At this point in your journey, it’s likely time for you to start picking up the most useful intermediate Swedish words and phrases. But before we dive in, some context: 

Swedish is a Nordic language, meaning it belongs to the family of North Germanic languages.

Does that ring a bell?

That means it actually belongs to the same language group as English, which is a West Germanic language.

And since you can read this article, you probably speak English at a fluent or native level.

That will make starting out with Swedish pretty simple, as you won’t have much work to do before you master reading and writing. You’ll also find that the overall structuring of sentences and words is no different from what you’re used to in English. In other words, you’ll be able to focus most of your early efforts on learning new vocabulary and the conjugation basics. 

No new script to learn. Very few unfamiliar sounds to rehearse. 

It’ll be smooth sailing at first, but you’ll need to put in considerably more effort as you approach the intermediate level. 

At this point, the digits 0-9 no longer really do it, and asking people to switch to English is getting more and more frustrating.

That’s where our list of intermediate Swedish words will come in handy.

We’ve taken the time to compile some of the most important vocabulary words for this phase of your language learning journey, all with parallel English translations. 

At the end of this article, we’ll also recommend a great strategy for memorizing vocabulary. 

Without further ado, let’s jump right in…

Table of Contents

1. Large Numbers – Stora nummer
2. Nouns – Substantiv
3. Verbs – Verb
4. Adjectives – Adjektiv
5. Adverbs – Adverb
6. Prepositions – Prepositioner
7. Conjunctions – Konjunktioner
8. Particle Verbs – Partikelverb
9. Conclusion

1. Large Numbers – Stora nummer

English Translation	Swedish	Number
Ten	Tio	10
Eleven	Elva	11
Twelve	Tolv	12
Thirteen	Tretton	13
Fourteen	Fjorton	14
Fifteen	Femton	15
Sixteen	Sexton	16
Seventeen	Sjutton	17
Eighteen	Arton	18
Nineteen	Nitton	19
Twenty	Tjugo	20
Thirty	Trettio	30
Forty	Fyrtio	40
Fifty	Femtio	50
Sixty	Sextio	60
Seventy	Sjuttio	70
Eighty	Åttio	80
Ninety	Nittio	90
A hundred	Hundra	100
A thousand	Tusen	1,000
Ten thousand	Tio tusen	10,000
A hundred thousand	Hundra tusen	100,000
A million	En miljon	1,000,000

2. Nouns – Substantiv

Because nouns make up such a huge chunk of any language, adding plenty of them to your intermediate Swedish vocabulary will really get you places. Here are some of the most useful Swedish nouns in different categories to get you started. 

→ You can also visit our vocabulary list of common Swedish nouns to learn fifty new words along with their pronunciation.

Time – Tid

English Translation	Swedish
Century	Århundrade
Morning	Morgon
Evening	Kväll
Quarter	Fjärdedel
Semester	Termin

Places – Platser

English Translation	Swedish
Region	Område
Department	Avdelning
Village	By
Park	Park
Bank	Bank
Pharmacy	Apotek
Hospital	Sjukhus
Bakery	Bageri
Cliff	Klippa
Beach	Strand
Island	Ö
Hill	Kulle

Technology – Teknologi

English Translation	Swedish
Technology	Teknologi
Screen	Skärm
Keyboard	Tangentbord
Mouse	Mus
Tablet	Läsplatta
TV	TV
Console	Konsol
Charger	Laddare
Website	Hemsida
Account	Konto
Password	Lösenord
File	Fil
Folder	Mapp
Software	Programvara

Home – Hem

English Translation	Swedish
Room	Rum
Floor	Golv
Living room	Vardagsrum
Bathroom	Badrum
Fridge	Kylskåp
Wardrobe	Garderob

City & Transportation – Stad & transport

English Translation	Swedish
Suburbs	Förorter
Neighborhood	Grannskap
Highway	Motorväg
Alley	Gränd
Roundabout	Rondell
Crossroad	Skiljeväg

People – Människor

English Translation	Swedish
Paternal uncle	Farbror
Maternal uncle	Morbror
Paternal aunt	Faster
Maternal aunt	Moster
Grandchild	Barnbarn
Child	Barn
Paternal grandfather	Farfar
Maternal grandfather	Morfar
Paternal grandmother	Farmor
Maternal grandmother	Mormor

