Svenska

Swedish

Germanic

FamilyGermanic Speakers~10M ScriptLatin CountriesSweden, Finland (Finnish-Swedish ~290K), Estonia (Estonian-Swedish historical) Official inSweden, Finland (alongside Finnish), EU Vitalitysafe ISO 639-3swe

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 SwedishNorwegianNorwegian NynorskMiddle EnglishFaroeseLow GermanOld 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/
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Word order compared

Compare with major world languages

I want to try on a suit I saw ‌in a shop across from the hotel
Ich möchte einen Anzug anprobieren den ich in einem Geschäft gegenüber vom Hotel gesehen habe
Swedish
Jag vill prova en kostym som jag såg i en butik mittemot hotellet
أنا أريد أن أجرب بدلة رأيتها في محل مقابل الفندق
试穿 酒店 对面的 商店 看到的 那套西装
मैं होटल के सामने एक दुकान में देखा सूट को पहनकर देखना चाहता हूँ
私は ホテルの 向かいの お店 見た スーツを 試着 したいです
Я хочу примерить костюм который я увидел в магазине напротив отеля

Compare with closely-related languages

Ek wil 'n pak aanpas wat ek gesien het ‌in 'n winkel oorkant die hotel
Jeg vil prøve et jakkesæt som jeg i en butik overfor hotellet
Ik wil een pak passen dat ik zag ‌in een winkel tegenover het hotel
I want to try on a suit I saw ‌in a shop across from the hotel
Swedish
Jag vill prova en kostym som jag såg i en butik mittemot hotellet

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