r/Svenska • • Aug 14 '26

Posting rules (read before posting!)

26 Upvotes

Thanks to 46 of you who were kind enough to answer our survey, we have updated the subreddit rules to better reflect the members wishes. Those who are interested can review the survey responses here. If you are unhappy with anything, feel free to comment!

tl;dr:

  • AI-generated material (comments, apps) is banned
  • The de facto ban of repeat ads has been codified
  • Asking about Swedish culture is now permitted
  • Asking for media recommendations is permitted (again)
  • As always, check the FAQ and resource list first

These are the current subreddit rules:

1. Be respectful of your fellow redditors

Flaming, trolling, discrimination, personal attacks or bad-faith arguments are not allowed.

2. Post contents must be on-topic

This is a language-learning subreddit, and all posts should be about the Swedish language, culture or studying Swedish. Posts about moving to and living in Sweden are not on-topic. It's okay to make a post asking for media recommendations to help you study, but any posts sharing media need to be about the Swedish language, not just in the Swedish language. Please give your post the proper flair!

3. Questions and tips are always welcome

Feel free to ask your questions about the language or culture, ask for learning tips or contribute your own tips or links to websites helpful for learning. However, we do urge you to check the FAQ and list of resources first. You might also find an answer to your question by using the search function. And when posting a resource, please clarify what it does and how it can help or be used to learn Swedish.

4. Wait before reposting

While tips and recommendations are always welcome, you are probably not reaching a new audience if you post the same resource after a few days or even weeks – even if there has been a new update to it.

Therefore, we ask that you please wait for at least two months between reposts, and even then they should only be made if there has been a notable update. Do not post the same thing every two months only to farm attention.

5. No community links

To prevent a flood of community links, we ask you to contact us via modmail before you post links to Whatsapp groups, Discord servers etc. We permit Swedish-oriented communities that we deem could be helpful to our members.

Users may ask for tips on niche communities. You are allowed to link to communities as comments to such requests.

In general, we recommend the Discord server "Svenska – Learn Swedish".

6. No chat requests

Please keep all chat and penpal requests in the dedicated megathread, as these would otherwise flood the main feed.

7. We won't do your work for you

While we are happy to point you in the right direction, answer your questions along the way or check your grammar when you're done, we will not actually do your homework for you. This is a place for learning, not cheating.

This goes doubly for professional tasks: most users on r/Svenska are not trained translators, copywriters or language consultants. Feel free to ask linguistic questions, but don't crowdsource practical, qualified work. Contact a professional instead!

8. No pirating

It is not permitted to directly exchange copyrighted material, including textbook pdfs, or link to places that illegally make these available.

We encourage all links and recommendations to places where such material can be legally obtained. A good place to start is our list of resources.

9. No AI

AI-generated content is banned. This includes LLM-written answers to language questions, LLM-generated study resources as well as apps that are mostly vibe-coded. We might give leeway to professionally developed tools – contact us via modmail to ask.

When posting an app or other language-learning resource, we urge you to clarify whether and how AI has been used (i.e. not at all), to avoid being reported or have your post unjustly removed.


r/Svenska • • Aug 14 '26

Penpal megathread!

20 Upvotes

Learning a new language is easier with the support of friends, be it other learners going through the same journey, native speakers to lead you along the way, or even less experienced learners that you can help out to help both of you understand things better. If you're looking for pen pals, gaming buddies, book clubs or just friends so you can practice the language – through immersion or studies alike – feel free to post a comment in this thread and tell us a bit about yourself, or reply to commenters you would like to get in touch with.

Suggested post format – add or remove headers as you like:

Name or handle: (whatever you want to be called)
​
Swedish level: (your approximate proficiency, expressed e.g. in A1 to C2, beginner to fluent or how long you've been learning/studying)
​
Language: (your native language and other languages you know or are learning)
​
Looking for: (Duolingo pals? Native helpers? Steam friends? People in your area? Someone who wants to discuss Swedish music?)
​
Presentation: (A more free-form introduction of yourself as a person!)

We recommend you do not include private contact information in your post; if you find somebody you want to keep in touch with, contact them through Reddit's direct messaging instead.

Please note that this thread is only intended for finding people for the purpose of learning Swedish or helping learners. Irrelevant posts may be deleted. Likewise, asking for pen pals outside of this thread is not permitted, and any such threads will be removed and redirected here.

