Basic Swedish Phrasebook

By Languages Easily

Learn Swedish easily with this simple to use Swedish phrasebook - perfect for the traveler or beginner. It includes a 2000 word Swedish - English dictionary at the end of the eBook.
Easy to navigate, every phrase includes a pronunciation guide to assist you in your learning. Ideal for the traveler or those wanting to learn the Swedish language quickly.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Languages Easily
• Release date: Oct 23, 2013
• ISBN: 9781311209115

Languages Easily

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Book preview

BASIC SWEDISH PHRASEBOOK

By

Languages Easily

Smashwords Edition

* * * * *

Published by Alpha Centauri Publishing

at Smashwords

Basic Swedish Phrasebook

Copyright © 2004 -2013 by Languages Easily

All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.

Image licensed by Depositphotos.com/ panama555

Smashwords Edition License Notes

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people.

This ebook may not be uploaded to any file sharing system without the express written approval of the publishers.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION

PRONUNCIATION

100 MOST COMMON WORDS

MEET AND GREET

SMALL TALK

COUNTRIES

INTERNET

FAMILY

OUT AND ABOUT

SIGHTSEEING

SHOPPING

MONEY

EATING & DRINKING

FOODS

TRAVEL

TRANSPORT

HELP

NUMBERS

COLORS

DAYS/ MONTHS

TIME

WEATHER

VOCABULARY ENGLISH – SWEDISH

VOCABULARY SWEDISH – ENGLISH

BASIC SWEDISH PHRASEBOOK

INTRODUCTION

Swedish is a Germanic language spoken in Sweden and western parts of Finland. It is very similar to Norwegian and Danish.

Approximately 9 million people actively speak Swedish.

The language is descended from Old Norse. Modern Swedish is considered to have begun evolving from the 19th century onwards.

Just as you will find English speaking people from different parts of the world using different words and pronunciation in some instances, so too you will find that Swedish words are pronounced differently in various parts of the Swedish speaking world, and some words will have different meanings. There are differences between dialects in both Sweden and Finland.

For the purposes of this textbook, we are using the common, standard meanings and pronunciation.

We make this point because even in English there are different ways of saying simple words even from city to city, let alone from nation to nation. The phonetic sounds of an English language word will be written differently for someone in the UK, the USA or Australia.

It is difficult to provide an all inclusive pronunciation guide that covers all English speakers, and so too is it with Swedish. Some Swedish speakers will disagree with some of the pronunciation used in this text due to differences in dialect and emphasis.

To make things easy for you, we have provided phonetic guides for each word to help you work through this ebook.

This book looks at use of the Swedish language for the traveller, and to help you gain a basic understanding of the language.

Research shows that most languages use only a few thousand words in day to day conversation – Swedish is no different. For this phrasebook we have provided a 2000 word dictionary of the most common words at the end of the ebook.

The purpose of this book is to bring you quickly to a level where you can be understood in Swedish. We have not set out to write a Swedish grammar book!

If you want to learn grammar, there are many textbooks out there for that purpose.

We want to get you to the point where you can be understood, basically, on the streets of Stockholm and to do that we are teaching you the most common words and phrases used in Swedish speaking areas.

If you want to learn Swedish quickly, then we believe this text will assist you greatly.

We recommend that you try to learn 20 new words or phrases a day through repetition, building as you go along each day.

At the end of this text book, you will find a basic English – Swedish and Swedish – English dictionary for your convenience.

NAVIGATION NOTES –

This ebook will be distributed in many different formats around the world. Every ebook reader has subtle differences in how they format the text, and how to search for text within the ebook. These differences are beyond our control.

To make navigation easier, and to help you find text that you are seeking, we have created the Table of Contents so that it is simple to navigate to the topic of interest and then grouped words and phrases into logical groupings.

Most ebook reading devices have a search facility built in, but this is not universal, nor do they all produce the same result.

Navigate using the menu and you should be able to move around the ebook easily.

In most sections of this ebook we have listed the English word first in bold (there is one exception to this), the Swedish word below that and then in grey font (or in italic in some ereaders) we have the pronunciation, like this …

Yes

Ja

ya

We hope it is clear and obvious for you.

PRONUNCIATION

Below we have listed the Swedish pronunciation of the alphabet. Remember, there are regional differences as well as differences between nations that speak Swedish.

A -- like in far or as in fat

B -- like bed

C – rarely used in Swedish

D -- similar to d as in dog

E -- like e in bed or used long

F -- like f in find

G -- sounds like g in go

H – like in hat

I -- like i in king or long like bean

J -- like in yes

K – like in kill or long

L -- like l in lip

M -- like m in map

N -- like n in no

O -- like o in mop

P -- like p in pink

Q -- rarely used in Swedish

R -- hard r - a rolling r

S -- like s in soap

T -- like t in tea

U -- like u in must or long like you

V -- like v in vase

W -- rarely used in Swedish

X - rarely used in Swedish

Y – like I in lick or long

Z -- rarely used in Swedish

100 MOST COMMON WORDS

Ok, let’s go!

Here are the 100 most common words/ phrases in the Swedish language for you to study and learn off by heart. Knowing these 100 words would help you have a halting conversation in the street and be understood.

You won’t, of course, be grammatically correct but you should be able to get the locals to understand a little of what you are saying.

Memorise them, play them over and again in your head, do it daily and soon you will know these words as though you are a