Swedish: basic expressions
From UniLang Wiki
Note that the phonetic transcriptions are trying to illustrate something like colloquial rikssvenska (Standard Swedish). Whether such a thing really exists could be discussed. Some local variants are also included. Something typical regarding the pronunciation of /ɛ/ (<e> or <ä>), is that in southern dialects it is generally more similar to [e], and in northern ones [æ].
Greetings and other daily expressions
"Hi" and "hello" are often used at any time of the day, the "good morning/evening/afternoon" et c. are mostly used in TV/radio news and such.
- Hej [hɛj:] ‘hi’
- Hallå [halo:] ‘hello’
- Hej då [hɛjdo:] ‘good bye’ (some older people might say [hɛj:dɔ])
- God morgon [gu:mɔr:ɔn] ‘good morning’—used only in the morning (when you, or someone else, get out of bed)
- God natt [gu:nat:] ‘good night’—used when going to bed
To get very polite, here some others:
- God dag [gu:dɑ:] ‘good day’
- God middag [gu:mɪd:a] ‘good day’ (lit. ‘good noon’)
- God eftermiddag [gu:ɛftə(r)mɪd:a] ‘good afternoon’
- God kväll [gu:kvɛl:] ‘good evening’
More informal and friendly greetings (not used by everyone):
- Tja(ba) [ɕa(ba)]
- Tjena(re) [ɕe:na(rə)]
Other:
- Hur står det till?—How is it going?
- Läget? ‘what's up?’ (lit. ‘the situation?’)—very informal
Introductionary phrases
- Jag heter X—My name is X
- Jag är X år (gammal)—I am X years (old)
- Jag bor i/på X—I live in/on X
- Trevligt att råkas/träffas!—Nice to meet you!
Useful expressions
- Jag skulle vilja ha X—I would like to have X
- Ursäkta mig—Pardon, excuse me (i. e. before asking something)
- Förlåt—I'm sorry (i. e. after accidentally doing something)
- Tack (ska(ll) du ha)—Thank you (lit. (You shall have) thanks)
- Tack så mycket—Many thanks
- Varsågod [vaʂəgu:(d)] ‘you're welcome’, ‘here you go’
- Huvva—used in the northern part of Sweden, in particular the inlands, for something you don't like don't agree to
More to come...
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