As always, you are also very welcome to look for chat mates in our Discord server.

And if you posted in the old thread, feel free to make a new post here!


r/Svenska • • 1d ago

Sharing knowledge I looked at where swedish learners go wrong. "Inte" in a bisats tops the list

81 Upvotes

Hej! I learned Swedish through SFI myself, and I now run a free practice tool for people preparing for the SFI tests. In September about 4,000 people practised with it, around 3,600 hours in total.
Looking at the answers of the 2,530 who save their progress, five patterns stood out.

1. Where "inte" goes in a bisats

In a main clause the verb comes second and "inte" after it: Han kommer inte. In standard Swedish, after att, eftersom, om and the like, "inte" moves in front of the verb: Jag vet att han inte kommer. 64% of learners who saw that question got it wrong at least once. The same goes for alltid, aldrig and ofta: Jag vet att hon alltid dricker kaffe (54% missed it).

2. Adjective endings

ett stort hus (59% missed), det röda huset (59%), det största huset (78%) and tre små barn (59%). The adjective agrees with the noun: -t with an ett-word, -a in the plural and the definite form, and liten becomes små in the plural.

3. Tricky plurals

en lärare, två lärare: 80% missed that en-words ending in -are don't change in the plural. Also ett äpple, tre äpplen (51%) and the definite plural nycklarna (57%).

4. Small linking words

varken ... eller, neither ... nor (79% missed), där in Staden där jag bor (75%), vars, whose (60%), and så att, so that (61%).

5. The verb stays second when something else comes first

På torget finns det en marknad varje lördag (50% missed). Put a time or a place first, and the subject moves after the verb: finns det, not det finns.

Two runners-up: 47% picked the wrong verb form in Igår ___ jag lunch med min vän (it's åt), and 47% didn't choose i in Jag har bott i Sverige ___ tre år.

Does this match what you found hardest?


r/Svenska • • 42m ago

Resource request/tip I’m building the Swedish speaking-practice app I wished I’d had

• Upvotes

Hej allihop! I’m Steve, based in Helsingborg. I’m building Kompis with two engineers.
The idea is simple: practise the Swedish conversation before you have it for real—a job interview, a call to vårdcentralen, or small talk at fika.
You speak out loud, and Kompis replies out loud in Swedish. It’s AI-based: it uses speech recognition, a language model and an AI-generated voice.
One thing we’re still working on is how it handles different accents, pauses and switching between Swedish and English. I don’t want someone to feel their Swedish is wrong when the app has simply misheard them.
The bigger question I’m exploring is whether this practice helps people speak with real people—not just feel comfortable inside an app.
If you try it, I’d especially like to know:
• Did it understand what you said?
• Did the replies help you keep talking?
• Is there a real conversation you would use it to rehearse?
kompis.site
I’m the founder, so this is my own product. The attached video shows an example conversation.


r/Svenska • • 2d ago

Language question (see FAQ first) Can Swedish Pitch Accent 2 Disappear in Connected Speech?

21 Upvotes

Hello, everyone! I hope you’re all doing well.

I’d like to know whether the pitch accent 2 of certain words can disappear or become less noticeable in connected speech. How should I pronounce the sentence “Den glada flickan äter den goda pizzan”?

I can’t seem to hear pitch accent 2 in glada or goda. Can it become weaker or cease to be clearly realized in this context? I’ve been trying to pronounce the lexical pitch accent of each word individually, but that doesn’t seem to sound natural.


r/Svenska • • 2d ago

Studying and education Embarrassing errors in SVT:s word quiz for högskoleprovet

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16 Upvotes

At least 2-3 word have the wrong definition every time I take the quiz.


r/Svenska • • 2d ago

Text and translation help Help Identify Abbreviations from 1790s Husförhörslängder

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12 Upvotes

Hi all, I came across these two abbreviations while researching in the 1700s Visnums parish records. I have never seen them before, and I can't seem to find abbreviations that matches. These are on the far left side of the page, in the column where titles like "drang" or "pig" are usually listed. Does anyone with a better understanding and/or recognition of gothic swedish writing have any ideas? Thank you in advance!

Link to full page


r/Svenska • • 3d ago

Resource request/tip Svenska learners: tips, please!

