In each episode, we give you a Swedish phrase, idiom or utterance, that may or may not be common, odd or historical. We then translate it and try to understand its meaning!
- Tur i oturen
- Translation: Luck in bad luck. Figuratively: to be fortunate even in an unfortunate situation
- Skita i det blå skåpet
- Translation: Poop in the blue cupboard. Fig: used when someone has gone too far and/or made a fool of himself. “He has pooped in the blue closet now!”
- Handfallen
- Translation: hand fallen. Fig: to be helpless or perplexed
- Släng dig i väggen
- Translation: Throw yourself into the wall. Fig: Take a hike, Get lost
- Lägga lök på laxen
- Translation: To put onion on the salmon. Fig: It describes an act of making something that was already bad even worse
- Ana ugglor i mossen
- Translation: To suspect that there are owls in the bog. Fig: To suspect that something isn’t right, that there’s something off. Similar to the English expression ”to smell a rat”
- Lägga näsan i blöt
- Translation: Put the nose where it’s wet. Fig: Means to care about things that is not your business
- Sätta i främsta rummet
- Translation: To place something in the first room. Fig: to make something the most important
- Ingen ko på isen (så länge rumpan är i land)
- Translation: No cow on the ice (As long as the butt is on land). Fig: “it’s not a problem” or “don’t panic” or “no hurry”
- Mycket skrik för lite ull – som bonden sa när han klippte grisen
- Translation: A lot of screaming for not a lot of wool – as the farmer said when he sheared the pig. Fig: had to put a lot of work, pain and hardship into something that in the end didn’t yield that big of a result
- Köpa grisen i säcken
- Translation: To buy the pig in the bag. Fig: to buy something without having enough information about something
- Smedens märr och bondens gluttar går bägge barfötta in Skånska or Skomakarens hustru och smedens märr äro alltid sämst skodda in Swedish.
- Translation: The blacksmith’s horse and the cobbler’s children both walk barefoot. Fig: you neglect the ones nearest to you
- Med en dåres envishet
- Translation: With the stubbornness of a fool. Fig: to persistently pursue a thankless or impossible task
- Flisan i din broders öga
- Translation: The splinter in your brother’s eye, but not the log in your own. Fig: to call out that you notice flaws, sometimes minor ones, in others, but you ignore your own shortcomings, even if they’re similar
- Kärt barn har många namn
- Translation: A dear child has many names. Fig: there are many names for something that is popular.
- Nu går skam på torra land
- Translation: Now shame walks on dry land. Fig: to have enough of something, like “the straw that broke the camel’s back”
- Tårta på tårta
- Translation: Cake upon cake. Fig: tautology
- Vi har så de understa ruttnar
- Translation: We have it so that the undermost rots. Fig: We have enough, or too much, of something
- Har man satt fan i båten får man ro honom i land
- Translation: If you’ve taken the Devil onboard in your boat, you have to row him to shore. Fig: if you’ve started something, you have to finish it, no matter how difficult it might be
- Alltid något, sa Fan när han fick se Åmål
- Translation: That’s always something, said the Devil when he saw Åmål. Fig: well, it’s at least something
- Man tager vad man haver, sa Kajsa Varg
- Translation: You take what you have, said Kajsa Wolf. Fig: you make do with what you have
- Finns det hjärterum, finns det stjärterum
- Translation: If there is room in the heart, there is room for the butt. Fig: there will always be room for someone that you hold dear
- Grädde på moset
- Translation: That was the whipped cream on the mash. Fig: “that was the cherry on the cake”, or “the icing on the cake”
- Från ax till limpa
- Translation: From ear to bread loaf (and that’s ear in the sense of the bulb on a straw, not ear as in what you hear with). Fig: to do something from beginning to end
- Alla känner apan, men apan känner ingen
- Translation: Everyone knows the monkey, but the monkey knows no one. Fig: people know you, but you don’t know them
- Står och faller
- Translation: It stands and falls with. Fig: one person’s participation is essential
- Eget beröm luktar illa
- Translation: Praise for oneself smells badly. Fig: Do not boast about your own achievements.
- Fredagsmys
- Translation: Friday cuddles. Fig: to have a nice cozy time on a Friday.
