More Swedish words that just sound wrong in other languages
People new to Sweden have long giggled at Swedish words such as "kock", "sex", "fack", "prick", and "slut", all of which sound a bit rude in English. But when we asked readers for more suggestions, we found that there were oh so many more.
This is ground covered long ago in The Local's previous guide to Swedish words that just sound wrong in English.
When Sweden's TV4 promotes the Sveriges Mästerkock (MasterChef Sweden) programme, it can be hard not to titter. Similarly, passing a sign for a "fartkontroll" (speed check) infart (entry) or utfart (exit) can be a cause of adolescent humour.
And many's the traveller on the Stockholm metro who has had suppress a guffaw when a sign starts flashing for the slutstation (final station) or when seeing a reference for a slutspurt (final sprint) or stumbling upon a giant SLUT sign in a shop holding a slutrea (final sale).
The word for a final sale can be amusing to some. Photo: Janerik Henriksson/SCANPIX
But judging by the huge response to our survey on Facebook, there are a lot of other Swedish words to make an English-speaker blush, and not a few that embarrass people from countries such as Italy, Poland and Greece.
Here are some of the ones our readers drew attention to:
Fårskinn
If a male friend asks you to have a look at their fårskinn, they are not asking for your opinion on a medical complaint involving a sensitive part of their genitals. They want you to check out their new sheepskin. Some dirty-minded English-speakers struggle to suppress a smile when seeing fårskinnsvantar (sheepskin gloves) or fårskinnstofflor (sheepskin slippers).
Byggnads
Once you realise that the bygg sounds very much like "big", it's hard not to see the name of Sweden's builder's union and think of an oversized pair of testicles.
Many people, including this writer, have managed to live in Sweden and even cover its unions for years without twigging to this, but once you've seen it, you can't unsee it.
Tvättmaskin
The word tvätt, meaning "wash" makes many British people think of a common vulgarism meaning "vulva" or "vagina", which is most often used as an insult. But it is mainly in combination with other words, such as tvättmaskin ("washing machine") that it generates a giggle.
When the road rescue truck arrives at your broken down car, some English speakers find it hard to suppress a smile. Photo: Fredrik Sandberg/Scanpix
Vägassistans
English speakers prone to double entendres are also liable find the idea of female genitals popping into their mind whenever the words väg (road) or vägg (wall) crop up in Swedish phrases and nowhere is this more the case than with the word vägassistans (roadside assistance) which you will see emblazoned on breakdown rescue vehicles whizzing up and down Sweden's major roads.
Ytterkant
Completing the trio of Swedish words that remind English-speakers of one of the language's (worryingly many) derogatory words for female genitals is kant, meaning "edge".
Ytterkant, the "outer edge", is particularly liable to generate a second take.
"An utter what?"
Fukt
When your builder in Sweden shakes their head and uses the word fukt to describe the doer-upper summer cabin you have unwisely purchased, they are not reverting to vulgar slang to tell you it's more of a giver-upper. No, fukt in Swedish means "moisture" or "humidity", which may be bad news, but doesn't mean you need to get in the demolition team.
Words that are awkward for speakers of other languages
It's not just English speakers who have to deal with Swedish words that mean something very different in their own tongue.
Fika and kaka
Fika, Swedes' beloved cake-and-coffee break may be a central part of workplace socialising, but for Italian and Spanish people it is a linguistic minefield, as are the kakor or "biscuits" you eat there.
"Fica" is (you guessed it), another word for the female genitalia in Spanish and Italian, while cacca in Italian and caca in Spanish means "poop".
Hungarians also struggle when it's fika time, with the word in Hungarian referring to the sticky, slimy stuff you might find inside your nose.
Tröja (99kr)
For Italians, shopping for clothes in Sweden can often generate a shock, when they see a tröja (sweater or top) on sale. "Troia" in Italian is a slang word for a sex worker.
Kungens Kurva
For Poles, taking the road north out of Stockholm can lead to a barrage of filthy remarks.
The Kungens Kurva (literally "King's bend") shopping complex, on the road north to Uppsala, is named after the spot where King Gustaf V crashed his Cadillac back in 1946.
