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B1Swedish·50 cards

Decoding chat Swedish: abbreviations and tone

The compressed dialect of marketplace chats: abbreviations, dropped words, emoji etiquette and reading tone in five-word messages.

Marketplace chat is Swedish at its most compressed: subjects vanish, words shrink to two letters, and a thumbs-up can close a four-figure deal. This deck decodes the abbreviations and unwritten tone rules so you read — and write — chat Swedish like a native.

High-angle photo of keyboard tiles spelling HTTP on a dark background.
Photo: Miguel Á. Padriñán on Pexels
  1. 1

    Kvar?

    Is it still available? (abbreviated)

    Tip: one word suffices

  2. 2

    Japp.

    Yes. (as a complete reply)

    Tip: casual yes

  3. 3

    kan hämtas

    Can be picked up (abbreviation)

    Tip: no subject needed

  4. 4

    högstbjudande

    or best offer (abbreviation: hbj)

    Tip: sometimes 'hbj'

  5. 5

    eventuellt

    possibly / maybe (abbreviation: ev)

    Tip: ev. in ads

  6. 6

    och så vidare

    and so on (abbreviation: osv)

    Tip: osv.

  7. 7

    bland annat

    among other things (abbreviation: bl.a.)

    Tip: bl.a.

  8. 8

    till exempel

    for example (abbreviation: t.ex.)

    Tip: t.ex.

  9. 9

    angående

    regarding (ad-speak: ang.)

    Tip: ang. in subject lines

  10. 10

    Hej! Angående soffan...

    Hi! Regarding the sofa...

    Tip: the standard opener

  11. 11

    med vänlig hälsning

    mvh — best regards

    Tip: the sign-off

  12. 12

    Är 'mvh' formellt eller vardagligt?

    Is 'mvh' formal or casual?

    Tip: the eternal question

  13. 13

    Något mittemellan — alltid säkert.

    Somewhere in between — always safe.

    Tip: mittemellan

  14. 14

    Vad betyder 'pm' här?

    What does 'pm' mean here?

  15. 15

    Skicka ett privat meddelande.

    Send a private message.

    Tip: pm:a as a verb too

  16. 16

    Kan du skicka nr?

    Can you send your number? (chat style)

    Tip: nr = nummer

  17. 17

    så fort som möjligt

    ASAP, Swedish style

    Tip: sometimes 'sfsm'... rarely

  18. 18

    Intresserad.

    I'm interested. (the minimum viable message)

    Tip: one word again

  19. 19

    Skriv hela meningar och stick ut.

    Write full sentences and stand out.

    Tip: sticka ut

  20. 20

    En tumme upp räknas som ett ja.

    A thumbs-up counts as a yes.

    Tip: emoji law

  21. 21

    Smileyn mjukar upp nejet.

    The smiley softens the no.

    Tip: mjuka upp

  22. 22

    Tyvärr är priset fast :)

    Unfortunately the price is firm :)

    Tip: note the smiley

  23. 23

    Tre punkter betyder tvekan...

    Three dots mean hesitation...

    Tip: read the dots

  24. 24

    'Vi får se...' betyder nog nej.

    'We'll see...' means probably no.

    Tip: decode it

  25. 25

    Korta svar är inte oartiga här.

    Short answers aren't rude here.

    Tip: cultural note

  26. 26

    De är bara effektiva.

    They're just efficient.

  27. 27

    Men ett 'tack' skadar aldrig.

    But a 'thanks' never hurts.

  28. 28

    Svara inom ett dygn, annars ryker affären.

    Reply within a day, or lose the deal.

    Tip: ryka = go up in smoke

  29. 29

    Sett men obesvarat säger mycket.

    Seen but unanswered speaks loudly.

    Tip: obesvarat

  30. 30

    Att dubbeltexta är okej efter två dagar.

    Double-texting is okay after two days.

    Tip: the etiquette window

  31. 31

    En vänlig påminnelse: fortfarande intresserad!

    A friendly reminder: still interested!

    Tip: påminnelse

  32. 32

    Röstmeddelanden är för vänner, inte affärer.

    Voice messages are for friends, not deals.

    Tip: unwritten rule

  33. 33

    Håll allt skriftligt.

    Keep everything in writing.

    Tip: for your own sake

  34. 34

    Chatten är ditt kvitto.

    The chat is your receipt.

  35. 35

    Bekräfta överenskommelser med en sammanfattning.

    Confirm agreements with a summary.

    Tip: big word alert

  36. 36

    Alltså: 400, lördag klockan 14, Storgatan 5.

    So: 400, Saturday 2 pm, Storgatan 5.

    Tip: the summary line

  37. 37

    Precis rätt. Vi ses då!

    Exactly right. See you then!

  38. 38

    Nytt meddelande: 'Hej, finns den kvar?'

    New message: 'Hi, is it left?'

    Tip: the cycle continues

  39. 39

    Autokorren gjorde det till 'Finns det öl?'

    Autocorrect made it 'Is it beer?'

    Tip: it happens

  40. 40

    Haha, ingen öl, bara en bokhylla.

    Haha, no beer, just a bookshelf.

    Tip: roll with it

  41. 41

    Humor stänger också affärer.

    Humor closes deals too.

  42. 42

    Skriv som en människa, inte som en mall.

    Write like a human, not a template.

    Tip: mall = template

  43. 43

    Varje chatt är en liten språkkurs.

    Every chat is a tiny language course.

    Tip: meta again

  44. 44

    Gratis svensklektioner på köpet.

    Free Swedish lessons with every purchase.

    Tip: på köpet again

  45. 45

    Spara dina favoritfraser.

    Save your favorite phrases.

    Tip: build your toolkit

  46. 46

    Snart skriver du fortare än du pratar.

    Soon you'll write faster than you speak.

    Tip: chat fluency

  47. 47

    Chattsvenska är riktig svenska.

    Chat Swedish is real Swedish.

    Tip: don't let anyone say otherwise

  48. 48

    Bara snabbare, mindre och med fler tummar.

    Just faster, smaller and with more thumbs.

  49. 49

    Kvar? Japp. Kör.

    Kvar? Japp. Deal.

    Tip: the whole deck in 3 words

  50. 50

    mvh, din framtida affärspartner

    mvh, your future deal partner