- Allt går utom små barn och tennsoldater
- Translation: Everything walks except small children and toy soldiers. Fig: Anything is possible, except a few things…
- Sent ska syndaren vakna
- Translation: Late shall the sinner awaken. Fig: that it takes a long time for people to realise their mistakes and change their ways, perhaps too long and it’s then too late
- Ja, vad fan, man var ju nykter i morse, men nu börjar det ordna upp sig. (from the movie Sällskapsresan)
- Translation: Well, what the heck, I was sober this morning, but that seems to be sorting itself out. Fig: A phrase used jokingly when you start to feel tipsy, deliberately referencing the film
- Talar man om trollen så står de i farstun
- Translation: Speak of the trolls and they stand in the hall. Fig: When you talk of something, it appears. Like the English phrase “Speak of the devil”
- Skjuta mygg med kanon
- Translation: To shoot mosquitoes with a cannon. Fig: use unnecessarily complicated methods to reach a goal
- Stockholm Syndrome
- Translation: A condition in which a hostage forms psychological ties with their captures, sometimes displaying a sense of emotional bond or even sympathies with their captors
- Bättre en fågel i handen än tio i skogen
- Translation: Better one bird in the hand than ten birds in the forest. Fig: It’s better to have a little and be sure of it, than a lot that’s uncertain.
- Var ska sleven vara om inte i gröten
- Translation: Litt: where shall the spoon be if not in the porridge. Fig: a person seeks out the place or the company where he or she feels at home
- Först till kvarn för först mala
- Translation: First to the mill gets to grind first. Fig: that who ever does something, or says something or gets somewhere first, gets to do or say or receive whatever is in question
- Finns ingen dålig väder
- Translation: There is no bad weather, just poor clothing. Fig: you can be outside no matter the weather, as long as you’re dressed appropriately
- Gå åt skogen
- Translation: Go to the forest. Fig: To end badly
- Som man bäddar får man ligga
- Translation: how you make the bed, that’s how you have to lie in it. Fig: however you prepare, that is the result you will get. Like the English “you reap what you sow”
- Björntjänst
- Translation: A Bear’s favour, or A Bear’s Service. Fig: when someone does something that is intended to be nice, but actually the result ends up hurting, or negatively affecting the person who receives the favour
- Ord och inga visor
- Translation: words and no folk songs. Fig: a firm directive, an order-statement, that something is serious
- Dans på rosor
- Translation: A dance upon roses. Fig: something going well
- Sälj inte äggen innan älgen är skjuten (Alternatively, Sälja skinnet innan björnen är skjuten.)
- Translation: Don’t sell the egg before the moose is shot (Or don’t sell the hide before the bear is shot). Fig: don’t take something for granted before the thing that needs to happen first has happened
- Ei saa peittää (the one Finnish phrase all Swedes know, which is written on the all radiators in Sweden!).
- Translation: Litt: Do not cover. No figurative meaning other than being a well-known Finnish phrase in Swedish.
- Det ligger en hund begraven
- Translation: There is a dog buried. Fig: “something’s not right” or “someone’s trying to hide something”
- Man ska inte ropa hej förrän man kommit över bäcken
- Translation: You should not shout hello until you are over the brook. Fig: you should not take anything for granted or announce anything before you are certain. Like the English “don’t count your chickens until they hatch
- Spela Allan
- Translation: To act like Allan. Fig: to act tough, or cocky, or sort of full of yourself
- När katten är borta dansar råttorna på bordet
- Translation: When the cat is gone, the rats dance on the table. Fig: When the person in charge of something is gone, then the people don’t care about doing to thing they’re meant to do.
- Hett bakom öronen
- Translation: Hot behind the ears. Fig: to end up in trouble, or to find yourself in a difficult, precarious or vulnerable situation
- Annandag Bandy
- Translation: Boxing Day Bandy. Fig: Lots of Bandy is played on Boxing Day in Sweden, so the day is called that!
- Så ska en slipsten dras
- Translation: That’s how you turn a grindstone. Fig: To do something well, to do something and achieve the result you want
- Nu är det kokta fläsket stekt
- Translation: Now the boiled pork is fried. Fig: Now something has gone really bad.
- Kasta sten i glashus
- Translation: Throw stones in a glass house. Fig: To criticise someone or something for something that you yourself have done, to be hypocritical.
- Bättre fly än illa fäkta
- Translation: Better flee than fence badly. Fig: It is better to back out or leave a situation than to handle it poorly.
- När det kommer till kritan
- Translation: When it comes to the chalk. Fig: When it comes to actually doing something. Similar to the English phrase “When push comes to shove”
- Pudelns kärna
- Translation: The core of the poodle. Fig: The heart of a matter, the essential part
- Gå i gamla hjulspår
- Translation: To walk, or go, in old tracks of a wheel. Fig: To be stuck in old ways of doing things or to keep doing things the same way they’ve always been done.
- Komma upp sig i smöret
- Translation: To get oneself up in the butter. Fig: To get in a favourable position, often financially.
- Ha häcken full
- Translation: To have the hedge full, or To have the butt full. Fig: To be busy.
