I’ve spent over 20 years struggling with the Swedish language. Grammar is always a challenge for me – but it is pronunciation that still continues to drag me down.
That said, there are a few Swedish words that I just love to say. They have to be the most fun words in the Swedish language. Here, in no particular order, are my top 10.
- Mumsfilibaba – a hysterically satisfying way to say that something is really delicious
- Sjuksköterska – the Swedish word for nurse – try saying it after a couple of beers – it’s really fun
- Kackerlacka – the Swedish word for cockroach is somewhat onomatopoeic – the perfect way to describe these disgusting little bugs
- Sura uppstötningar – horrible to experience acid reflux but really fun to say the word
- Smidig – a useful word that’s fun to say and that means everything from easy and adaptable to flexible and pliable and even loose-limbed.
- Yxskaft – the handle of an axe – ok not a word that you say very often, but enromously satisfying when you get the chance
- Grönsaksbuljongtärning – a long word for a vegetable stock cube. Sometimes I go inte a supermarket and ask a shop assistant where to find them just so I get a chance to say it.
- Toppen – an uplifting way to say that all is good
- Hjärnsläpp – the Swedish word for drawing a blank. But it doesn’t matter if you can’t remember what you were going to say – because then you get to say ‘hjärnsläpp’ instead.
- Bajskorv – childish I know, but the Swedish word for ‘poo sausage’ is just hysterical.
Other Swedish words I love are ‘ångestframkallande‘, ‘slickepott’, ‘snöslask’, ‘oroväckande‘, ‘knäckebröd‘, ‘mångata’ and ‘underrättelsetjänsten‘.
What are some of your most satisfying Swedish Words to pronounce?
Let me know in the comments below….
Watching the Swedes 
You could start saying “goddag yxskaft”. It’s used when someone, or yourself, has said something absurd and unreasonable.
Like:
The government are going to let the citizens vote for their salaries.
Jo goddag yxskaft! I certainly would want to see that day coming.
The EU are going to add another hour to the summer time.
Men goddag yxskaft!! What the hell are they doing? I will never ever agree to that!
I guess you get the hang of it. Works excellent in your everyday life too. 🙂👍🏼
Ecklesiastikdepartementet… Så hette utbildningsdepartementet förr.
Pepparkaka, rappakalja(I know:it’s originally Finnish, but we get to use it!
Goddag yxskaft is really properly (originally?) similar to a non sequitur; a response that doesn’t make sense, possibly to comical effect. It’s from the tale of the deaf man who tried to hide the fact that he was deaf by guessing what people said. So one day he was carving an axe handle, and when greeted “Goddag!” he thought that the person probably asked what he was making. “Yxskaft!”.
My most satisfying Swedish word to pronounce is “tillit” (=trust, confidence, faith). It’s easy, short and sounds nice. It’s nice to earn someone’s tillit, as well as if someone earn your tillit. It’s a small word, with a huge meaning. I also like that it’s a palindrome. Thanks for an inspiring and interesting blog!
Yes, it’s appropriate that tillit is a palindrome – it goes both ways! Thank you for your kind comment.
I enjoyed your comments on Swedish skitmycket! Here are some words I miss in English: att hinna (to have enough time), dagsmeja ( what the sun does to the snow in the late winter), mormor/farmor, dygn (one day and one night) and many more!
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