False friends in Swedish
Dear readers,
Have you ever heard of the so called “false friends”? They are words that have the same or similar spelling as words in a different language, but mean something completely different. In this blog post, we will introduce you to some false friends in Swedish. You will never put your foot in your mouth again!
Swedish word # 1: fart
We can assure you, we are not trying to be inappropriate in any way! The Swedish word “fart” means “speed” in English. A speed camera, for example, is called “fartkamera”. There is also a clever play on words – “It’s not the fart that kills you, it’s the smell.” The funny thing is that the Swedish word “smäll” (pronounced as smell) means crash. So the sentence would mean: “It is not the speed (“fart”) that kills you, it’s the crash (“smäll”).”
Swedish word # 2: bad
In Sweden, you might see signs with the word “bad” near swimming holes or lakes. Don’t worry. This doesn’t mean that something terrible will happen when you jump into the water. The Swedish word “bad” simply means “bathing place” or “swimming pool”.
Let’s move on to Swedish word # 3!
Swedish word # 3: bra
“Hi Bjorn, how are you?”
“Oh I’m bra because I had a super bra weekend!”
I beg your pardon? Well Bjorn is not really talking about bras. He’s just feeling fine. The Swedish word “bra” means “good” in English. So if you hear that word in Sweden, don’t start laughing because people might think you are crazy…
Swedish word # 4: slut
And again, we promise we are not posting anything inappropriate. We are just speaking Swedish! This word means “end” in English. A “slutstation”, for example, is the final stop on the train line. This word also appears sometimes at the end of Swedish films, just like the French word “FIN”. You should also know that the Swedish word “slut” is pronounced “sloot”.
Swedish word # 5: full
Swedish people say they are “full”, not after eating too much food, but after drinking too much alcohol. So whenever you are sitting with Swedish people at the dining table, don’t tell them you are “too full for dessert”. They might think you drank too much alcohol during dinner.
We hope these words will help you build up your Swedish vocabulary and prepare you for future conversations with Swedish people.
Translation services in Swedish
Are you wondering why the word “bra” appears in one of your business letters from your Swedish partners? Don’t worry, we will provide you with a high quality translation from Swedish to English! Here at LingoStar, we have professional translators who are native speakers of Swedish. We also have a range of other services to offer such as revising, updating and localizing your content into more than 100 languages. And if you ever wish to improve your language skills to have better job opportunities, we also provide language tutoring services! Don’t hesitate to give us a call at 604-629-8420 or email us at info@lingo-star.com to discuss your next language-related project. To get a free quote, click here. We look forward to hearing from you!