- Följa till punkt och pricka
- Translation: To follow to full stop and crossing off. Fig: To follow or adhere to something strictly or carefully.
- Sitta med Svarte Petter
- Translation: To sit with Black Peter. Fig: To be the only one loosing out, or the only one blamed for a negative outcome. Similar to the English phrase “to draw the shortest straw”.
- Den enes död, den andres bröd
- Translation: One man’s death, the other’s bread. Fig: One person’s downfall or failure, can be another person’s breakthrough or success.
- Gammal kärlek rostar aldrig
- Translation: Old love never rusts. Fig: Love lasts over time and doesn’t fade.
- Passa som hand i handske
- Translation: Fit like hand in glove. Fig: To fit perfectly.
- Fan och hans moster
- Translation: The Devil and his aunt. Fig: Everybody or all included, but in a slightly negative sense.
- Kyss inte mig, kyss Karlsson
- Translation: Don’t kiss me, kiss Karlsson. Fig: Don’t praise, or credit, me – give praise to this other person.
- Det ska böjas i tid, det som krokigt ska bli
- Translation: If you want it to get crocked, you have to start bending it early. Fig: If you want to learn something, you need to start young
- Tala i nattmössan
- Translation: To talk in the nightcap. Fig: To talk nonsense.
- Som ett brev på posten
- Translation: Like a letter in the mail. Fig: It happens right away.
- Inte ha ett rött öre
- Translation: To not have a red öre. (Öre is an old Swedish coin) Fig: To not have any money
- Hänga ihop som ler och långhalm
- Translation: To stick together like clay and long straws of hay. Fig: Two things that are closely connected, or two people who stand by each other trough thick and thin.
- Inte få en syl i vädret
- Translation: To not get a awl in the weather. Fig: To not get a word in, or to not get into a conversation
- Dra åt tumskruvarna
- Translation: To pull the thumb screws tight. Fig: To put pressure on someone
- Den som väntar på något gott, väntar aldrig för länge
- Translation: The one who waits for something good, never waits for too long. Fig: You should be patient and that good things are worth waiting for.
- Lapp på luckan
- Translation: A note on the hatch. Fig: An event is sold out.
- Ha en hållhake på någon
- Translation: To have a clincher on someone. Fig: To have information about someone that can be used against them.
- Nu blommar asfalten
- Translation: Now the asphalt is blooming. Fig: An expression of surprise or disbelief.
- Små grytor har också öron
- Translation: Small pots also have ears/handles. Fig: children also hear, listen and understand things, so you want to be careful with what you say around them.
- Lägga rabarber på
- Translation: To put the rhubarbs on. Fig: To take something, to claim something as your own.
- Stöta på patrull
- Translation: To encounter a patrol. Fig: To encounter a problem or an obstacle.
- Tomma tunnor skramlar mest
- Translation: Empty barrels rattle the most. Fig: The people who know the least about something talk the most.
- Gå på en mina
- Translation: To walk on a landmine. Fig: To get in trouble.
- Han/hon är en udda fågel
- Translation: He or she is an odd, or unusual, bird. Fig: He or she is unusual, or odd, or stands out
- Polsk riksdag
- Translation: A Polish Parliament. Fig: A chaotic situation, an unruly meeting or an assembly where nothing gets done.
- Gå på pumpen
- Translation: To walk on the pump. Fig: To be fooled.
- Spela apa
- Translation: To act like a monkey. Fig: To make a fool of yourself.
- Bättre att stämma i bäcken än i ån
- Translation: Better stop the flow of water in the stream than in the river. Fig: It’s better to deal with a small problem than wait and risk it getting bigger.
- Inget kalas utan kras
- Translation: No party without something breaking in pieces. Fig: If you host a gathering, like a party of a dinner, something is bound to be dropped, or broken, or spilled.
- Hälsan tiger still
- Translation: The health stays calmly quiet. Fig: If something is well and healthy, then it doesn’t bring attention to itself.
- Sitta still i båten
- Translation: To sit still in the boat. Fig: To be calm and collected, to not panic.
- En svensk tiger
- Translation: A Swede stays silent or A Swedish tiger. Fig: The phrase comes from a WWII propaganda poster reminding people not to gossip or talk carelessly.
- Att använda både hängsle och livrem
- Translation: To use both suspenders and a belt. Fig: To be overly cautious, to use two or more things to protect or assure yourself of something, but to no real benefit.
- Smaken är som baken
- Translation: The taste is like the butt. Fig: Tastes and likes differs from person to person.
- Fastna med skägget i brevlådan
- Translation: Get the beard caught in a letterbox. Fig: To have messed with something you can’t handle, or gotten in trouble.