But "kurwa", as you may well know, is pretty much Poland's go-to swearword. It is (this is getting boring now) yet another derogatory word for a woman's genitalia. So Kungens Kurva sort of means "the King's pussy".
Hestra
The small village of Hestra, in Halland, southern Sweden, has given its name to the popular brand of Hestra gloves found in any Swedish shopping centre, but for Greeks the word makes you think of "shit".
"As a Greek speaker it always made me giggle when we drove by," said one of the respondents to our survey.
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This is ground covered long ago in The Local's previous guide to Swedish words that just sound wrong in English.
When Sweden's TV4 promotes the Sveriges Mästerkock (MasterChef Sweden) programme, it can be hard not to titter. Similarly, passing a sign for a "fartkontroll" (speed check) infart (entry) or utfart (exit) can be a cause of adolescent humour.
And many's the traveller on the Stockholm metro who has had suppress a guffaw when a sign starts flashing for the slutstation (final station) or when seeing a reference for a slutspurt (final sprint) or stumbling upon a giant SLUT sign in a shop holding a slutrea (final sale).
But judging by the huge response to our survey on Facebook, there are a lot of other Swedish words to make an English-speaker blush, and not a few that embarrass people from countries such as Italy, Poland and Greece.
Here are some of the ones our readers drew attention to:
Fårskinn
If a male friend asks you to have a look at their fårskinn, they are not asking for your opinion on a medical complaint involving a sensitive part of their genitals. They want you to check out their new sheepskin. Some dirty-minded English-speakers struggle to suppress a smile when seeing fårskinnsvantar (sheepskin gloves) or fårskinnstofflor (sheepskin slippers).
Byggnads
Once you realise that the bygg sounds very much like "big", it's hard not to see the name of Sweden's builder's union and think of an oversized pair of testicles.
Many people, including this writer, have managed to live in Sweden and even cover its unions for years without twigging to this, but once you've seen it, you can't unsee it.
Tvättmaskin
The word tvätt, meaning "wash" makes many British people think of a common vulgarism meaning "vulva" or "vagina", which is most often used as an insult. But it is mainly in combination with other words, such as tvättmaskin ("washing machine") that it generates a giggle.
Ytterkant
Completing the trio of Swedish words that remind English-speakers of one of the language's (worryingly many) derogatory words for female genitals is kant, meaning "edge".
Ytterkant, the "outer edge", is particularly liable to generate a second take.
"An utter what?"
Fukt
When your builder in Sweden shakes their head and uses the word fukt to describe the doer-upper summer cabin you have unwisely purchased, they are not reverting to vulgar slang to tell you it's more of a giver-upper. No, fukt in Swedish means "moisture" or "humidity", which may be bad news, but doesn't mean you need to get in the demolition team.
Words that are awkward for speakers of other languages
It's not just English speakers who have to deal with Swedish words that mean something very different in their own tongue.
Fika and kaka
Fika, Swedes' beloved cake-and-coffee break may be a central part of workplace socialising, but for Italian and Spanish people it is a linguistic minefield, as are the kakor or "biscuits" you eat there.
"Fica" is (you guessed it), another word for the female genitalia in Spanish and Italian, while cacca in Italian and caca in Spanish means "poop".
Hungarians also struggle when it's fika time, with the word in Hungarian referring to the sticky, slimy stuff you might find inside your nose.
Tröja (99kr)
For Italians, shopping for clothes in Sweden can often generate a shock, when they see a tröja (sweater or top) on sale. "Troia" in Italian is a slang word for a sex worker.
Kungens Kurva
For Poles, taking the road north out of Stockholm can lead to a barrage of filthy remarks.
The Kungens Kurva (literally "King's bend") shopping complex, on the road north to Uppsala, is named after the spot where King Gustaf V crashed his Cadillac back in 1946.
But "kurwa", as you may well know, is pretty much Poland's go-to swearword. It is (this is getting boring now) yet another derogatory word for a woman's genitalia. So Kungens Kurva sort of means "the King's pussy".
Hestra
The small village of Hestra, in Halland, southern Sweden, has given its name to the popular brand of Hestra gloves found in any Swedish shopping centre, but for Greeks the word makes you think of "shit".
"As a Greek speaker it always made me giggle when we drove by," said one of the respondents to our survey.
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