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B2Swedish·50 cards

Everyday Slang You Will Hear

Informal Swedish that textbooks skip — with register notes.

The Swedish nobody teaches you but everyone speaks — one evening with the gang, in order: the greetings (tja, läget?), the filler words that make you sound local (typ, liksom, du vet), the judgment scale from skitbra to skitdåligt, money and food slang, the night out, and the exit ritual (nu drar vi — vi hörs). Learn the fillers last, deploy them sparingly, sound ten years younger.

Close-up of a lightbox displaying the text TTYL, set on a wood surface against a black background.
Photo: Renee B on Pexels
  1. 1

    tja

    hi

    Tip: Casual greeting, very common.

  2. 2

    tjena

    hey

    Tip: Casual, slightly more.

  3. 3

    läget?

    alright?

    Tip: lit. 'the situation?' — standard casual greeting.

  4. 4

    allt bra

    all good

    Tip: Standard reply.

  5. 5

    det rullar på

    not bad

    Tip: Idiomatic informal.

  6. 6

    hänga

    to hang out

    Tip: Very common.

  7. 7

    polare

    mate

    Tip: Warm informal.

  8. 8

    gänget

    the gang

    Tip: Everyday.

  9. 9

    du vet

    you know

    Tip: Filler.

  10. 10

    typ

    really

    Tip: Filler word, ubiquitous among young people.

  11. 11

    liksom

    sort of

    Tip: Filler, all ages.

  12. 12

    visst

    sure

    Tip: Everyday.

  13. 13

    asklart

    obviously

    Tip: Slangy intensifier.

  14. 14

    vänta lite

    hang on

    Tip: Everyday.

  15. 15

    skit samma

    whatever

    Tip: Mildly coarse.

  16. 16

    strunt i det

    never mind

    Tip: Neutral informal.

  17. 17

    lugnt

    no worries

    Tip: Very common.

  18. 18

    ingen fara

    it's fine

    Tip: Everyday.

  19. 19

    grymt

    awesome

    Tip: lit. 'cruel' — means great.

  20. 20

    sjukt bra

    sick (good)

    Tip: Youth intensifier.

  21. 21

    skitbra

    really good

    Tip: Informal intensifier.

  22. 22

    skitdåligt

    terrible

    Tip: Same prefix, negative.

  23. 23

    najs

    cool

    Tip: English loan, informal.

  24. 24

    snyggt

    nice one

    Tip: lit. 'neat' — praise.

  25. 25

    skumt

    weird

    Tip: Everyday informal.

  26. 26

    skumt ställe

    dodgy

    Tip: Same word, of places.

  27. 27

    jobbigt

    annoying

    Tip: Extremely common.

  28. 28

    tungt

    exhausting

    Tip: Of situations.

  29. 29

    ett krångel

    a hassle

    Tip: Everyday.

  30. 30

    en röra

    a mess

    Tip: Everyday.

  31. 31

    pank

    broke

    Tip: Informal.

  32. 32

    rik som ett troll

    loaded

    Tip: Idiomatic, jokey.

  33. 33

    snål

    cheap

    Tip: Of a person, mildly critical.

  34. 34

    ett fynd

    a bargain

    Tip: Neutral informal.

  35. 35

    käk

    food

    Tip: Slang noun.

  36. 36

    käka

    to eat

    Tip: Slang verb.

  37. 37

    en macka

    a sandwich

    Tip: Standard informal.

  38. 38

    fika

    coffee break

    Tip: Untranslatable, essential.

  39. 39

    en öl

    a beer

    Tip: Standard.

  40. 40

    en utekväll

    a night out

    Tip: Everyday.

  41. 41

    bakis

    hungover

    Tip: Informal.

  42. 42

    dötrött

    tired out

    Tip: Informal intensifier.

  43. 43

    dra

    to bail

    Tip: lit. 'to pull' — to leave.

  44. 44

    nu drar vi

    let's go

    Tip: Extremely common.

  45. 45

    fixat

    sorted

    Tip: Everyday.

  46. 46

    klart

    done

    Tip: Everyday.

  47. 47

    tack ska du ha

    cheers

    Tip: Warm informal thanks.

  48. 48

    vi hörs

    see you

    Tip: lit. 'we'll hear each other'.

  49. 49

    vi ses

    speak later

    Tip: Universal sign-off.

  50. 50

    hejdå

    bye

    Tip: Universal.