- Påtår
- Translation: A refill of a drink, in most cases coffee.
- Om Gud vill och skorna håller
- Translation: If God is willing and the shoes last. Fig: To express hope that something that’s going to happen will go well.
- Det är där skon klämmer
- Translation: That is where the shoe pinches. Fig: A sore spot, something that causes discomfort, often figuratively rather than physically.
- Visa var skåpet ska stå
- Translation: Show where the cabinet/cupboard, should go. Fig: To be decisive, give an order and expect people to follow.
- Liten hämnd är också hämnd, sa bonden och spottade på grannens gris
- Translation: A small revenge is also a revenge, said the farmer and spat on the neighbour’s pig. Fig: If you want to get back at someone, even doing something small, is also a way of getting revenge. But also that exerting revenge for things rarely lead to anything productive anyway
- Tröst för tigerhjärta
- Translation: Comfort for a tiger’s heart. Fig: A small, or insufficient comfort
- Mycket vill ha mer
- Translation: A lot wants more. Fig: A person who already has a lot, wants more. Indicates greed, or excessiveness in general.
- Försvinna som en måsskit i dimma
- Translation: Disappear like a seagull’s poop in fog. Fig: Disappearing quickly.
- Klämdag
- Translation: Squeeze day. Fig: A weekday that falls between a bank holiday and a weekend.
- Vabuary
- Translation: Merge of the word VAB (Vård Av Sjukt Barn/Care for Sick Child = the Swedish policy of paid leave for parents when their children are sick) and February. Fig: A lot of people are off work because their kids have colds and flus during February
- Bära hundhuvudet
- Translation: Carry the dog’s head. Fig: Be blamed for something
- Tack för maten
- Translation: Thank you for the food. Fig: Phrase Swedes say after a meal
- Lägga örat mot rälsen
- Translation: Put your ear to the tracks. Fig: Find out what is going on.
- Sätta på pottkanten
- Translation: Put on the edge of the potty. Fig: To put someone in a for them troubling or difficult situation
- Binda ris till egen rygg
- Translation: Bind brushwood for your own back. Fig: You create a situation that then backfires and affect you negatively.
- Dra öronen åt sig
- Translation: To pull your ears towards yourself. Fig: Sense that something is wrong and be careful.
- Knyta näven i fickan
- Translation: Clench you first in your pocket. Fig: Hide or hold back your disapproval.
- Hugget som stucket
- Translation: Chopped as cut. Fig: It’s the same, or it doesn’t matter.
- Lill-lördag
- Translation: Small or Little Saturday. Fig: Wednesday.
- Tack för senast
- Translation: Thank you for last time. Fig: A polite phrase used to thank someone for the good time you had last time you saw them.
- Badkruka
- Translation: Bathing pot. Fig: Someone who doesn’t like to swim in cold open watre
- Egentid
- Translation: Own time. Fig: Time to yourself, without the need to care for anyone else (usually refering to children)
- Krypa till korset
- Translation: Crawl to the cross. Fig: A person or a group that has to admit that they’re wrong.
- Lönehelg
- Translation: Salary weekend. Fig: The weekend following the 25th of the month, when most Swedish people are paid. Usually means that bars and shops are busier, because people have more money to spend.
- Prata med bönder på bönders vis
- Translation: Speak to farmers’ in farmers’ way. Fig: adapt your manner of speaking depending on your audience
- Ge igen för gammal ost
- Translation: Retaliate for old cheese. Fig: Extract revenge, to get back at someone who’s wronged you in the past
- Lördagsgodis
- Translation: Saturday sweets. Fig: A practice where parents only allow their children to eat sweets or candy on a Saturday.
- Gräva där man står
- Translation: Dig where you are standing. Fig: Do the best with what you have, with the resources you have available right now.
- Gå husesyn
- Translation: Do a house inspection. Fig: The practice of looking around someone’s home because you’ve never been there, or they’ve redecorated.
- Skilja agnarna från vetet
- Translation: Separate the chaff from the wheat. Fig: To separate those with specific value, or the very best, from the rest.
- Knyta ihop säcken
- Translation: Tie the sack up. Fig: To conclude something, especially a task that’s involved many steps.
- Känna sina pappenheimare
- Translation: To know your Pappenheimers (Pappenheimers referring to the soldiers of general Gottfried Zu Pappenheimer, a successful commander in the 30 Year’s War). Fig: To know your people, or know your team, and to know what their capable of.
GET IN TOUCH
If you want to send us some suggestions of phrases to cover, let us know!
A Flatpack History of Sweden Podcast 