Tips for learning Swedish

Personal qualities – Personliga egenskaper

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Personal qualities (for Swedish, scroll down)

A personal quality vocabulary comes in handy when we want to describe someone. How is this person? Maybe you want to talk about a friend, or even about yourself when applying for a new position. The list to which you find a link below is from Sweden’s Public Employment Agency, “Arbetsförmedlingen”. It is suggested to be used as inspiration when in process of applying for a new job. Of course this serves as a resource for acquiring new vocabulary even if we don’t talk about employment. Read, translate and learn! Which ones describe yourself?

personal qualities 

Personliga egenskaper

Hur beskriver du en person? Hur beskriver du dig själv? Det är svårt, eller hur!? Det är riktigt svårt om du inte känner till ord som beskriver en persons egenskaper.

Nedan finns en länk till Arbetsförmedlingens lista över just personliga egenskaper. Du kan använda den som inspiration, till exempel när du söker jobb. Orden kan användas i både personliga brev och under en arbetsintervju. Om du använder orden när du söker jobb är det bra om du talar med egna ord och exempel istället för att bara säga “jag är innovativ”.

Orden är naturligtvis inte bara för jobbsituationer. Vissa ord passar även in som beskrivningar av andra saker än personer.

Hur många ord kan du redan? Ta reda på vad “nya” ord betyder. Fundera på vilka som beskriver dig själv. Lär dig en bokstavskategori varje dag! Du kan använda någon av dessa ordlistor.

personliga egenskaper

professionals

Swedish traditions & culture

Mysigt att mysa

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Denmark has ”hygge” and us Swedes have ”mys”. “Mys” is explained in the Swedish Academy Glossary as – my own translation – well-being coming from snug and cozy environment, or a nice, cozy activity. Think fika; hugging and kissing; drinking a glass of wine; sitting in front of the fire; being snowed in yet warm and safe; reading a book with your child on the couch; resting under a woolly blanket; having a cat lying on your chest, purring; flickering candles; having a family picnic in a sunny opening in a forest.

We use the word in different combinations, creating new words. Below you find a list of what I came to think of.

ett fredagsmys = explained here

mysbyxor = pants in comfortable material, for leisure

ett mysplagg = garment in comfortable material for leisure

en mysdress = garments in comfortable material for leisure; word much used in the 70’s

en mysbelysning = dimmed lights for a cozy ambience

en myshörna = cozy corner for relaxation

ett mysrum = cozy room for down time, particularly used in preschool for reading or resting (we are not likely to have a spare room in our houses or apartments to use just as “mysrum” 🙂 )

en mysfaktor = ”coziness factor”

ett myspys = a cozy moment, might involve hugs and kisses and even more but does not have to

en mysstund = cozy moment, for instance with your toddler to snuggle up, and enjoying some ”mys”

omysigt = not cozy

en mysrysare = a soft horror movie or book

The verb “mysa” has two meanings. One is having a cozy time (compare all of the above), and the other is to beam (contentment).

Some examples using the verb in differents tenses:

Vi myser inomhus idag; det är kallt ute.

I går myste/mös Hanna och Jakob med te och en brasa.

Mormor myste mot barnen. (the beaming-version of the verb)

Hon hade myst 30 minuter med en filt i soffan, när telefonen ringde.

 

The verb is “att mysa” – Katten myser i solen.

The adjective is “mysig” – Det är en mysig villa. Det är ett mysigt hus.

The adverb is “mysigt” – Ljuset skiner så mysigt.

Swedish traditions & culture

Fredagsmys

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Say the word Fredagsmys and every Swede knows what you are talking about. An easy Friday evening get-together, to mark the end of the work/school week and the beginning of the weekend. Family or friends, easy cooking, snack and a TV-screen are ususally involved.  It could also include a board game. Tacos is a classic, as well as chips/crisps and dip; at least that´s what the commercials want us to believe. Veggies and fruit works too. Fredagsmys is part of our modern culture, probably substituting the Sunday dinner family gathering. The location and activity does not have to follow the description above; the importance of the matter is that it includes “mys”.

Swedish traditions & culture

Week numbers

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In Sweden we are very fond of speaking in terms of weeks rather than dates. This can be rather confusing if you are not used to it.

“Vi åker bort vecka 10.” – we are leaving week 10

“Provet är vecka 5.” – the test is week 5

“Veckobrev v.35” – weekly letter of week 35

“Affären är stängd v. 29-31” – the store is closed week 29 through 31

I use a separate app to keep track of what week it is since it is not in my regular calendar.

