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Five ‘Swemojis’ that will help you understand Sweden

Having a tough time getting your head around Sweden? Fortunately it's now possible to get to know the Nordic nation through emojis – or 'Swemojis', to be specific. Sarah Falck from online language portal bab.la has picked out five that will give you a great all-round grasp of Swedish culture and its mysterious ways.

Published: 19 April 2017 06:59 CEST
Five 'Swemojis' that will help you understand Sweden
Fika in emoji form. Photo: Swemojis.com

Did you know that Sweden has its very own set of emojis called Swemojis, created as a tribute to Swedish culture and heritage? While the meaning of these emojis is probably crystal clear to a Swede, the average foreigner might have a hard time interpreting some of these icons. That's why I'm here to help! Let's have a look at five strange Swemojis and their meanings, shall we?

1. Fika

We know most of you are familiar with Swedish fika – and are perhaps beginning to tire of all the talk about this supposedly holy institution – but we could not write a list like this without mentioning the fika Swemoji. On the off chance that you have never heard about fika before, you're probably thinking, 'whoah, this must be something really special'.

READ ALSO: Here's what happened when this Swede introduced fika at her London office

Well… it's basically coffee and some kind of sweet pastry, cake or cookie. What? Your mind isn't blown? Oh, my friend, you're just not Swedish enough (yet!).


Photo: Swemojis.com

2. Midsommar

It's a beautiful summer's day and you're walking through town. Suddenly, you hear a noise. You're not sure what it is, but you decide to go and find out. As you approach the source of the noise, you realize it's actually coming from humans– and it seems like they are singing. You go even closer. You see a big pole dressed in green, and the people are dancing around said pole. They are wearing flowers in their hair, and they seem to be in a trance-like state. Some are even doing a strange dance while making frog sounds. You realize this must be some kind of weird Swedish hippie cult. You slowly step back and run away.

No, no, no! You just missed out on the most traditional Swedish party of them all – Midsommar. Celebrated around the summer solstice, more specifically the Friday between the 19th and 25th of June, this is the day to go crazy in Sweden. Many Swedes even strategically choose Midsommar as the starting point of their summer vacation so that they have several weeks of rest after this grand occasion of drinking, eating and dancing around the maypole, the symbol of Midsummer (and this emoji).


Photo: Swemojis.com

3. Kräftskiva

Forget about Christmas – late summer is the most wonderful time of the year in Sweden. August and September (even late July if you're particularly eager) is the time for the traditional Swedish kräftskiva aka. crayfish party, aka another excuse to drink because Midsummer was already a long time ago now.

READ ALSO: How to survive a Swedish crayfish party

What does a kräftskiva consist of, you ask? It's simple: all you need is a mountain of crayfish, some seriously strong alcohol and your best singing voice. Because you can't just drink during a crayfish party. No, no. You have to sing first. But no need to improvise – there are standard drinking songs called snapsvisor.

READ ALSO: Eight zaniest Swedish drinking song lyrics

These are short, bright and humorous songs, often about how delicious the snaps is and how much you are craving it. If you're still confused, just smile and hum. You're only a few shots away from being fluent in Swedish anyway.


Photo: Swemojis.com

4. Dansbandsmusik

Sweden is known for producing a lot of amazing music: ABBA, The Cardigans, Zara Larsson… all great and popular around the world.

And then there is dansbandsmusik – dance band music. If you think this means house or techno or whatever you usually like to dance to at the club… well, that's not it. The bands from this genre have not met the same international success as others. There is a reason why: only Swedes can get into this music. Well, mostly middle-aged Swedes. The songs are light-hearted and usually about cheesy topics/have cheesy lyrics such as “smiling golden brown eyes”, “don't say no, say maybe maybe maybe” and “the last sweet years” (actual song names).

READ ALSO: Swedish dance bands, a musical mystery wrapped in spandex

The bands are often named after the lead singer and some make it extra catchy by replacing the letter 's' with a 'z' (I mean, Larz Kristerz just looks so much more hip than Lars Kristers). The band members also wear matching outfits.

These album covers say it all. But hey, if you're into this, who am I to judge? We all have our guilty pleasures. I'm a sucker for The Great British Bake Off and I like to sing Disney songs when I'm alone.


Photo: Swemojis.com

5. Kebab pizza

Meatballs are so 1700. The modern Swede is experimental and exotic when it comes to food. Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you: the kebab pizza.

READ ALSO: Could Sweden make New Year's Day kebab pizza day?

