Herregud, Asså, Typ: What People Actually Say
Interjections and fillers you will hear within a minute of any real conversation.
Spoken Swedish's greatest hits: herregud and asså, tjena and läget — vad var det jag sa.
- 1
herregud
Oh my god
Tip: Literally 'lord god'; far milder in Swedish than it looks
- 2
asså
I mean...
Tip: Spoken form of alltså; starts half the sentences in Sweden
- 3
alltså
So, therefore (in speech)
Tip: The written form, also used to conclude
- 4
typ
Like, sort of
Tip: Det var typ tio personer = there were like ten people
- 5
liksom
Kind of, you know
Tip: Tacked onto the end of a clause
- 6
oj
Oops
Tip: The all-purpose surprise noise
- 7
usch
Yuck
Tip: Usch vad kallt! = ugh, it's freezing
- 8
eller hur
Right? Isn't it?
Tip: Tag question; often shortened to va
- 9
aldrig i livet
No way, not a chance
Tip: Literally 'never in life'
- 10
precis!
Exactly!
Tip: The standard agreement noise
- 11
äsch
Oh come on
Tip: Dismissive, gentle
- 12
strunt samma
Whatever, never mind
Tip: strunt = nonsense
- 13
glöm det
Forget it
Tip: Can be friendly or final, by tone
- 14
det är lugnt
It's fine, no stress
Tip: The most reassuring phrase in Swedish
- 15
ingen fara
No harm done
Tip: Answer to an apology
- 16
läget?
How's it going?
Tip: Literally 'the situation?'. Very casual
- 17
tjena
Hi there
Tip: Informal greeting, mostly among younger speakers
- 18
ses
See you
Tip: Clipped from vi ses
- 19
på riktigt?
For real?
Tip: Asking if someone is serious
- 20
vad var det jag sa
There you go, told you
Tip: Said with insufferable satisfaction