It feels like it has rained for ever in Stockholm. We awaken to rain, we walk in the rain, we come home in the rain, and we go to bed to the sound of the rain.
I guess the wetness is positive as it is replenishing the water magazines that have dried out, and soaking the forest beds to extinguish any lingering embers from the forest fires.
But it is so boring and a bit depressing. In English, we have lots of words for rain, with some fun ones such as drizzle, mizzle, sleet, spit and ‘ache and pain’.
So I became curious about how many Swedish words there are. Here are 20 that I found:
- Regn – rain
- Duggregn – a light rain, spit
- Dusk – drizzle
- Snöblandad regn – rain mixed with snow, sleet
- Hällregn – heavy rain, pouring down
- Ösregn – torrential rain
- Skyfall – sudden heavy rain, a cloud burst
- Skur – shower
- Störtregn – heavy rain, a downpour
- Skval – constant, uninterrupted rain
- Sommarregn – light, summer rain
- Regnby – rain shower
- Slagregn – heavy rain, a deluge
- Glopp – rain with large snow flakes in
- Arlaregn – refreshing morning rain
- Strilregn – steady rain
- Nederbörd – precipitation
- Dagsregn – precipitation
- Regndroppe – rain drop
- Rotblöta – a large amount of rain, usually in the summer
So the next time, look out of the window and see what word best describes the rain outside. It might at least give you a few seconds of distraction in this November drudge.
Watching the Swedes 