to work with them intensively yet. Read through this section carefully, and then go back over the Basic Sentences once more to be sure you are fully aware of what we are pointing out.
Goddag, Hej. While in English "Good day" is an expression used upon taking leave
of someone, Goddag is used by Swedes as a greeting approximately corresponding to "Hello." The informal Hej is more widely used but it implies also the use of the
informal du.
stå tiII, må. Stå till is more formal than må. Hur står det till is therefore
more appropriately asked of a person whom one does not call du.
Du. "You" can be translated with du (sing.) or ni (formal sing. and plural of
du/ni) in Swedish. The use of the informal du is rapidly growing in Sweden and
will most likely soon be the only form of addressing a person. Most young people
nowadays call everyone du (however, eyebrows were raised when a young journalist
interviewing the king called His Majesty du) and du is used between all employees
and management in many factories and offices. However, with conservative and older
Swedes it is wise for a newcomer to be cautious and let the Swede indicate how he
or she prefers to be addressed.
Var finns det ... Det finns is the Swedish equivalent of English "there is" and "there are". The reversed word order used here is a result of the question pattern
(compare English "Where is/are there ... ?").
Kan jag få ... corresponds to the English "may I have". Example: Kan jag få en kopp kaffe? (May I have a cup of coffee?). Another infinitive may be added to kan jag få. In that case få loses its meaning of "have". The second infinitive becomes the key word and kan jag få takes on the meaning of "may I". Examples: Kan jag få köpa ... (May I buy ... ); Kan jag få se (May I look ... ). This is one of a number of Swedish equivalents of English "please". Another way of saying "please" is var snäII och ...
Vill. In Swedish viII "want" and should never be confused with "will" in English.
Krona, öre. The krona is the Swedish currency unit; there are 100 öre per krona.
Dagens Nyheter is one of the two Stockholm morning newspapers.
Var så god has two different uses:
1. meaning "here you are" (a bit of graciousness) when handing over something;
2. meaning "you are welcome" in answer to "thank you".
Hur mycket blir det? Note that the present tense of the verb att bIi (bIir) is
used with the same meaning as the English "will be". Be sure to learn this expression
now; a grammatical explanation will come later.
Ett par ostsmörgåsar. In English we express quantity with the preposition "of",
for example "a glass of milk, a cup of coffee". In Swedish the quantifier simply
precedes the noun directly, and no preposition is used.
Examples: ett par ostsmörgåsar, ett glas mjölk, en kopp kaffe.
Go on to Part 2: Points to Practice →
