In Swedish nouns have two genders, common and neuter. These genders are signified by the indefinite articles: en and ett. The majority of nouns in Swedish are common gender, so they take the indefinite article en.
En is used with most of the nouns (words denoting people almost always use en), but you will just have to learn which article goes with which noun. The definite article (the) is not a separate word like in most other languages. It is simply a form of the indefinite article attached to the end of the noun.
En words:
Indefinite
en banan = a banana
en stol = a chair
en gata = a street
Definite
bananen = the banana
stolen = the chair
gaten = the street
Ett words:
Indefinite
ett bord = a table
ett kök = a kitchen
ett äpple = an apple
Definite
bordet = the table
köket = the kitchen
äpplet = the apple
This, that, these and those are expressed in Swedish by using den, det or de plus the word här (here) and där (there). The noun is always in the definite form after these demonstratives. And if any adjectives follow the demonstrative, they must add an -a to the ending.
En words:
this / these - den här biljetten = this ticket
that / those - den där biljetten = that ticket
Ett words:
this / these - det här tåget = this train
that / those - det där tåget = that train
Plural words:
this / these - de här biljetterna = these tickets
that / those - de där tågen = those trains
28 October 2009
24 October 2009
Alphabet and Pronounciation
In my previous post I and a list of some basic phrases, but now for the hard part... how are those phrases pronounced? Swedish pronounciation can be somewhat tricky.
Lets first look at the Swedish alphabet, which consists of 29 letters:
Aa Bb Cc Dd Ee Ff Gg Hh Ii Jj Kk Ll Mm Nn Oo Pp Qq Rr Ss Tt Uu Vv Ww Xx Yy Zz Åå Ää Öö
I am sure that you noticed there were some letters that are not in the English alphabet - Åå Ää Öö
These letters are pronounced as follows:
å when short as in hot, when long as in raw.
ä when before r as in man; otherwise as in get.
ö as in fur but without the r sound.
The rest of the letters are pronounced as follows:
Some the letters in the Swedish alphabet are pronounced roughly as they would be in English. The others are pronounced as follows:
A a is different depending on whether the quantity of the vowel is long or short. When long, the letter is pronounced approximately like the "a" in the English word "far". When short, the letter is pronounced approximately like the "a" in "thank you".
C c is usually pronounced as "s" before "e", "i", "y", "ä", and "ö", and otherwise pronounced as "k".
D d is pronounced almost as in English, except that the tongue should not be half-curled back.
E e is pronounced as in the English word "deck", even when long; that is, never like "e" in English "be" or "deep".
G g is pronounced hard, like English "g" before "a", "o", "u", and "å", and soft before "e", "i", "y", "ä", and "ö". After the sound "l" or "r" in the same syllable "g" is usually pronounced as "j" as well. In other cases, it is usually pronounced as "g".
I i is pronounced as English "e" in "be".
J j is pronounced as English "y" in "yawn". Never as "j" in "jaw".
K k is pronounced as a soft "ch" before "e", "i", "y", "ä", "ö", and otherwise as an English "k".
L l is pronounced as in English, except that when the sound is made (with the tip of the tongue touching the upper palate) the tongue should not be half-curled back, as in English, but straight.
O o is, depending on context, pronounced as either "oo" in English "too" (usually when the sound is long), or "o" in English "for" (usually when short).
Q q is a very rare letter in Swedish. The sound of "qu" or "qv" is equivalent to Swedish "kv".
R r is normally pronounced with a very slight quiver of the tongue; more distinct than is normal in English.
T t is pronounced almost as in English, except that the tongue should not be half-curled back.
U u in Swedish is pronounced in a way that is somewhat difficult to describe with reference to English. Closest is perhaps the "o" in English "two", "too" and "you".
W w is pronounced as "v".
Y y is pronounced almost as "y" in English names such as "Teddy", both when long and when short. It is never pronounced as the "y" in "reply".
Z z, it is usually pronounced as English "s".
You can also listen to the pronounciation at the link provided but bear in mind that the audio may sound a little distorted and this might make it hard for you to get the right impression of the sound.
http://swedishalphabet.tripod.com/alpha.swf
Lets first look at the Swedish alphabet, which consists of 29 letters:
Aa Bb Cc Dd Ee Ff Gg Hh Ii Jj Kk Ll Mm Nn Oo Pp Qq Rr Ss Tt Uu Vv Ww Xx Yy Zz Åå Ää Öö
I am sure that you noticed there were some letters that are not in the English alphabet - Åå Ää Öö
These letters are pronounced as follows:
å when short as in hot, when long as in raw.
ä when before r as in man; otherwise as in get.
ö as in fur but without the r sound.
The rest of the letters are pronounced as follows:
Some the letters in the Swedish alphabet are pronounced roughly as they would be in English. The others are pronounced as follows:
A a is different depending on whether the quantity of the vowel is long or short. When long, the letter is pronounced approximately like the "a" in the English word "far". When short, the letter is pronounced approximately like the "a" in "thank you".
C c is usually pronounced as "s" before "e", "i", "y", "ä", and "ö", and otherwise pronounced as "k".
D d is pronounced almost as in English, except that the tongue should not be half-curled back.
E e is pronounced as in the English word "deck", even when long; that is, never like "e" in English "be" or "deep".
G g is pronounced hard, like English "g" before "a", "o", "u", and "å", and soft before "e", "i", "y", "ä", and "ö". After the sound "l" or "r" in the same syllable "g" is usually pronounced as "j" as well. In other cases, it is usually pronounced as "g".
