å = Alt + 134 

or Alt + 0229 Å = Alt + 143 or Alt + 0197

ä = Alt + 132 or Alt + 0228
ö = Alt + 148 or Alt + 0246
é = Alt + 130 or Alt + 0233
ü = Alt + 129 or Alt + 0252
æ = Alt + 145
ø = Alt + 0248
Ä = Alt + 142 or Alt + 0196
Ö = Alt + 153 or Alt + 0214
É = Alt + 144 or Alt + 0201
Ü = Alt + 154 or Alt + 0220
Æ = Alt + 146 
Ø = Alt + 0216

Pronunciation Guide
A [a] K [kå] U [u]
B [be] L [ell] V [ve]
C [se] M [emm] W [dubbelve]
D [de] N [enn] X [eks]
E [e] O [o] Y [y]
F [eff] P [pe] Z [säta]
G [ge] Q [ku] Å [å]
H [hå] R [err] Ä [ä]
I [i] S [ess] Ö [ö]
J [ji] T [te]

Sounds in Swedish
The SJ-Sound [fj]
The sound can be pronounced as ”sh” but it can be pronouned further back in the mouths.

Hard and Soft Vowels

 Hard vowels: A, O, U, Å
 Soft vowels: E, I, Y, Ä, Ö
Hard pronunciations are pronounced as they are read.

SK – sk or ’sj’
 Sk – A, O, U, Å
o Ska, skola, skuld, skåp
 ’Sj’ – E, I, Y, Ä, Ö
o Skepp, skina, skylla, skära, sköta
*exception: människa [männi-sja]

G –g or ’j’
 g – A, O, U, Å
o gata, godis, gul, gå
 ’j’ – E, I, Y, Ä, Ö
o Ge, gilla, gynasium, gärna, göra
K – k or ’sh’
 k – A, O, U, Å
o katt, komma, kunna, kål
 ’sh’ – E, I, Y, Ä, Ö
 o Kemi, kilo, kyckling, känna, köpa
*exceptions: en kille, en kör

Other Special Letter Combinations

TJ = ’sh’ (tjugo, tjena)
RS = ’sh’ (mars, Anders)
SCH = ’sh’ (duscha, affisch)
SKJ = ’sj’ (skjorta, skjuta)
STJ = ’sj’ (stjärna, stjäla)
DJ, LJ, HJ, GJ = ’j’ (djur, ljus, hjärta, gjorde)
CH = ’sj’ (champagne, champinjon)
TI = ’sj’ (station, konversation)
SI = ’sj’ (explosion, invasion)

Stress
1. In a sentence, words that are important are stressed. (Hej, hur mår du? Vad heter
du?)
2. In phrases, the last word is often stressed.
First name + surname Karin Nilsson.
Verb + object Jag studerar svenska.
Time Klockan två.
Help verb + main verb Vill du komma?
Verb + particle Jag tycker om dig.

Other words that are often stressed:

Nouns En kopp, bilen hundar, böckerna
Demonstrative pronouns Den här, det där, de här
Adjectives Bra, stor, blå, rolig
Adverbs of manner, place, time Snabbt, hemma, sedan

3. Words with a long vowel sound or a long consonant are stressed. Long vowel sounds
are mainly vowels followed by single consonants. Vowels followed by several
consonants have shorter sounds: glas [glaaas], glass [glass].

Swedish words often have a long vowel and are stressed on the first syllable (lärare,
läkare). International loan words are often stressed on the last syllable (familj,
journalist).

Words beginning with be- or för- are often stressed on the second syllable (betala,
förklara).

4. The melody goes up or down on a long vowel. It is different for different words and
may depend on regional dialect. Melody goes down at the end of a statement
(somtimes also in questions).
5. Some instances where the first syllable is ALWAYS stressed:
 Verbs that end in -er in the present tense: läser, köper, springer
 Nouns ending in -is or -iker: kompis, dagis, musiker, tekniker
 Two-syllable adjectives ending in -isk: komisk, cynisk
6. The second syllable is always stressed in three-syllable adjects ending in -isk.
(fantastisk, politisk)
 7. Two-syllable verbs ending in -ar in the present tense and two-syllable nouns ending
in -a in the indefinite singular form have equal stress on both syllables: talar, jobbar,
klocka, flaska.
8. Never stress noun endings (definite singular, indefinite plural, definite pular). Other
words that are often unstressed:
Help verbs Vill, kan, måste
Sentence adverbs Inte, kanske, bara
Conjunctions Och, eller, eftersom, när, att
Prepositions I, på, med, över
Most pronouns Jag, hon, den, mig, din

However, every word category can be stressed if you want to highling something in
particular.
Silent Letters in Speaking
Notice which letters are crossed out (and dropped at speaking).

