Did you know that learning a mere 1000 words covers 85.5% of conversation?

In other words, you just need 1000 words to be considered pretty much fluent in a given language. You’ll only be at a loss about 14.5% of the time. 

Doesn’t that make language learning sound easier?

That’s because it is! But only as long as you’re strategic with your learning. 

As you set out to learn Swedish beginner words, mastering a small set of 100 to 200 words will take you a long way.

This amount of vocabulary will allow you to engage in more conversations and have more interactions, which will result in more learning and integration.

Sweden being a difficult country to fully integrate into, you probably won’t be able to build any strong relationships with locals unless you speak the language.

The more Swedish you speak, the easier it will be for you to have interactions with locals.

While you might be a long way from fluency, we all start somewhere.

Below, we’ve compiled and categorized 200+ beginner Swedish words that will prove useful as you set out on this language learning journey. 

Without further ado, let’s dig right in.

Table of Contents

1. Pronouns
2. Numbers
3. Nouns
4. Verbs
5. Adjectives
6. Conjunctions
7. Others
8. Conclusion

1. Pronouns

The first set of words you should add to your Swedish vocabulary are pronouns. These are the words we use to refer to someone or something without actually saying its name: 

• Did Sam go to the store? = Did he go to the store? 

Here, we’ll cover three types of pronouns in Swedish: personal, demonstrative, and interrogative. 

Personal Pronouns

Personal pronouns are the building blocks of language speaking. It’s really difficult to have conversations without first mastering these, especially the first seven pronouns in the table below.

English	Swedish
I	jag
you	du
he	han
she	hon
it	den / det
we	vi
they	de
me	mig
him	honom
her	henne
us	oss
them	dem

Demonstrative Pronouns

Demonstrative pronouns are used to make it clear what you’re referring to. These are pretty easy to memorize and learning them goes a long way.

English	Swedish
this	detta
that	det
these	dessa
those	de

Interrogative Pronouns / Question Words

Interrogative pronouns, a.k.a the “Five Ws,” are paramount when it comes to asking questions. You’ll improve your responses in conversations drastically after you learn these, as they’ll enable you to ask for more details and extend your conversations.

English	Swedish
who	vem
whom	vem
whose	vars
what	vad
which	vilken / vilka

In a similar vein, you should also make sure to learn interrogative adverbs: 

English	Swedish
when	när
where	var
why	varför
how	hur

2. Numbers

Learning the first ten digits is crucial. This will allow you to understand the rest of the numbers much more easily, so definitely take the time to rehearse and learn these.

Numbers	English	Swedish
0	zero	noll
1	one	ett
2	two	två
3	three	tre
4	four	fyra
5	five	fem
6	six	sex
7	seven	sju
8	eight	åtta
9	nine	nio
10	ten	tio

3. Nouns

Nouns are another essential component of spoken Swedish for beginners to learn. When used together with verbs, they form a complete thought—you can also use them by themselves in a pinch to express an urgent point! 

Time

Time is king, whether you’re in Sweden or elsewhere. Learning to express time will come in handy for daily conversations. Below are some time-related beginner words to get you started. 

English	Swedish
hour	timme
minute	minut
morning	morgon
afternoon	eftermiddag
evening	kväll
day	dag
month	månad
year	år
Monday	måndag
Tuesday	tisdag
Wednesday	onsdag
Thursday	torsdag
Friday	fredag
Saturday	lördag
Sunday	söndag

People

Learning a few people-related words will help you get by in your daily interactions. You never know when you’ll want to ask where the nearest butcher is, or when you’ll need someone to call a doctor. 

English	Swedish
butcher	slaktare
host	värd
police officer	polis
doctor	doktor
nurse	sjuksköterska
firefighter	brandman
teacher	lärare
father	far
mother	mor
sister	syster
brother	bror
Mr.	herr
Ms.	fru

Places Around Town

When roaming around Sweden, you’ll find it much easier to navigate when you know the names of the main places around town. This will be especially useful for using public transportation.

English	Swedish
hospital	sjukhus
supermarket	stormarknad
school	skola
downtown	centrum
university	universitet
city hall	kommunhus
main square	stortorget
bank	bank
museum	museum
restaurant	restaurang
café	kafé
police station	polisstation
train station	tågstation
bus station	busstation

School/Office Essentials

Do you happen to study or work in Sweden? Then learning the names of your school and office essentials will help you feel more settled in your environment! 

