Tag Archives: svenska

Swedish traditions & culture

Mellan hägg och syren

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The Swedish expression “mellan hägg och syren” really says it all. It is an expression rich in scent and joy.

I love this time of the year. Late spring (which came early this year) that promises a long, beautiful summer with endless time outdoors. The shades of green are soft and crisp; the white blossoms are abundant and simply breathtaking, and sometimes the white petals fall graciously through the air like soft snow.

It is the time “between Bird Cherry and Lilac” – “mellan hägg och syren”. The expression is said to originate from a cobbler’s sign saying his shop was closed “mellan hägg och syren”.

The Bird Cherry is in full bloom (depending on where in Sweden you are) and we are awaiting the Lilacs. Both add a wonderful scent to the gardens and the neighborhood.

Another word describing this time of the year is “försommar” – “pre-summer”

Swedish traditions & culture, Tips for learning Swedish

Låtsas som det regnar

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När man säger “låtsas som det regnar” menar man att ge sken av att allt är som det ska. / låtsas som det regnar = carry on as not to attract attention, when there is really something else going on

Exempel:

“Jag ropar på henne, men hon svarar inte utan låtsas som det regnar.”

“Kungen råkade göra sönder en antik vas, men gick vidare och låtsades som att det regnade.”

Swedish traditions & culture, Tips for learning Swedish

Barka åt skogen

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Att barka åt skogen betyder att någonting är på väg att gå helt fel.

“Att barka åt skogen” means that something is about to go totally wrong.

Exempel:

Det här projektet barkar åt skogen!

Bjudningen barkade åt skogen redan från start.

Följ Globatris instagram för fler tips för att öva svenska.

https://www.instagram.com/p/Brm1XTegbFp/?utm_source=ig_share_sheet&igshid=1rzjqqpiv5cmc

Tips for learning Swedish

SVT Språkplay to help with Swedish

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Watching TV or movies is a good way of learning a language. You

  • practice listening skills
  • you can read the subtitles to practice …
  • … and see spelling to  understand how to connect sounds and writing.
  • You also learn about the culture (that is if you are watching a program made in the country of your target language), which is a significant part of learning a language.

You probably know that SVT, the Swedish Public Television, has an app and a website called SVT Play, where you can find and watch programs in every possible category. Not all are eligible though to be broadcasted outside of Sweden due to legal rights.

However this post is about SVT Språkplay. It is an app initiated by SVT, aimed at learners of the Swedish language, predominantly newly arrived, immigrants and refugees. Språkplay is only available in Sweden.

Using SVT Språkplay you get suggestions regarding what to watch as a learner. There are captions in which you can click, look up and save words according to your current level (A1-C2) of Swedish. The words are color coded; green means you know the word already, yellow is for learning right now and will also include the word in a test you can take, and red is for learning later. You can change the color of the words yourself.

The app contains 18 of the most common immigrant languages in Sweden.

App store:

SVT Språkplay 

Pictures from the app:

Swedish traditions & culture, Tips for learning Swedish

“Vabruari”

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Välkommen februari; but please stay away vabruari

February in Sweden is a month of both pleasure and pain – pleasure as in winter break (Sportlov) with possible skiing, and pain as in the month when kids apparently get sick the most – it is the peak month of parents staying at home from work to care for sick children.

The winter break is known as Sportlov, and occurs from week 7 to week 12 depending on where in Sweden you live. If the Sportlov is in February we also call it Februarilov. Week numbers? What?

Ok; back to the topic of February. Recall the sick children?

When parents take leave of absence from work to care for a sick child it is called

“Vård av sjukt barn.” = care of sick child in Swedish.

An abbreviation hereof is VAB (Vård Av sjukt Barn)

In everyday Swedish language these words have become a verb; “att vabba” = to “vabba”

“Jag måste vabba idag” means that I have to take leave of absence to care for my sick kid; well, you get the picture; we need a shorter way of saying it since a sick child leaves little room for long talks.

Remember the word februari (=the month of February) from the text above? Put together what you have learnt from the info above and you will understand why we sometimes jokingly refer to it as “vabruari”. Even if it is no joke.

And yes, I posted a photo of my tulips instead of a sick child.

Tips for learning Swedish

svenska ordböcker Swedish dictionaries

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3 svenska ordböcker på en gång! / 3 Swedish dictionaries at one glance

Sök ett ord på svenska och få svar i alla tre böcker. / Look up a word and it is generated in all three.

This is a handy one, and something I have been missing. I use SAOL (Svenska Akademiens Ordlista),  mostly the app version, and I recommend it to my customers however there is far from always the explanation of a word that my students need. The SO provides that. It also gives you the pronunciation if you click the loudspeaker symbol. The SAOL however contains more grammar so you would want both. SAOL and SO come as apps, but using the website below gives you all three at the same time.

As an example I have typed the word “fönster” in the search field.

svenska ordlistor
svenska ordlistor

SAOL – en ordlista / look up a word; pronunciation, inflection and declension etc.

SO – en ordbok / a thesaurus; the meaning of a word

SAOB  en historisk ordbok / a historical wordbook, origins, etymology

Find the website here https://svenska.se/

Tips for learning Swedish

Att dreja

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att dreja = to throw/make pottery

Exempel i olika tempus:

Vet du hur man drejar?

I augusti provade jag att dreja. Jag hade inte drejat sedan jag var liten.

Jag drejade en tekopp. 

Här har det drejats i dag! 

Relaterade ord: 

en drejskiva = the turning plate used for throwing pottery

en drejare = en person som drejar 

en drejning = a throwing

att dreja bi = to slow down the speed when sailing

Swedish traditions & culture, Tips for learning Swedish

Att bo i Sverige – lägenheter och hus

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Vill du bo i Sverige? Söker du efter någonstans att bo?

Det finns olika bostadsformer i Sverige. Du måste känna till dessa.

Det finns t.ex. hyresrätt och bostadsrätt. Kan du skillnaden mellan hyresrätt och bostadsrätt?

Vad ingår i en hyra? Måste du betala extra för elektricitet? Det finns många frågor.

Finansinspektionen har gjort ett studiematerial. Här kan du lära dig om boende. Du kan samtidigt öva svenska. Det finns filmer, text (faktablad) och övningar.

Materialet passar för att öva svenska även om du inte letar efter ett hus eller lägenhet! Du kan öva ord, att lyssna och att läsa en text. Du kan svara på frågor.

Filmer

Boendeformer 1.1
Boendeformer 1.2
Boendeformer 1.3

Läs Faktablad

Läs och svara på frågor http://www.sfiekonomi.se/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/Övningar_Kapitel_1.pdf