This is the most popular pizza in the whole country. And don't say it's not Swedish cuisine – it was invented in Malmö! If you're feeling extra Scandinavian, you can upgrade to the Viking kebab pizza, which is a folded kebab pizza that is supposed to resemble a Viking ship. It doesn't get much more Swedish than that (unless you go one step further and try the 'Calskroven'). This baby will cure your post Midsummer/crayfish party hangover right away.


Photo: Swemojis.com

If you feel like you need these Swemojis in your life – and I know you do – you can download all 87 of them in the App Store here.

This article was written by Sara Falck, who works for the online language portal bab.la.

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SWEDISH LANGUAGE

Seven Swedish expressions which will make you sound like a local

Looking for ways to improve your Swedish? Learning some of these phrases and using them in your speech will definitely impress the Swedes in your life.

Published: 18 September 2024 09:51 CEST
Seven Swedish expressions which will make you sound like a local

Finns det hjärterum finns det stjärterum

This phrase literally translates as “if there’s room in your heart, there’s room for a bum”, and it essentially means that you can always make room for one more if you really want to.

If there were three of you sitting on a sofa and another guest arrives but there’s nowhere for them to sit, you might say this phrase while you all scooch up to make space for them to join you.

Kasta ett getöga (på något)

You would be forgiven for thinking this phrase has something to do with goat eyes – a goat in Swedish is en get, and an eye is ett öga.

However, this phrase doesn’t mean “to throw a goat’s eye (at something)”. Rather the word get here comes from the Old Norse verb geta, which means to watch, care for or guard something.

So rather than throwing bits of goats at someone, the phrase can be better translated as “to keep a watchful eye” on something.

Mycket snack och lite verkstad

This phrase directly translates to “a lot of talk and not much workshop”, and you might be able to figure out what it means.

It’s similar to the phrase “all talk and no action” or “all talk and no trousers” which you would use when someone or a group of people spend a lot of time discussing something but never actually do it.

It’s often used in a sports context if players talk a lot about strategy and beating the other team, but never quite manage to pull it out of the bag.

Små grytor har också öron

This expression can be confusing at first, as it contains a play on the word öron, which means both pot handle and ear in Swedish. It literally translates to “small pots also have ears”, and it essentially means that you should be careful of what you say around children.

It can be used in a couple of different ways. You could use it to remind someone that children are present if they’re about to tell you something that isn’t family-friendly, like the juicy details of their sex life.

It can also be used as a reminder to whoever you’re talking to that if they say anything in front of a child, it’s likely to be repeated somewhere else. So maybe save the discussion about how much you can’t stand one of the parents or teachers at preschool for somewhere your child can’t hear it.

Träsmak i röven

The word röv in Swedish is a vulgar term for the backside, roughly similar in strength to English “arse” or American “ass”.

It originally comes from the Old Norse word rauf meaning gap, rift or hole, used in words like raufarsteinn (a stone with a hole drilled through it) and raufartrefjur (cloth filled with holes).

The word in its modern meaning exists in Swedish as röv, in Danish as røv and in Norwegian as ræv or rauv.

Träsmak i röven (literally: “the taste of wood on your arse”) is a great phrase which describes the feeling you get when your bottom starts hurting from sitting down for too long.

Less offensive alternatives to the word röv which you can use in this phrase include rumpa, bakdel, ända, stjärt and gump. 

Kratta manegen

The Swedish phrase kratta manegen is roughly equivalent to “pave the way” or “set the stage” in English, essentially to make it easier for someone to do something. 

You could, for example, use it about some sort of pioneer: hon krattade manegen för kvinnor i politiken (she paved the way for women in politics). It can also be used about something other than an individual: lagen krattade manegen för landets tillväxt (the law paved the way for the country’s growth).

Literally, a kratta refers to a rake and manegen to a circus ring or riding arena, so imaging someone raking the sand in the ring before it’s used by riders and performers.

I grevens tid

A greve in Swedish is a count – as in the noble title – so this phrase literally translates to “in the count’s time”.

It refers to doing something at the last possible moment, similar to the phrases “in the nick of time” or “not a minute too soon” in English.

It’s believed to refer to a specific count, Per Brahe the Younger, who was Governor-General of Finland in the mid 17th century. During this time he reformed the administration of the country, introduced a new postal system, founded a large number of new towns and promoted education, for example by founding the Royal Academy of Turku.

The Finns were a fan of Count Brahe, which is why the phrase I grevens tid also exists in Finnish as kreivin aikaan, where it refers to arriving at the right time or the best possible time.

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