Body Parts – Kroppsdelar

English Translation	Swedish
Finger	Finger
Back	Rygg
Belly	Mage
Breast / Chest	Bröst
Shoulder	Axel
Leg	Ben
Thigh	Lår
Butt	Bakdel
Foot	Fot
Cheek	Kind
Chin	Haka
Forehead	Panna

Food – Mat

English Translation	Swedish
Knife	Kniv
Fork	Gaffel
Spoon	Sked
Wine	Vin
Dish	Maträtt
Appetizer	Aptitretare
Dessert	Efterrätt
Drink	Dryck
Coffee	Kaffe

Work & Studies – Arbete & studier

English Translation	Swedish
Nurse	Sjuksköterska
Lawyer	Advokat
Waiter	Servitör

Clothes – Kläder

English Translation	Swedish
Pants	Byxa
Sweater	Tröja
T-shirt	T-shirt
Shirt	Skjorta
Coat	Rock
Sock	Strumpa
Shoe	Sko
Dress	Klänning
Hat	Hatt

3. Verbs – Verb

Our next set of intermediate Swedish words consists of the most useful verbs for this stage of your learning journey. Memorizing this selection of practical action words will allow you to be more precise in your conversations and make your stories more interesting. To practice, try combining them with the nouns above to form complete sentences!

→ Need a little help with the conjugation? Then you can check out our blog post on Swedish verb tenses to learn everything you need to know on the topic.

Swedish	English Translation
Att tjäna	To serve
Att lämna	To leave
Att tillåta	To allow
Att skicka	To send
Att motta	To receive
Att leva	To live
Att ringa	To call
Att påminna	To remind
Att introducera	To introduce
Att acceptera	To accept
Att vägra	To refuse
Att agera	To act
Att spela	To play
Att känna igen	To recognize
Att välja	To choose
Att röra	To touch
Att förklara	To explain
Att gå upp	To get up
Att öppna	To open
Att stänga	To close
Att vinna	To win
Att förlora	To lose
Att existera	To exist
Att lyckas	To succeed
Att förändra	To change
Att jobba	To work
Att studera	To study
Att sova	To sleep
Att gå	To walk
Att försöka	To try
Att stanna	To stop
Att fortsätta	To continue
Att laga	To cook
Att höra till	To belong
Att riskera	To risk
Att lära	To learn
Att möta	To meet
Att skapa	To create
Att få	To get
Att gå in	To enter
Att lämna	To exit
Att erbjuda	To offer
Att ta med	To bring
Att använda	To use
Att nå	To reach
Att förbereda	To prepare
Att tillägga	To add
Att betala	To pay
Att överväga	To consider
Att köpa	To buy
Att trycka	To push
Att handla	To shop
Att resa	To travel

4. Adjectives – Adjektiv

While you may have learned a few adjectives as a beginner, the intermediate stage is where you really have the linguistic tools necessary to make the most of them. Below, you’ll find some of the most useful Swedish adjectives that you can start practicing today. 

→ You can also visit our vocabulary list of the most common adjectives in Swedish, where you can hear the pronunciation of each word and see how they’re used in a sentence.

Swedish	English Translation
Grymt bra	Awesome
Fruktansvärd	Horrible
Konstig	Weird
Komplicerad	Complicated
Tjock	Thick
Tunn	Thin
Nära	Near
Avlägsen	Distant
Smal	Narrow
Bred	Wide
Mjuk	Soft
Hård	Hard
Full	Full
Tom	Empty
Ljus	Light
Tung	Heavy
Unik	Unique
Speciell	Special
Ny	New
Gammal	Old
Fattig	Poor
Rik	Rich
Ren	Clean
Smutsig	Dirty
Svag	Weak
Stark	Strong
Smal	Slim
Fet	Fat
Söt	Cute
Elak	Mean
Rolig	Funny
Trevlig	Nice
Lycklig	Happy
Ledsen	Sad
Tyst	Quiet
Upphetsad	Excited
Farlig	Dangerous
Tråkig	Boring
Kryddstark	Spicy
Andra	Second
Nästa	Next
Tidigare	Previous
Näst sist	Second-to-last
Orange	Orange
Rosa	Pink
Grå	Gray
Lila	Purple
Magenta	Magenta
Turkos	Turquoise

5. Adverbs – Adverb

We use adverbs to give additional information about a verb, an adjective, or even another adverb. Learning just a few Swedish adverbs can help you better express yourself and add color to your conversations or writing. The lists below are a great place to start. 

