Swedes famously loathe conflict, so it is perhaps natural that they are masters of the passive-aggressive dig. James Savage has picked out some gems and explains what they really mean.
On the face of it, it's a gamechanger: an AI Swede permanently in your pocket who never loses patience and switches to English. But do AI language tools actually work? And if so, which is the best? We'd love to hear about your experiences.
At the Ålidhem language café in Umeå, people of all ages and cultural backgrounds come to learn Swedish – and about each other. In a political landscape where immigration is often seen as a problem, community spaces like this tell a different story.
Once you've learned the basics of Swedish, listening to podcasts is one of the best ways of increasing vocabulary and speeding up comprehension. Here are some of the best podcasts out there for Swedish learners.
Knowing where to put the verb in Swedish sentences is a common issue for Swedish learners, so don’t feel disheartened if you often make this kind of mistake. Hopefully this guide will help.
Särskrivning, or writing compound words in Swedish incorrectly as two separate words, is a common mistake among Swedish learners (and among Swedes in general, for that matter). But how do you avoid them?
There are a lot of vowels in Swedish and it can be easy for someone new to the language to mix them up. Unfortunately, sometimes that means you can accidentally say something obscene when trying to talk about vacuum cleaners.
Swedes are famously not fans of small talk, but if you find yourself forced into small talk with a Swede then the weather is always a safe choice of topic. It’s no surprise then that there are so many words in Swedish to talk about the cold.
Talking about family in Swedish can be complicated. Discussing your relatives requires an in-depth knowledge of exactly how they are related to you, so it's time to start brushing up on your family history.
You won't learn them in your Swedish for Immigrants class and you probably won't even hear them in daily conversation. But you can't avoid them, because they are splashed across every tabloid frontpage in Sweden. Here's what they mean.
Magnus Hambleton, a partner at the Swedish tech fund byFounders, argues that if Sweden were to make English an official national language, it would open itself up to an entire world of talent.
If you're new to Sweden, going to get your hair done in a new country and in a new language can feel a little scary, so here are some top tips and Swedish vocab to help you out.
It’s not pleasant but over the next few weeks and months many people will be falling victim to traditional winter illnesses, from a slight cold to a nasty dose of the flu. So if you are feeling poorly, here’s the Swedish words you need to get help.
Getting ill in a new or unfamiliar country is always an upsetting experience, but if you can't escape the pesky bugs that crop up around this time of year, you can at least use it as a Swedish-learning opportunity.
Karolina Wirdenäs, head of the Department of Swedish Language and Multilingualism at Stockholm University, explains why her department believes it is impossible for it to develop a language test for citizenship by the government's deadline of August 2026.
Sweden's new football manager Graham Potter, from the UK, instantly won the hearts of Swedes when he was appointed on Monday, opening a press conference with a thank you speech delivered in Swedish. The Local asked our in-house Swedish teacher Jenny Crowther to rate his level.
Getting a job or education in Sweden often requires you to prove your Swedish skills. There’s no single official certificate – instead, there's a mix of tests and providers. Here’s how they work, what they cost, and which one will fit you best.
The Local Sweden's Deputy Editor, Becky Waterton, who speaks fluent Danish and Swedish (and understands Norwegian), gives her best tips for how to learn to understand the other Scandinavian languages if you already speak one of them.
Swedish has at least three different ways of expressing the English word think: tänka, tro and tycka. Learning when to use each of these words correctly is a sure-fire way to sound fluent.
‘Put’ is such a simple word in English that you might not pay much attention to it when learning Swedish – but knowing which word to use when can make a huge difference to your fluency.
