Learn About Swedish

Svenska • 10 million speakers worldwide

Indo-European Family•Medium Difficulty•ISO: sv
Language Sample

"Hej, hur mår du?"

Pronunciation: Hey, hur mor du?

Translation: Hello, how are you?

Language Overview

Speakers

10 million

Language Family

Indo-European (Germanic)

Writing System

Latin script

Official Status

Official language of Sweden and minority language in Finland

Regions (2 countries)

SwedenFinland (minority language)
History & Origins

Swedish evolved from Old Norse in the Viking Age. Modern Swedish developed during the 16th–17th centuries, with significant standardization in spelling and grammar. Swedish spread globally with Swedish emigration.

Language Characteristics

  • Two grammatical genders (common and neuter)

  • Subject-Verb-Object word order

  • Pitch accent distinguishes words

  • Definite and indefinite forms of nouns

  • Extensive use of compound words

Common Words
hello:hej
goodbye:adjö
please:snälla
thank you:tack
yes:ja
no:nej
water:vatten
food:mat
house:hus
family:familj
Numbers 0-10
0:noll
1:ett
2:två
3:tre
4:fyra
5:fem
6:sex
7:sju
8:åtta
9:nio
10:tio
Major Dialects

Svealand dialect

Götaland dialect

Norrland dialect

Learning Tips

  • Practice pronunciation and pitch accent

  • Learn noun genders and forms

  • Use Swedish media for listening

  • Start with common phrases for daily life

  • Read simple texts to expand vocabulary

Cultural Notes

  • Swedish culture emphasizes equality and consensus

  • Fika and fika culture are integral

  • Midsummer and Christmas are important celebrations

  • Swedish literature and music are globally recognized

Fun Facts

Swedish uses three extra vowels: Å, Ä, Ö

It is mutually intelligible with Norwegian and Danish to some extent

Swedish has influenced English words like 'ombudsman'

Fika (coffee break) is an important cultural tradition

Ready to test your Swedish knowledge?

Try our interactive language guessing game and see if you can identify Swedish from text samples.