Holiday Slang
Sol, bad, semester — the casual words of a Swedish summer abroad.
The Swedish beach holiday as it's actually spoken, in trip order: the gear, the sun worship and its casualties (kräftröd, bondbränna, fjällig), the daily rhythm from morgondopp to en sista vid poolen, the buffet and the budget (slut på onsdagen), and the flight home into semesterdepp. Casual register throughout — this is towel-talk, not brochure Swedish.
- 1
semesterkassa
holiday money
Tip: casual
- 2
solkräm
sun cream
Tip: neutral
- 3
faktor trettio
factor thirty
Tip: casual
- 4
solglasögon
sunglasses
Tip: neutral
- 5
badbyxor
swimming trunks
Tip: neutral-casual
- 6
baddräkt
a swimming costume
Tip: neutral
- 7
bikini
a bikini
Tip: neutral
- 8
flip-flops
flip-flops
Tip: casual; English loan
- 9
badlakan
a beach towel
Tip: neutral-casual; lit. 'bath sheet'
- 10
kylväska
a cool bag
Tip: neutral
- 11
solen
the sun
Tip: neutral; the thing everyone came for
- 12
sola
to sunbathe
Tip: casual; a verb in its own right
- 13
ett bad
a swim
Tip: casual; the noun and the activity
- 14
ett morgondopp
a dip before breakfast
Tip: casual
- 15
en solstol
a sun lounger
Tip: neutral-casual
- 16
handduksstrid
towel wars
Tip: casual, joking; six in the morning
- 17
en skuggplats
a shady spot
Tip: casual
- 18
stekhett
boiling hot
Tip: casual; lit. 'frying hot'
- 19
proppfullt
crowded
Tip: casual
- 20
en glass
an ice cream
Tip: casual; nothing to do with 'glas'
- 21
en kall bärs
a cold beer
Tip: casual
- 22
en siesta
a siesta
Tip: casual; adopted enthusiastically
- 23
tidig middag
an early dinner
Tip: casual; Swedes eat at six abroad too
- 24
en sista vid poolen
a nightcap by the pool
Tip: casual
- 25
chill
chilled out
Tip: youth, casual; English loan
- 26
en latmansdag
a lazy day
Tip: casual
- 27
brun
tanned
Tip: casual; 'blir du brun?' is a real question
- 28
bränd
burnt
Tip: casual
- 29
kräftröd
lobster red
Tip: casual; lit. 'crayfish red'
- 30
fjällig
peeling
Tip: casual
- 31
solbrännerand
a tan line
Tip: casual
- 32
bondbränna
a farmer's tan
Tip: casual, teasing
- 33
buffén
the buffet
Tip: neutral
- 34
överäta
to eat too much
Tip: casual
- 35
bakis vid poolen
a hangover by the pool
Tip: casual
- 36
en semesterflirt
a holiday romance
Tip: casual
- 37
slut på onsdagen
blown by Wednesday
Tip: casual
- 38
en taxfree-påse
a duty-free bag
Tip: casual
- 39
samma toblerone som alltid
the same toblerone as always
Tip: casual
- 40
hemresan
the flight home
Tip: neutral
- 41
en väska full med sand
a suitcase full of sand
Tip: casual
- 42
tvätten på måndagen
the washing on Monday
Tip: casual; the real end of the holiday
- 43
tillbaka till jobbet
back to work
Tip: neutral
- 44
semesterdepp
holiday blues
Tip: casual
- 45
semesterabstinens
post-holiday blues
Tip: casual; lit. 'holiday withdrawal'
- 46
värt varenda krona
worth every krona
Tip: casual