Svenska
Swedish
Germanic
Also known as: Swedish, Svenska
Swedish (Svenska) is a North Germanic language with ~10M speakers — sole official language of Sweden, co-official with Finnish in Finland (Finland-Swedish minority ~290K, especially Åland Islands). Sister to Danish and Norwegian (mutually intelligible Scandinavian dialect continuum, especially in writing). Distinguished by pitch-accent system (acute vs grave on stressed syllables, contrasting words like ánden "the duck" vs ànden "the spirit"). Latin orthography from 13c. Christianization. Standardized 1526 Bible translation. SVO with V2 main clause / V-final subordinate.
Where it is spoken
31 core words in Swedish
Water
vatten
/vatːɛn/
Fire
eld
/ɛld/
Sun
sol
/suːl/
Moon
måne
/moːnɛ/
Star
stjärna
/ˈɧæːɳa/
Mother
mamma
/mamːa/
Father
pappa
/papːa/
I
jag
/jɑːɡ/
You
du
/dʉː/
Name
namn
/namn/
Eye
öga
/øːɡa/
Hand
hand
/hand/
Heart
hjärta
/ˈjæʈːa/
Love
kärlek
/ɕæːɭɛk/
Tree
träd
/trɛːd/
House
hus
/hʉːs/
Dog
hund
/hɵnd/
Cat
katt
/katː/
Eat
äta
/ɛːta/
Drink
dricka
/drɪkːa/
One
en
/eːn/
Two
två
/tvoː/
Hello
hej
/hɛj/
Thank you
tack
/takː/
Good
bra
/brɑː/
Cuckoo
gök
/jøːk/
Woof
voff voff
/vɔf vɔf/
Computer
dator
/ˈdɑːtɔr/
Sushi
sushi
/ˈsʉːɧi/
Dopamine
dopamin
/dɔpaˈmiːn/
At sign (@)
snabel-a
/ˈsnɑːbɛlɑː/
Sources
Words compared
Compared with related Germanic languages
| Meaning | Swedish | Norwegian | Norwegian Nynorsk | Middle English | Faroese | Low German | Old Saxon |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water | vatten /vatːɛn/ | vann /vɑnː/ | vatn /vɑːtn/ | water /watər/ | vatn /vahtn/ | Water /vɑːtɐ/ | watar /ˈwatar/ |
| Fire | eld /ɛld/ | ild /ilː/ | eld /ɛld/ | fyr /fyːr/ | eldur /ɛltʊɹ/ | Füer /fyːɐ/ | fiur /fiur/ |
| Sun | sol /suːl/ | sol /suːl/ | sol /suːl/ | sonne /sɔnːə/ | sól /sɔuːl/ | Sünn /zʏn/ | sunna /ˈsunːa/ |
| Moon | måne /moːnɛ/ | måne /moːnə/ | måne /moːnə/ | mone /moːnə/ | máni /mɔaːnɪ/ | Maan /maːn/ | māno /ˈmaːno/ |
| Star | stjärna /ˈɧæːɳa/ | stjerne /ˈʂæːɳə/ | stjerne /ˈʃæːɳə/ | sterre /ˈstɛrːə/ | stjørna /ˈtʃœdna/ | Steern /steːrn/ | sterro /ˈsterro/ |
| Mother | mamma /mamːa/ | mor /muːr/ | mor /muːr/ | moder /moːdər/ | móðir /mɔuːɪɹ/ | Moder /moːdɐ/ | modar /ˈmoːdar/ |
| Father | pappa /papːa/ | far /fɑːr/ | far /fɑːr/ | fader /faːdər/ | faðir /fɛaːjɪɹ/ | Vader /fɑːdɐ/ | fader /ˈfadər/ |
| I | jag /jɑːɡ/ | jeg /jæɪ/ | eg /eːɡ/ | I /iː/ | eg /eː/ | ik /ɪk/ | ik /ik/ |
| You | du /dʉː/ | du /dʉː/ | du /dʉː/ | thou /θuː/ | tú /tʉuː/ | du /duː/ | thu /θuː/ |
