Using an interpreter: rights and practical tips
Useful sentences about your right to an interpreter, how interpreted meetings work, and what to say when something goes wrong.
These sentences cover the whole picture: asking in advance, your rights with healthcare, police and schools, how a professional interpreter works, and what to do when the sound is bad or the dialect is wrong.
- 1
Jag skulle behöva en tolk till mötet.
I would need an interpreter for the meeting.
Tip: Conditional is softer than 'I need'. 'For the meeting' uses the preposition for 'to'.
- 2
Kan ni boka en tolk åt mig?
Can you book an interpreter for me?
Tip: Plural 'you' when addressing an office. 'For me' = on my behalf.
- 3
Meddela oss i god tid om du behöver tolk.
Let us know in good time if you need an interpreter.
Tip: Typical line in appointment letters.
- 4
Jag vill ha tolk även om jag förstår lite svenska.
I want an interpreter even though I understand some Swedish.
Tip: 'Even if/even though' is one fixed two-word phrase.
- 5
Jag pratar helst svenska, men jag vill ha tolken med som stöd.
I'd rather speak Swedish, but I want the interpreter there as backup.
Tip: 'Rather' is an adverb in Swedish: 'speak preferably'.
- 6
Myndigheter ska använda tolk när det behövs.
Authorities should use an interpreter when it's needed.
Tip: The last verb is passive: 'is needed'.
- 7
Vården ska se till att du förstår informationen du får.
Healthcare staff must make sure you understand the information you get.
Tip: 'See to that' = make sure.
- 8
Hos polisen och i domstol kan du få tolk om du inte talar svenska.
With the police and in court, you can get an interpreter if you don't speak Swedish.
Tip: Verb before subject after the opening phrase (V2). 'Not' goes before the verb in the if-clause.
- 9
Föräldrar kan få tolk till utvecklingssamtalet.
Parents can get an interpreter for the parent-teacher meeting.
Tip: The meeting's name is literally 'development talk'.
- 10
Tolken är opartisk och tar inte ställning.
The interpreter is impartial and doesn't take sides.
Tip: 'Take a stand/position' = take sides.
- 11
Tolken får inte berätta för någon annan vad som sägs.
The interpreter isn't allowed to tell anyone else what's said.
Tip: Here the modal means 'may', so with 'not' it means 'isn't allowed to'.
- 12
Tolken ska tolka allt, även det som verkar oviktigt.
The interpreter must interpret everything, even what seems unimportant.
Tip: 'Even that which seems...' is the Swedish frame.
- 13
Tolken talar i jag-form, som om det vore du som pratade.
The interpreter speaks in the first person, as if they were you.
Tip: Uses the old subjunctive for 'were', still alive in this kind of phrase.
- 14
Säg lite i taget och gör pauser.
Say a little at a time and take pauses.
Tip: Breaks are 'made', not 'taken', in Swedish.
- 15
Titta på personen du pratar med, inte på tolken.
Look at the person you're talking to, not at the interpreter.
Tip: No 'that/who' needed before 'you're talking to'.
- 16
Säg till om något är oklart.
Say so if anything is unclear.
Tip: 'Say to' = speak up, let someone know.
- 17
Om du inte förstår tolken, säg det direkt.
If you don't understand the interpreter, say so right away.
Tip: In the if-clause, 'not' comes before the verb.
- 18
Jag förstår inte tolken särskilt bra.
I don't understand the interpreter very well.
Tip: 'Particularly well' = very well, in negatives.
- 19
Tolken pratar en annan dialekt än jag.
The interpreter speaks a different dialect from me.
Tip: 'Different from' uses the word for 'than'.
- 20
Ljudet är dåligt, jag hör inte tolken.
The sound is bad, I can't hear the interpreter.
Tip: Sound is an ett-word, so the adjective ends in -t.
- 21
Kan vi ta det med videotolk i stället?
Can we do it with a video interpreter instead?
Tip: 'Take it with' = do it with. 'Instead' is two words.
- 22
Jag känner tolken privat, så jag vill ha någon annan.
I know the interpreter personally, so I'd like someone else.
Tip: 'Know' a person uses a different verb than 'know' a fact.
- 23
Jag skulle vilja byta tolk.
I'd like to change interpreter.
Tip: 'Change' in the sense of swap.
- 24
Tolken kom aldrig, så vi fick boka om tiden.
The interpreter never came, so we had to reschedule.
Tip: 'Book over' = reschedule. Here the modal means 'had to'.
- 25
Hur lång tid tar det att få en tolk?
How long does it take to get an interpreter?
Tip: Literally 'how long time takes it'.
- 26
Möten tar längre tid när man använder tolk.
Meetings take longer when you use an interpreter.
Tip: Generic 'you' is 'one' in Swedish.
- 27
Tolken översätter inte dokument, det gör en översättare.
The interpreter doesn't translate documents; a translator does that.
Tip: Object first in the second clause: 'that does a translator'.
- 28
Jag behöver få brevet översatt till engelska.
I need to get the letter translated into English.
Tip: 'Get something done' = get + object + participle.
- 29
Jag var tvungen att tolka åt min mamma när jag var liten.
I had to interpret for my mum when I was little.
Tip: 'Was forced to' is the everyday way to say 'had to' in the past.
- 30
Det känns tryggare att ha en professionell tolk med.
It feels safer to have a professional interpreter there.
Tip: The adjective means safe in the sense of secure, reassured.