Category: Language

One of the fun things about learning a foreign language are the words that are rude, or funny in your own language.

Swedish has a few of them: slut, kräpp, plopp, kock, spurt

But the funniest one is probably the most purile; it is the ever prevailing ‘fart’, especially when you see it on street signs. This is the word that has most visitors to Sweden holding their sides with laughter.

Even after all these years, I can still have a little giggle when I think about the word ‘fart’ and its various usages in Swedish. In Swedish, ‘fart’ can mean a lot of things such as speed, drive, route, pace, spirit, vivacity, rate. But it is when it is put together with another word that it becomes amusing. Childish, I know…but here we go…

1. utfart – ‘out fart’ – exit from a building
2. uppfart – ‘up fart’ – driveway
3. infart – ‘in fart’ (sounds painful) – entrance
4. avfart – ‘of fart’ – exit from a motorway
5. framfart – ‘forward fart’ (quite an accomplishment) – progress
6. fartkamera – ‘fart camera’ (didn’t know these existed) – speed camera
7. kringfart – ‘circular fart’ (also sounds painful) – causeway
8. fartfylld -‘full of fart’ (know a few people like that) – speedy
9. krypfart – ‘crawl fart’ – crawl
10. luftfart – ‘air fart’ (the worst) – air travel
11. fartrand – ‘fart stripe’ – go faster stripe on a car
12. maxfart -‘maximum fart’ – top speed
13. farthållare – ‘fart holder’ (dangerous) – cruise control
14. blixtfart – ‘flash fart’ – flash speed
15. fjärrfart -‘distant fart’ – transocean traffic
16. halvfart – ‘half fart’ – half speed
17. snigelfart – ‘snail fart’ – snail speed
18. förbifart – ‘passing fart’ – ring road
19. fartgräns – ‘fart limit’ – speed limit
20. marschfart – ‘marching fart’ (like a hit and run!) – cruise speed
21. överljudsfart – ‘supersonic fart’ (impressive!) – supersonic speed
22. fartblind – ‘fart blind’ (although deaf is probably preferable) – when you become desensitised to the speed you are driving and stop noticing it