English	Swedish
pen	penna
notebook	anteckningsbok
computer	dator
pencil case	pennfodral
headphones	hörlurar
mouse	mus
keyboard	tangentbord
wifi	wifi
charger	laddare
cable	kabel
backpack	ryggsäck
desk	skrivbord
copybook	skrivhäfte

Body Parts

English	Swedish
eye	öga
nose	näsa
ear	öra
face	ansikte
arm	arm
chest	bröst
cheek	kind
forehead	panna
mouth	mun
chin	haka
armpit	armhåla
abdomen	buk
leg	ben
toe	tå
finger	finger
ankle	fotled
hip	höft
forearm	underarm
elbow	armbåge
wrist	handled

Food

Swedes have a diverse cuisine as well as a very dairy- and protein-centered diet, hence their tall builds. Here’s a list of common food names in Swedish: 

English	Swedish
ٍٍvegetables	grönsaker
fruit	frukt
meat	kött
milk	mjölk
egg	ägg
coffee	kaffe
yogurt	yoghurt
bread	bröd
bacon	bacon
pie	paj
ham	skinka
chicken	kyckling
juice	juice
sausage	korv

4. Verbs

Verbs are the words we use to describe actions and states of being. Considering their vital role in language, you should make sure to memorize as many basic Swedish verbs as possible right from the start. 

Daily Routine Verbs

If you like to keep a journal, writing a few sentences about your day in Swedish can go a long way in terms of staying consistent with your studies. 

English	Swedish
to get up	att gå upp
to eat	att äta
to drink	att dricka
to go	att gå
to work	att arbeta
to study	att studera
to drive	att köra
to ride	att rida
to sleep	att sova
to wake up	att vakna
to hang	att hänga
to do laundry	att tvätta
to rest	att vila
to work out	att träna
to go out	att gå ut
to prepare	att förbereda
to cook	att laga mat
to clean	att städa
to wash	att tvätta
to tidy up	att plocka i ordning
to connect	att ansluta
to communicate	att kommunicera
to wear	att ha på sig
to take (something) off	att ta av
to grab	att greppa
to mix	att blanda
to hold	att hålla
to freeze	att frysa
to change	att ändra
to move	att flytta

Other Common Verbs

Below are a few more frequently used verbs…

English	Swedish
to give	att ge
to get	att få
to do	att göra
to make	att göra
to let	att låta
to ask	att be
to smile	att le
to find	att hitta
to use	att använda
to take	att ta
to come	att komma
to look	att titta
to hear	att höra
to smell	att lukta
to talk	att prata
to exit	att lämna
to call	att ringa
to feel	att känna
to answer	att svara
to laugh	att skratta
to cry	att gråta
to steal	att stjäla
to run	att springa
to walk	att gå
to meet	att träffa
to create	att skapa
to finish	att avsluta

5. Adjectives

Reinforcing your Swedish beginner vocabulary with a few essential adjectives can make all the difference in your conversations and writing. These words are used to describe the world around us, and they can add extra meaning to our self-expression. 

Describing Objects

English	Swedish
big	stor
small	liten
long	lång
short	kort
smooth	slät
rough	grov

Describing People

English	Swedish
pretty	söt
handsome	stilig
disgusting	motbjudande
sociable	sällskaplig
funny	rolig
quirky	knasig
beautiful	vacker
lovely	härlig
caring	omtänksam
selfless	osjälvisk
arrogant	arrogant
humble	ödmjuk
courageous	modig
weak	svag
strong	stark

Describing Emotions

English	Swedish
happy	glad
sad	ledsen
joyful	fröjdefull
angry	arg
depressed	deprimerad
anxious	orolig
stressed out	stressad
cheerful	munter

Describing Weather

English	Swedish
rainy	regnigt
wet	vått
humid	fuktigt
dry	torrt
sunny	soligt
foggy	dimmigt
windy	blåsigt
stormy	stormigt
breezy	blåsigt
windless	stiltje
calm	lugnt

6. Conjunctions

English	Swedish
and	och
but	men
then	sedan
because	eftersom
so	så

7. Others

Filler words are pretty much the most native-sounding words you can learn. Below are five examples you can use.

English	Swedish
oh	öhm / öh
yes	ja
uh / eh	ehm / eh
therefore / thus	asså / alltså
what	va

8. Conclusion

Well done, you’re now 200 words in and just 800 words away from fluency. How many of these words did you know already? Were most of them new to you? We look forward to hearing from you in the comments!

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