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City Infrastructure Words

The nouns of a Swedish city street, from kvarter to trottoarkant.

A walk through the Swedish city, word by word: streets and junctions, the apartment building's hidden rooms, transit and trängselskatt, out to the suburbs — kvarter to villa.

Black and white photo of "MIRE" street marking on Buenos Aires road.
Photo: Alex Dos Santos on Pexels
  1. 1

    kvarter

    block

    Tip: 'runt kvarteret' = around the block

  2. 2

    trottoar

    pavement

    Tip: 'på trottoaren'

  3. 3

    trottoarkant

    kerb

    Tip: where you scrape the wheel

  4. 4

    korsning

    junction

    Tip: 'i korsningen'

  5. 5

    enkelriktad gata

    one-way street

    Tip: a common city trap

  6. 6

    återvändsgränd

    dead end

    Tip: also figurative

  7. 7

    torg

    square

    Tip: 'på torget' = in the square

  8. 8

    innergård

    courtyard

    Tip: where the bins and bikes live

  9. 9

    port

    entrance door

    Tip: 'portkoden' = the door code

  10. 10

    källare

    basement

    Tip: where storage rooms are

  11. 11

    vind

    attic

    Tip: same word as 'wind'

  12. 12

    hiss

    lift

    Tip: often tiny in old buildings

  13. 13

    trapphus

    stairwell

    Tip: where the notices go up

  14. 14

    soprum

    bin room

    Tip: with a door tag

  15. 15

    cykelrum

    bike room

    Tip: and the annual debate about it

  16. 16

    förråd

    storage room

    Tip: comes with the flat

  17. 17

    garage

    garage

    Tip: pronounced the French way

  18. 18

    gatlykta

    street light

    Tip: on from three in the afternoon

  19. 19

    vägarbete

    road works

    Tip: every summer, everywhere

  20. 20

    omledning

    detour

    Tip: 'följ omledningen'

  21. 21

    busshållplats

    bus stop

    Tip: often shortened to 'hållplats'

  22. 22

    spårvagn

    tram

    Tip: in Gothenburg and Norrköping

  23. 23

    tunnelbana

    underground

    Tip: 'tunnelbanan' in Stockholm, 'T-banan' casually

  24. 24

    pendeltåg

    commuter train

    Tip: how the suburbs get in

  25. 25

    kö

    traffic jam

    Tip: the same word as a queue

  26. 26

    rusningstrafik

    rush hour

    Tip: seven to nine, and four to six

  27. 27

    trängselskatt

    congestion charge

    Tip: in Stockholm and Gothenburg

  28. 28

    gågata

    a pedestrian street

    Tip: cars only for deliveries

  29. 29

    galleria

    a shopping centre

    Tip: 'i gallerian'

  30. 30

    saluhall

    a market hall

    Tip: 'Östermalms saluhall'

  31. 31

    salutorg

    a public square with a market

    Tip: on Saturdays

  32. 32

    parkbänk

    a park bench

    Tip: 'sitta på en parkbänk'

  33. 33

    lekplats

    a playground

    Tip: in every neighbourhood

  34. 34

    utegym

    an outdoor gym

    Tip: free, and surprisingly used

  35. 35

    motionsspår

    a running track

    Tip: lit. 'exercise track' — lit in winter

  36. 36

    elljusspår

    lit for winter running

    Tip: lit. 'electric light track'

  37. 37

    koloniområde

    an allotment area

    Tip: with little cottages

  38. 38

    kyrkogård

    a cemetery

    Tip: often a quiet park too

  39. 39

    kyrka

    a church

    Tip: 'stadens kyrka'

  40. 40

    stadshus

    a town hall

    Tip: where weddings happen

  41. 41

    stadsdel

    a district

    Tip: 'en lugn stadsdel'

  42. 42

    förort

    a suburb

    Tip: 'ute i förorten'

  43. 43

    innerstaden

    the inner city

    Tip: 'bo i innerstaden'

  44. 44

    bostadsområde

    a housing estate

    Tip: neutral term

  45. 45

    höghus

    a high-rise

    Tip: 'ett höghus från sextiotalet'

  46. 46

    radhus

    a terraced house

    Tip: very common in Sweden

  47. 47

    villa

    a detached house

    Tip: the standard family home