1. H is pronounced in stressed words and in the beginning of sentences.

Hon heter Hanna. Hon har en hund.
2. R at the end of words is usually silent, unless it comes before a word beginning on a
vowel.
Jag jobbar på Ericsson. Jag jobbar i Malmö.
3. G at the end of the words ending on -ig is often silent.
Trevlig, rolig
4. K at the end of words ending on -skt is often silent.
Fantastiskt, hemskt
5. Words that include dag often drop the -g.
Måndag, eftermiddag

’Thick’ T, D, and N
The letter combinations RT, RD, RN are pronounced as:
1. RT = like a T but with tongue in the R-position of the palate: svårt, hårt, sport
2. RD = like a D but with tongue in R-position of the palate: ord, hård, nord
3. RN = like an N but with tongue in the R-position of the palate: barn, horn, järn
Useful Expressions
Numbers
0 Noll
1 En/ett
2 Två
3 Tre
4 Fyra
5 Fem
6 Sex
7 Sju
8 Åtta
9 Nio
10 Tio

Days of the Week

Monday Måndag
Tuesday Tisdag
Wednesday Onsdag
Thursday Torsdag
Friday Fredag
Saturday Lördag
Sunday Söndag

Everyday Expressions
What does it mean?
How do you say ... in Swedish?
What is ... called in Swedish?
Excuse me./Sorry?
Can you say it once more?
How do you pronounce ...?
How do you spell ...?
How do you write ...?
I don’t understand.
Now I understand.
I speak a little Swedish.
Vad betyder det?
Hur säger man ... på svenska?
Vad heter ... på svenska?
Ursäkta?
Kan du säga det en gång till?
Hur uttalar man ...?
Hur stavar man ...?
Hur skriver man ...?
Jag förstår inte.
Nu förstår jag.
Jag parater lite svenska.
1: Hej, vad heter du? (Hello, what is your
name?)
Swedish has two grammatical genders: common (en-words) and neuter (ett-words).

Vocab 1: Hä lsingar och Små prat (Basic Greetings & Chit-Chat)

Hej! Hi! (informal)
Tjena! How are you?
Hur mår du? How is it?
Hur är det? How is it going? (informal)
Hur är läget? And you/You then?
Och du?/Du då? Thank you (please at the end of a
Tack sentence)
Ja, tack Yes, please
Nej, tack No, thank you
Javisst Yes, certainly; of course
Jaha I see
Vi ses! See you (later)!
Hejdå! Goodbye!
Hello!

Positive Responses
Det är bra/fint, tack. It’s good, thanks.
Det är lugnt. It’s cool. (calm)

Less Positive Responses

Sådär. So-so.
Inte så bra. Not so good.
Jag är trött. I am tired.
Jag är stressad. I am stressed.
Jag är förkyld. I have a cold.

Hej (hi/hello) is a neutral greeting. Hej or hej hej is the most common way of greeting; hej can
also mean goodbye. Tjena or tjena tjena, meaning hi, can also be used in informal situations
where you know a person well.

New Expressions
Vad heter du? What’s your name?
Varifrån kommer du? Where do you come from?
Jag bor i Solna. I live in Solna
med min man och min dotter With my husband and my daughter
men jag bor i Årsta But I live in Årsta
med min pojkvän With my boyfriend
Personal Pronouns
Singular Plural
Jag I Vi We
Du You (singular) Ni You (plural)
Hon She De They (pronounced ’dom’)
Han He
Hen He/she (gender neutral)
Den It (en-words)
Det It (ett-words)
Man One (general you)

These pronouns go before the verb being performed by the subject.

Han bor i Solna. He lives in Solna.
De kommer från Stockholm. They come from Stockholm.

The verb ending does not change according to person: Jag kommer, du kommer, hon kommer,
han kommer, etc.

Vocab 2: Familj och Relationer (Family and Relations)

Jag är ... Single
Singel Cohabiting (living with each other but not
Sambo married)
Gift Married
Skild Divorced
Separerad Separated
Jag har ... I have ...
En flickvän/en tjej A girlfriend
En pojkvän/en kille A boyfriend
En fru A wife
En man A husband
En dotter A daughter
En son A son
Ett barn A child
I am...
 En tjej and en kille can also mean a girl and a guy.