Tips for learning Swedish

False friends

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I wish you’d never suffer from false friends. Now, I can’t help you with all of the varieties, but here is an explanation of the linguistic ones.

I am fascinated by words, especially the written word, and languages. The more languages I learn the easier it gets. It’s captivating to recognize similarities between languages, and to explore possible roots in common. Could it be a cognate or a false friend? Now if that doesn’t sound intriguing … 😉

I´ll explain it to you.

Cognates are words in different languages that have a common linguistic heritage. Examples are night natt nuit notte Nacht. Loanwords does not count.

Cognates within a language are known as doublets. Doublets are words that look similar, existing within the same language. Meaning of the words is irrelevant – they don´t have to mean the same thing, but could of course. An example is shirt and skirt in English.

False cognates are words that to the eye and ear appear to have the same origin but don´t. The meaning of the words is irrelevant here – it doesn’t matter if they are false friends or have the same meaning. An example hereof; mamma and pappa in Swedish – not related to similar words in other languages, merely stemming from baby language! (Svensk etymologisk ordbok – the Swedish etymological thesaurus, digitalized at http://runeberg.org/svetym/)

False friends are words in different languages that appear to have the same meaning but don´t.

Examples:

actual (Eng. real, authentic ) meaning “faktisk” in Swedish

aktuell (Swedish) meaning present, current

You can find a list containing Swedish and English false friends here.

Primary sources

http://sv.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kognat_(lingvistik)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cognate

My brain. 🙂

Want to know more on Swedish language training with me? Head over here!

Tips for learning Swedish

Benefits of learning via Skype

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Benefits of learning via Skype

Are you looking for Swedish language training in Gothenburg or Stockholm? Have you considered 1-on-1 private lessons over Skype?

Having lessons via Skype means you save time on not commuting to class. You can pick but also vary your location. I have had students doing their lessons from home, from work, from school or university, from hotels, from the tram and bus, and while taking a walk. Needless to say; from all over the world.

Another benefit is the factor of comfort. Many of my students engage with me initially because they want to become more comfortable speaking Swedish. Especially to children and teenagers I find that a known, home environment is highly positive when taking the first steps to building a relationship with a new language as well as starting with a new teacher.

Working with Skype provides means of communication not only orally but also written, and by sharing documents and links. I give my students instant written feedback (spelling, example sentences, new vocabulary) during the whole session. It’s easy to share notes, links, documents and resources, and to go back afterwards and revise.

I might just go ahead and say it. Lessons via Skype are intense. No distractions, full focus on listening and looking at the teacher and the chat log on the screen . Sometimes we shut the camera off to further practice listening comprehension.

Contact charlotta@globatris.se for inquiries

Read more on Skype lessons with Globatris here.

Tips for learning Swedish

Teleskopord

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Teleskopord

Ibland bildas ett nytt ord genom att två eller flera ord kombineras till ett.

Det kan vara så att bara början på ett ord och slutet på ett annat finns kvar.

Delar av mitten kan ha försvunnit. Detta kallas ett teleskopord.

Exempel:

flextid = flexibel+arbetstid

friggebod = Friggebo + bod (Birgit Friggebo var bostadsminister 1979 och avskaffade bygglovsplikten för denna typ av byggnad)

hemester = hemma + semester

bankomat = bank + automat

blingon = blåbär + lingon

burkini = burka + bikini

kvirkel = kvadrat + cirkel ( en sorts superellips)

plogga = plocka skräp + jogga

 

Teleskopord kallas ofta för portmanteau words på engelska. Det svenska språket har lånat många sådana från engelskan.

Exempel:

ett motell = eng. motel (motor+hotel)

en brunch = eng. brunch (breakfast+lunch)

Vill du läsa mer om lektioner i svenska med mig? Engelsk text finns här.

Tips for learning Swedish

Alternativa ord till fint på Instagram

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Hur många gånger har du inte skrivit så fint på Instagram?

Använder du Instagram? Det kan vara ett sätt att träna din svenska. Följ några svenska konton, där det finns text och kommentarer på svenska.  Du kommenterar på svenska så klart! Läs även andras kommentarer. Här är några alternativa ord du kan använda i stället för “fint”. Pröva alla så att du lär dig dem.

Alternativa ord till "fint", till t.ex. Instagram

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