I i is pronounced as English "e" in "be".
J j is pronounced as English "y" in "yawn". Never as "j" in "jaw".
K k is pronounced as a soft "ch" before "e", "i", "y", "ä", "ö", and otherwise as an English "k".
L l is pronounced as in English, except that when the sound is made (with the tip of the tongue touching the upper palate) the tongue should not be half-curled back, as in English, but straight.
O o is, depending on context, pronounced as either "oo" in English "too" (usually when the sound is long), or "o" in English "for" (usually when short).
Q q is a very rare letter in Swedish. The sound of "qu" or "qv" is equivalent to Swedish "kv".
R r is normally pronounced with a very slight quiver of the tongue; more distinct than is normal in English.
T t is pronounced almost as in English, except that the tongue should not be half-curled back.
U u in Swedish is pronounced in a way that is somewhat difficult to describe with reference to English. Closest is perhaps the "o" in English "two", "too" and "you".
W w is pronounced as "v".
Y y is pronounced almost as "y" in English names such as "Teddy", both when long and when short. It is never pronounced as the "y" in "reply".
Z z, it is usually pronounced as English "s".
You can also listen to the pronounciation at the link provided but bear in mind that the audio may sound a little distorted and this might make it hard for you to get the right impression of the sound.
http://swedishalphabet.tripod.com/alpha.swf
Some basic phrases
God morgon = Good Morning
Hej / Goddag = Hello / Good Day
God kväll = Good Evening
God natt = Good Night
Hej då / Adjö (more formal) = Goodbye
Var snäll = Please
Tack (så mycket) = Thank you (very much)
Ingen orsak / Var så god = Don't mention it / You're welcome
Ja / Nej = Yes / No
Herr / Fru / Fröken = Mister / Misses / Miss
Hur är det? / Hur har du det? = How are you?
Hur mår du? = How are you? (How are you feeling?)
Bra = Good / Fine
Inte så bra. = Not so good
Vad heter du? = What's your name?
Vad är ditt namn? = What's your name?
Jag heter... = I am called...
Mitt namn är... = My name is...
Trevligt att träffas! = Pleased to meet you!
Välkommen! = Welcome!
Varifrån kommer du? = Where are you from?
Jag kommer från... = I'm from...
Var bor du? = Where do you live?
Jag bor i... = I live in...
Hur gammal är du? = How old are you?
Jag är ___ år (gammal). = I am ____ years old.
Talar du svenska? = Do you speak Swedish?
Jag talar englska. = I speak English.
Ja, lite grann. = Yes, a little bit.
Nej, inte alls. = No, not at all.
Jag förstår [inte.] = I [don't] understand.
Jag vet [inte.] = I [don't] know.
Ursäkta / Förlåt = Excuse me / Pardon me
Ha det så bra! = Take care!
Vi ses senare / snart = See you later / soon
Hej / Hej då = Hi / Bye
Jag älskar dig. = I love you.
Jag saknar dig. = I miss you.
Hej / Goddag = Hello / Good Day
God kväll = Good Evening
God natt = Good Night
Hej då / Adjö (more formal) = Goodbye
Var snäll = Please
Tack (så mycket) = Thank you (very much)
Ingen orsak / Var så god = Don't mention it / You're welcome
Ja / Nej = Yes / No
Herr / Fru / Fröken = Mister / Misses / Miss
Hur är det? / Hur har du det? = How are you?
Hur mår du? = How are you? (How are you feeling?)
Bra = Good / Fine
Inte så bra. = Not so good
Vad heter du? = What's your name?
Vad är ditt namn? = What's your name?
Jag heter... = I am called...
Mitt namn är... = My name is...
Trevligt att träffas! = Pleased to meet you!
Välkommen! = Welcome!
Varifrån kommer du? = Where are you from?
Jag kommer från... = I'm from...
Var bor du? = Where do you live?
Jag bor i... = I live in...
Hur gammal är du? = How old are you?
Jag är ___ år (gammal). = I am ____ years old.
Talar du svenska? = Do you speak Swedish?
Jag talar englska. = I speak English.
Ja, lite grann. = Yes, a little bit.
Nej, inte alls. = No, not at all.
Jag förstår [inte.] = I [don't] understand.
Jag vet [inte.] = I [don't] know.
Ursäkta / Förlåt = Excuse me / Pardon me
Ha det så bra! = Take care!
Vi ses senare / snart = See you later / soon
Hej / Hej då = Hi / Bye
Jag älskar dig. = I love you.
Jag saknar dig. = I miss you.
23 October 2009
Welcome!
Hi all,
I recently moved to Sweden and to be able to face life here head on I will obviously need to learn the language!
The easiest way for me to do this is one step at a time with various online resources as well as additional lessons that I will be taking in the near future at the Folks Universitet (University of the People) in Gothenburg and then of coarse with the help of my Swedish speaking boyfriend and his family.
Join me and together we can learn this very interesting and somewhat advanced language. I will share what I get to learn and hopefully you will find it useful as well.
Enjoy!
Regards,
Janita
I recently moved to Sweden and to be able to face life here head on I will obviously need to learn the language!
The easiest way for me to do this is one step at a time with various online resources as well as additional lessons that I will be taking in the near future at the Folks Universitet (University of the People) in Gothenburg and then of coarse with the help of my Swedish speaking boyfriend and his family.
Join me and together we can learn this very interesting and somewhat advanced language. I will share what I get to learn and hopefully you will find it useful as well.
Enjoy!
Regards,
Janita
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