10 more cool Swedish words and expressions (part 2)

The creatively titled follow-up to '10 cool Swedish words and expressions'.

A few of my favourite Swedish words and expressions.

I love the Swedish language and as it’s been a while since my original '10 cool Swedish words and expressions' post, I figured it was about time I posted a few more of my favourite Swedish words and expressions.

Just to recap, many of the alien names and places in my first comedy scifi novel were inspired by Swedish words, so that was the inspiration behind the original post.

Anyway, here are another 10 cool Swedish words and expressions which I like…

1) You look good out

If you’re Swedish and you’re good looking (which admittedly is a very strong possibility judging by all the Swedish girls I’ve ever met), then luckily in Sweden they have several words and expressions to describe you. If I had to guess then I would say that the abundance of words for ‘good looking’ in Swedish is similar to the way that Eskimoes have numerous words for snow.

Anyway, one such expression which I like is ‘att se bra ut’ which literally means ‘you look good out’. Presumably though, you would look just as good in as you do out.

In my opinion another appropriate word for good looking would be ‘typisk’ which is the Swedish word for ‘typical’, and is how I would describe the concept of good looking in Sweden.

A 'living light' on the beach.

2) Living light

At times in Sweden they seem to have been far more poetic when creating their language than we were in England, and a good example of this is the word ‘levande ljus’ which is the Swedish word for candle and literally translates as a ‘living light’.

3) Children understand more than you realise

This next expression is a cool one. ‘Små kastruller har också öron’ is a Swedish expression which literally translates as, ‘Small pots also have ears,’ but it basically means, ‘Children listen in on adult conversations and understand more than you think.’ Very true.

4) A thief of glances

In my original post I mentioned the Swedish word ‘tjuvlyssna’ which literally translates as to ‘thief listen’, and is a cool Swedish way of saying ‘to eavesdrop’. A similar word is ‘tjuvtitta’ which literally translates as to ‘thief look’ but going on the same logic you can probably guess that it actually means ‘to peek’.

More than enough alcohol to drink yourself behind the ears.

5) A drunken expression

‘Han drack sig bakom örorna!’ is a cool expression which literally means, ‘He drank himself behind the ears!’ but as you can probably guess it basically means, ‘He got extremely drunk!’

6) Blue mark

At times the Swedish language can be a very literal language as evidenced by the Swedish word for ‘bruise’ which is ‘blåmӓrk’. This literally translates as a ‘blue mark’ and when you think about it this is a pretty accurate way to describe a bruise.

7) A deep plate

Another literal one is the Swedish noun ‘djup tallrik’ which is one way to describe a bowl or a soup dish in Sweden. Its literal meaning is a ‘deep plate’ and once again this is another one which makes perfect sense when taken from a literal point of view because a 'deep plate' is exactly what a bowl is.

"No! I will stand against you!"

8) I will stand against you!

One word which is quite relevant for anyone still trying to stick to their New Year’s Resolutions is the Swedish word ‘motstå’ which means ‘to resist’, but which literally translates as ‘to stand against’.

9) Cows and ice

A cool expression which English speakers won’t recognise but which makes sense when you analyse it is, ‘Det är ingen ko på isen.’ This literally translates as, ‘There’s no cow on the ice’ which makes very little sense until you discover that it basically means ‘There is no danger’ or ‘Don’t worry.’ Sort of like a more poetic version of the Australian 'no worries.'

The reverse of this expression is, ‘Vi har ko po isen’, or ‘We have a cow on the ice’ in English. As you can guess from the image it conveys, this means, ‘We’re in big trouble.’

10) Unfortunate translations

Finally, anyone who’s read my first comedy scifi novel will already be aware of this last one, but if you ever watch a Swedish movie and see the word ‘slut’ appear on the screen at the conclusion of the movie, don’t take offence. It’s not an insult directed at the audience. It’s just the director telling you it's the end of the movie. 'Slut' is the unfortunate Swedish translation of the English word ‘end’.

You can find more cool Swedish words and expressions below:
10 cool Swedish words and expressions (part 1)
10 cool Swedish words and expressions (part 3)