Swedish word of the day: hekto
You may have seen or heard today's word of the day at the deli counter of your local supermarket.
The Swedish word hekto comes from the Greek word ἑκατόν, meaning "hundred". The most common use of the word hekto is as a shorter version of the word hektogram meaning a hundred grams, similar to kilogram, which is a thousand grams.
You're likely to see hekto shortened further to hg at deli counters or on price tags in supermarkets for items such as sliced meats, fish or cheese which are often sold in packets of a few hundred grams.
If a type of sliced meat cost 7 kronor per hundred grams, for example, you may see the price written as 7 kr/hg, rather than by the price per kilo, which would be 70 kr/kg.
If you're ordering at one of these counters, you can ask for the amount you want in hekto, so 250 grams of ham would be två ett halvt hekto skinka.
Hekto can also be used in the phrase lugna ner dig ett par hekto! ("calm down a few hekto!") famously said by Pippi Longstocking in the book Pippi Goes to the Circus.
The word hektoliter (100 litres) does also exist in Swedish, but you're unlikely to hear it used in your everyday life.
Example sentences:
Kan du köpa några hekto skinka till frukost i morgon?
Can you buy a few hundred grams of ham for breakfast tomorrow?
Lugna ner dig ett par hekto, tack! Jag kan inte tänka klart.
Calm down a few hekto, please! I can't think straight.
Don’t miss any of our Swedish words and expressions of the day by downloading our new app (available on Apple and Android) and then selecting the Swedish Word of the Day in your Notification options via the User button.
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The Swedish word hekto comes from the Greek word ἑκατόν, meaning "hundred". The most common use of the word hekto is as a shorter version of the word hektogram meaning a hundred grams, similar to kilogram, which is a thousand grams.
You're likely to see hekto shortened further to hg at deli counters or on price tags in supermarkets for items such as sliced meats, fish or cheese which are often sold in packets of a few hundred grams.
If a type of sliced meat cost 7 kronor per hundred grams, for example, you may see the price written as 7 kr/hg, rather than by the price per kilo, which would be 70 kr/kg.
If you're ordering at one of these counters, you can ask for the amount you want in hekto, so 250 grams of ham would be två ett halvt hekto skinka.
Hekto can also be used in the phrase lugna ner dig ett par hekto! ("calm down a few hekto!") famously said by Pippi Longstocking in the book Pippi Goes to the Circus.
The word hektoliter (100 litres) does also exist in Swedish, but you're unlikely to hear it used in your everyday life.
Example sentences:
Kan du köpa några hekto skinka till frukost i morgon?
Can you buy a few hundred grams of ham for breakfast tomorrow?
Lugna ner dig ett par hekto, tack! Jag kan inte tänka klart.
Calm down a few hekto, please! I can't think straight.
Don’t miss any of our Swedish words and expressions of the day by downloading our new app (available on Apple and Android) and then selecting the Swedish Word of the Day in your Notification options via the User button.
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