When – När

Swedish	English Translation
Redan	Already
För länge sedan	A long time ago
Nu	Now
Igen	Again
Äntligen	At last
Sedan	Then
Därefter	Thereafter

How Often – Hur ofta

Swedish	English Translation
Ibland	Sometimes
Sällan	Rarely
Vanligtvis	Usually
Generellt	Generally
Hela tiden	All the time

Where – Var

English Translation	Swedish
Nowhere	Ingenstans
Somewhere	Någonstans
Elsewhere	Någon annanstans
Up	Upp
Down	Ner
Over	Över
Under	Under
Far	Långt
Close	Nära

How – Hur

English Translation	Swedish
Softly	Mjukt
Slowly	Långsamt
Quickly	Snabbt
Calmly	Lugnt
Easily	Lätt
Luckily	Lyckligtvis
Simply	Helt enkelt

How Much – Hur mycket

Swedish	English Translation
Tillräckligt	Enough
Framförallt	Especially
Nästan	Almost
Hur mycket	How much
Så många	So many
Så få	So few

6. Prepositions – Prepositioner

Prepositions play an important role in intermediate-level Swedish, as they allow you to be more specific in your descriptions. We have included some of the most frequently used prepositions in Swedish below.

Time – Tid

English Translation	Swedish
Before	Innan
After	Efter

Space – Utrymme

English Translation	Swedish
Next to	Bredvid
To the right	Till höger
To the left	Till vänster
On	På
In front of	Framför
Behind	Bakom
Under	Under
Over	Över

Other – Övrig

Swedish	English Translation
Angående	About
Mellan	Between
Tack vare	Thanks to
Trots	Despite
Utan	Without
Med	With

7. Conjunctions – Konjunktioner

Swedish	English Translation
Varken eller…	Neither…nor…
Så	So
Annat	Other
Sedan	Since
När	When
Därför	Therefore

8. Particle Verbs – Partikelverb

Swedish	English Translation
Svenska	Swedish
Göra bort sig	To embarrass  / To make a fool of oneself
Hålla med	To agree with
Hålla på	To do / To be busy with
Hälsa på	To visit
Hänga med	To follow along
Hoppa över	To skip
Klä ut sig	To dress up as
Koppla av	To relax
Köra på	To go ahead
Lägga av	To quit
Läsa om	To re-read
Säga ifrån	To speak up
Säga till	To tell off/to
Se upp	To look out
Skjuta upp	To put off
Slå av	To turn off
Slå på	To turn on
Slappna av	To relax
Stressa ner	To calm down
Tala om (för någon)	To tell / To explain

9. Conclusion

You should now have a pretty good idea of what vocabulary you should expect to start using as an intermediate learner.

As promised in the intro, we’ll discuss a great technique for memorizing vocabulary.

Online flashcards.

Online flashcards are designed to continuously challenge your mind to memorize the meanings of your target words. But, of course, you’ll want to make sure your flashcards are tied into an outstanding Swedish learning program. 

Enter SwedishPod101.

Here, you get access to thousands of video, audio, and text lessons, from which you can save your own online flashcards. Plus, you can choose to only study content that caters to your exact level. Add to this several other features on SwedishPod101.com, like line-by-line breakdowns and pronunciation comparison tools.

If you don’t feel like flying solo, you can always request a personalized learning program from an experienced, native Swedish-speaking language expert. After getting your study plan, you can get 1-on-1 lessons from your personal Swedish teacher.

The good news is that you can use SwedishPod101 on both your mobile and your desktop. You’ll always be able to put in a bit of study time, whether you’re on the go or at home.

All of this and more is available with a SwedishPod101 account. 

No credit card required. 

Go to SwedishPod101.com and try it all for yourself.