| Name | namn /namn/ | navn /nɑʋn/ | namn /nɑmn/ | name /ˈnaːmə/ | navn /naun/ | Naam /naːm/ | namo /ˈnamo/ |
| Eye | öga /øːɡa/ | øye /øjə/ | auga /æʉɡɑ/ | eye /iːə/ | eyga /ɛiːja/ | Oog /oːx/ | ōga /ˈoːɡa/ |
| Hand | hand /hand/ | hånd /hɔnː/ | hand /hɑnd/ | hand /hand/ | hond /hɔnt/ | Hand /hant/ | hand /hand/ |
| Heart | hjärta /ˈjæʈːa/ | hjerte /jæɾtə/ | hjarte /jɑːrtə/ | herte /hɛrtə/ | hjarta /jaɹta/ | Hart /haɐt/ | herta /ˈherta/ |
| Love | kärlek /ɕæːɭɛk/ | kjærlighet /çæːɾliheːt/ | kjærleik /çæːrlɛik/ | love /lʊvə/ | kærleiki /kɛaːɹlaiːtʃɪ/ | Leev /leːf/ | minnea /ˈminːea/ |
| Tree | träd /trɛːd/ | tre /treː/ | tre /treː/ | tre /treː/ | træ /tɹɛaː/ | Boom /boːm/ | bōm /boːm/ |
| House | hus /hʉːs/ | hus /hʉːs/ | hus /huːs/ | hous /huːs/ | hús /huːs/ | Huus /huːs/ | hūs /huːs/ |
| Dog | hund /hɵnd/ | hund /hʉnː/ | hund /hʉnd/ | hound /huːnd/ | hundur /hʊntʊɹ/ | Hund /hʊnt/ | hund /hund/ |
| Cat | katt /katː/ | katt /kɑtː/ | katt /kɑtː/ | catte /katːə/ | ketta /tʃɛhta/ | Katt /kat/ | katta /ˈkatːa/ |
| Eat | äta /ɛːta/ | spise /spiːsə/ | eta /eːtɑ/ | eten /eːtən/ | eta /eːta/ | eten /eːtn̩/ | etan /ˈetan/ |
| Drink | dricka /drɪkːa/ | drikke /drɪkːə/ | drikka /drɪkːɑ/ | drinken /drɪŋkən/ | drekka /tɹɛhka/ | drinken /drɪŋkn̩/ | drinkan /ˈdrinkan/ |
| One | en /eːn/ | en /eːn/ | ein /ɛɪn/ | oon /oːn/ | ein /ain/ | een /eːn/ | ēn /eːn/ |
| Two | två /tvoː/ | to /tuː/ | to /tuː/ | two /twɔː/ | tveir /tvaɪɹ/ | twee /tveː/ | twēne /ˈtweːne/ |
| Hello | hej /hɛj/ | hei /hɛɪ/ | hei /hɛɪ/ | hail /hɛːl/ | hey /hɛi/ | Moin /mɔɪn/ | heil /heil/ |
| Thank you | tack /takː/ | takk /tɑkː/ | takk /tɑkː/ | thank /θank/ | takk /tʰahk/ | Dankschöön /daŋkʃøːn/ | thank /θaŋk/ |
| Good | bra /brɑː/ | bra /brɑː/ | god /ɡuːd/ | good /ɡoːd/ | góður /kɔuːʊɹ/ | good /ɡoːt/ | gōd /ɡoːd/ |
| Cuckoo | gök /jøːk/ | gjøk /jøːk/ | gauk /ɡæʉk/ | cuccu /ˈkukuː/ | geykur /ˈtʃɛiːkʊr/ | Kukuk /ˈkuːkuk/ | — |
| Woof | voff voff /vɔf vɔf/ | voff voff /vɔf vɔf/ | — | — | voff voff /vɔfː vɔfː/ | — | — |
| Computer | dator /ˈdɑːtɔr/ | datamaskin /ˈdɑːtamaˌʃiːn/ | datamaskin /ˈdɑːtamaˌʃiːn/ | rekenere /ˈrɛkənɛːrə/ | telda /ˈtʰɛlda/ | Computer /kɔmˈpjuːtɐ/ | — |
| Sushi | sushi /ˈsʉːɧi/ | sushi /ˈsʉːʃi/ | sushi /ˈsʉːʃi/ | stokfish /ˈstɔkfiʃ/ | sushi /ˈsuːʃi/ | Sushi /ˈzuʃi/ | — |
| Dopamine | dopamin /dɔpaˈmiːn/ | dopamin /dʉpaˈmiːn/ | dopamin /dʉpaˈmiːn/ | — | Dopamin /doːpaˈmiːn/ | Dopamin /dopaˈmiːn/ | — |
| At sign (@) | snabel-a /ˈsnɑːbɛlɑː/ | krøllalfa /ˈkrœlːɑlfɑ/ | — | — | kurla /ˈkʰʊɭa/ | — | — |
Word order compared
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