How to Say Hello in Swedish

Greeting Other People

Say hej to greet people in most situations. As in English, there are many different words and phrases you can use to say "hello" in Swedish. However, hej is the most commonly used. Since it's suitable for any situation, it's really the only word you need. You may also hear hallå (hah-loh), which is another common way of saying "hello" (and sounds much like the English word).Tip: Swedish speakers believe a greeting sounds happier and friendlier if you repeat it twice. So if you want to let someone you greet know you're in a good mood, say hej hej!

Use tjenare (SHEH-nah-reh) or tja (sheh) when greeting a close buddy. This greeting is similar to saying "hey" or "hi" in English. It's a common greeting among friends or people your own age. Tjenare or tja are also appropriate in more casual settings. You typically wouldn't use this greeting if you were applying for a job, or talking to someone in a position of authority over you, such as a teacher or a police officer. However, since Swedish is a relatively informal language, it's considered okay in most other situations.

Wish elderly people god dag (good dahg) to be more respectful. Swedes are relatively informal people generally, but many older people prefer to be addressed with a more formal greeting than hej. God dag means "good day," but is used more similarly to the phrase "how do you do" in English. This phrase might also be used on more formal occasions, or when you're addressing someone in a position of authority. Similarly, god kväll (good kvail), which means "good evening," is reserved solely for the most formal of situations, and rarely used in day-to-day conversations.

Vary your greeting with god morgon (good mor-rohn). Before noon, but especially in the early morning, it's still common in Swedish to say "good morning" as a greeting. This greeting is appropriate in both formal and informal settings. You can combine god morgon with hej, especially if you're greeting someone with whom you're already familiar. For example, you might say "Hej hej! God morgon!"

Ask hur har du det to inquire after the person's wellbeing. This phrase is relatively informal, but is perhaps the most common way in Swedish to ask "How are you?" A literal translation would be "How have you it?" It's also common to ask Hur är lä get? This phrase means "how is the situation," and is a bit more informal than hur har du det. If you are friends with the person or know them fairly well, you can abbreviate the phrase further and simply say Lä get?Typical Response: Bara, bra, tack. This phrase means "I'm fine, thank you." It is used regardless of the type of phrase used to ask "How are you?"

Say hej då (hey doh) when taking your leave. There's no specific word for "goodbye" in Swedish. Hej då is the most common thing to say when parting ways, but some Swedes also simply say hej again. A literal translation for hej då is "hello then." Adjö (ah-dieu) is also used. This is a very formal, dismissive goodbye, similar to how you might say "good day" in English. Note that it sounds similar to the French word "adieu." Farväl (fahr-vehl), which means "farewell," is considered antiquated and not used very often. However, it can be a fun way to part ways if you're feeling particularly dramatic. You could perhaps accompany the word with a deep bow.

Introducing Yourself

Familiarize yourself with personal pronouns in Swedish. Jag (yahg) is the first person pronoun in Swedish, while du (similar to the English word "dew") is the second person pronoun. Swedish also has a formal second-person pronoun, ni (nee), but it is rarely used in modern Swedish, except perhaps when addressing an elderly person. The u sound in Swedish doesn't have an exact English counterpart. To pronounce words such as du, place your tongue in the same place you would if making a y sound, but round your lips more while making an ooo or eww sound. Han (hahn) is Swedish for "he," while hon (hoon) is Swedish for "her."

Use the phrase jag heter (yahg hay-tuhr) to tell people your name. The phrase jag heter literally means "I am called." Follow this phrase with your name. As Swedish is a relatively informal language and culture, you typically would introduce yourself with your first name only. Native Swedish speakers tend to run the words together. When you do this, the g sound becomes less pronounced. The phrase ends up sounding more like "yah-yay-tuhr." To ask the other person their name, you would say Vad heter du? (vahd hay-tuhr dew). You can also say och du (ahk dew) after introducing yourself, which simply means "and you?"Tip: Verbs such as heter and kommer always take the same form in Swedish. You don't have to worry about conjugating them, regardless of the pronoun used.

Say jag kommer från to tell people where you're from. After telling someone your name, the next thing they'll likely want to know is where you're from. Follow the phrase jag kommer från (yahg kohm-mehr frohn) with the name of your home country. You can provide the name of your country in Swedish, or you can just use English. You'll likely be understood either way. For example, if you wanted to say "I'm from the United States," you could either say Jag kommer från Amérika, Jag kommer från USA, or Jag kommer från United States. To ask the other person where they are from, say Varifån kommer du?

Making Basic Conversation

Let people know that you don't speak much Swedish. Most Swedes will be impressed that you've tried to learn a little of their language. Say jag talar bara lite svenska (yahg tah-lahr boh-rah lee-teh svehn-skuh) to mean "I only speak a little Swedish." Most Swedes also speak English. Just ask Talar du engelska? (tahlahr dew ehn-yeel-skuh) This means "Do you speak English?" If you're talking to someone who doesn't understand English very well, you might ask var kan jag hitta någon som talar engelska? (vohr kohn yahg hee-tuh noh-gahn tah-lahr ehn-yeel-skuh) This means "Where can I find someone who speaks English?" If the person you're talking to says something in Swedish that you don't understand, say jag förstår inte (yahg fuhrstoyr een-tay), which means "I don't understand."

Explain that you are learning Swedish. Since most Swedes speak English, they will likely start speaking to you in English if they sense that English is your first language. If you would prefer they speak to you in Swedish, you can say du kan prata svenska med mig, which means "you can speak Swedish with me." You can also try öva svenska med mig, which means "practice Swedish with me."

Ask direct questions to get help with directions or other information. Particularly if you are traveling in Sweden, keep in mind that Swedes typically avoid small talk. Unless you have something specific to ask someone, most Swedes see no point in chatting idly with strangers. However, they'll usually be happy to help you if you have a specific thing you want to know. Start by learning the basic question words: vem (vehm) means "who," vad (vahd) means "what," när (nahr) means "when," varför means "why," (vahr-fuhr) and hur (hoor) means "how." There are two Swedish words for "where." Use vart (vahrt) when you're talking about where someone is going, and var (vahr) when you're talking about where someone currently is. However, you'll find little distinction between the two words when speaking in Swedish.Common Questions in Swedish: Var ligger toaletten? means "Where is the toilet?" Hur mycket kostar det? means "How much is it?" You can also ask Vad kostar den? which means "How much is this?"

Mind your manners by saying tack (tahk). In Swedish, the word tack is used to mean both "please" and "thank you," depending on the situation. When asking someone a question, it's generally considered polite to tack the word tack onto the end of your question. Snälla (snell-lah) is another word for "please," considered more informal than tack. Varsågod (vahr-sah-good) means "you're welcome," while förlåt (fuhr-loit) means "sorry." Ursäkta (uhr-shehk-tuh) means "excuse me." The phrase would literally be ursäkta mig, but the mig is not necessary in Swedish.

Use ja, nej, or kanske to answer basic yes/no questions. If you're conversing with someone, they may ask you simple questions that can be answered yes or no. If your answer is "yes," say ja (yah). Use nej to answer "no," or kanske (kan-sheh) to answer "maybe." You might also say jag vet inte (yahg veht een-tay), which means "I don't know." If you need the person to repeat what they've said, say förlåt. It means "sorry," but in this context, it would be understood to mean "please say that again."