Arbete och Studier (Work and Study)

Arbeta, jobbar En lärare
Studerar, pluggar Work/s
Forskar Study/studies
Underviar Do/does research
Talar, pretar Teach/teaches
En student Speak/s
A student A teacher

New Expressions
Du kommer inte från Sverige, va? You don’t come from Sweden, right?
Vad talar du för språk? What language(s) do you speak?
polska Polish (language)
Nähä I see (response to statement with inte)
Jag pratar italienska, engelska och svenska I speak Italian, English, and Swedish.
Jag förstår lite tyska också. I understand a little German also.
Varför Why
Gör Do/does
Faktiskt Actually
Kul Great/fun
Svensk Swedish (nationality)

1. Presens (The Present Tense)

It is used to say something is happening now. The present tense of almost all Swedish verbs
usually ends in -ar, -er, or -r. Swedish only has one present tense form, no -ing form. The same
form for all personal pronouns is used.

Verbs ending in -ar are the most common (group 1).

Infinitive Present tense
Arbeta to work +r Arbetar (work/s)
Tala to speak +r Talar (speak/s)

Other verbs end in -er or -r in the present tense.

Infinitive Present tense
Komma to come + er Kommer (come/s)
Heta to be called + er Heter (is/are called)
Bo to live +r Bor (live/s)
Förstå to understand +r Förstår (understand/s)

Some verbs are more difficult to predict and need to be memorized.

Infinitive Present tense
Vara to be Är (am/are/is)
Göra to do -r Gör (do/does)

The verb mår means feel, but only in the context Hur mår du? Jag mår bra/fint/inte så bra. It
is not used in contexts like I feel stressed/angry/happy/hungry, etc. where the verb är is used.

2. Word Order in Statements and Questions

a. Statements
Many statements in Swedish follow the same word order in English: subject + verb +
adjective/object, etc.
 Han studerar engelska. He is studying/studies English.

b. Yes/No Questions
To ask a closed yes/no question, change the word order. Start with the verb and follow with
the subject.
Studerar han engelska? Does he study English?/Is he studying
English?

The answer to this type of question may be ja or nej. If the answer is yes to a negative
question (statement has inte), the Swedish reply is jo.
Är John här? Ja! Han är här.
Är John inte här? Jo! Han är här.

Open Quesitons
Start with a question word, then use the same word order for a yes/no question (verb +
subject) and any other words after that.
Vad gör du i Sverige? What are you doing in Sweden?
Varifrån kommer du? Where do you come from?

Frågoerd Question words

Vad What
Var Where
Varifrån Where from
Hur How
Varför Why
När When
Vem Who
Vilka Who (more than one person)

When saying a question word on its own, då is added to make it sound less abrupt: Hur då?
Varfoör då? Vad då? När då?

Note the placement of inte (not):

Jag kommer inte från Italien. I don’t come from Italy.
Studerar du inte svenska? Do you not study Swedish?
Varför studerar du inte svenska? Why don’t you study Swedish?

Nationalities and Languages

Languages and nationalities begin with lowercase letters but countries begin with capital
letters. To create a nationality adjective, drop the -a from the language word: en svensk flivän
(a Swedish girlfriend).

Country Man Woman Language

Sverige Sweden svensk svenska svenska
Danmark Denmark dansk danska danska
Finland finländare finska finska
Norge Norway norrman norska norska
Storbritannien UK britt brittiska engelska
Frankrike France fransman fransyska franska
Spanien Spain spanjor spanjorska spanjorska
Italien Italy italienare italienska italienska
Grekland Greece grek grekiska greskiska
Portugal portugis portugisiska portugisiska
Tyskland Germany tyska tyska tyska
Polen Poland polack polska polska
USA/Amerika amerikan smerikanska engelska
Syrien Syria syrier dyriska arabiska
Kina China kines kinesiska kinesiska (mandarin)
Ryssland Russia ryss ryska ryska
Japan japan japanska japanska
Indien India indier indiska hindi, etc.

Checkpoint:
 Give your name.
 Say hello, how are you?
 Say yes, please and no thanks.
 Ask if the person in front of you speaks English.
 Say where you are from.

2: Har du en stor släkt? (Do you have a large

family?)