15 Upvotes

I´m a Spanish native speaker and I am learning Swedish at a B2 level. The fact is that I feel that I´m stuck at this level and I do not feel any progress even if I study every day. I know that my Swedish is not perfect and I know I´m capable to master the language at a C2 level (I also want to master it to complete my studies in that country). When I speak to my friends in Swedish I feel that most of my expressions are too generic like if I an AI chatbot with no personality, and unable to acquire the slang words they use.
Any advices?


r/Svenska • • 3d ago

Resource request/tip App/website that corrects your writing

3 Upvotes

Someone shared an app or website that corrects your Swedish grammar and spelling.
It was fantastic, but I lost track of it and can’t remember how I accessed it.

Thank you!

PS Bonus question, I just bought the Rivstart A1/A2 books. I saw a couple of SFI YouTubers use them, do you have a favourite channel?


r/Svenska • • 4d ago

Language question (see FAQ first) Can someone help me pronounce these heteronyms?

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1 Upvotes

r/Svenska • • 4d ago

Studying and education What is the best way to learn Swedish? Do you know any tutors or someone who can help me and what is your experience?

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0 Upvotes

r/Svenska • • 5d ago

Other (see on-topic rules first) Noticed several Swedes who slip into this nasal quality/sounds when speaking like this girl, what causes this?

28 Upvotes

r/Svenska • • 3d ago

Meme Svenska i Kyrilliska

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0 Upvotes

r/Svenska • • 5d ago

Language question (see FAQ first) för vs av

12 Upvotes

Hej allihopa! Jag försöker återuppliva min svenska för tillfället och jag behöver lite hjälp.
Just nu tittade jag på en video som handlade om användning av prepositioner. I den framställde man den här mening: vi får ta en glass för mamma, vilket betydde "mamma tillät oss att ta en glass".
Så jag undrade vad skillnaden mellan av och för är. Men när jag googlade, hittade jag inga exempel med för. Dessutom, när jag söker vi får ta en glass för mamma, svarar google ai vill du bjuda din mamma på en glass? Så... motsatsen till vad videon menade.

Min fråga är: använder man ens för i meningar som den här? När man får lov att göra nåt av nån ska man då säga av, för eller nåt annat?

Tack!


r/Svenska • • 5d ago

Text and translation help I got a new kid’s book for my kid-level vocabulary

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17 Upvotes

r/Svenska • • 5d ago

Language question (see FAQ first) "Prylsamhälle"

8 Upvotes

Do you use the word "prylsamhälle"? If so, what would the nearest English equivalent be - consumer society, throw-away society?


r/Svenska • • 6d ago

Resource request/tip Need help with starting

13 Upvotes

Hello everyone! I am totally new to Swedish, I started on Duolingo but I think it’s not sufficient
Do you have any recommendations for free sites? Also I don’t know with what to start, should I start with words, grammar, listening??
I am lost, please help😬


r/Svenska • • 7d ago

Language question (see FAQ first) The Ghost R

22 Upvotes

Is it just me, or is there a sense of a “ghost r” when retroflexes are pronounced? Examples: kort, bord, barn.

I came across a mention of something called r-coloring in my research, that is, an r that seems to be there, but isn’t. Anyway, I believe the r is deleted in these cases, but perhaps the movement of the tongue after the vowel creates this sensation.

Thank you all!


r/Svenska • • 7d ago

Studying and education Hur öva ni hörförståelsen?

10 Upvotes

Hej tillsammans,
jag kan prata svenska på B1-nivå, men min hörförståelse är så dålig att jag kan inte riktigt använda det. När jag har studerat i Sverige för sex månader jag behövde att byta till engelska så ofta, bara eftersom jag förstådd inte.

Hur öva ni hörförståelsen? Kanske med poddarna?


r/Svenska • • 7d ago

Language question (see FAQ first) Does the Swedish letter ö become more open before r?

33 Upvotes

I've noticed that the Swedish ö sometimes seems to sound more open before r, almost like an open e. Is this a real phonetic feature of Swedish pronunciation, or am I just imagining it? For example, does the vowel sound different in words like höra or röra compared with words where ö isn't followed by r?

I'd appreciate any explanations or examples!


r/Svenska • • 7d ago

Language question (see FAQ first) "griftero"

8 Upvotes

Does ther word "griftero" mean anything to you? The peace of the grave perhaps?


r/Svenska • • 7d ago

Resource request/tip Svenska B2 Nivå, CEFR 4 nivå

3 Upvotes

Hej, Jag har klarat det nationella språkprovet i Finland(YKI/allmänna språkexamen) på B1-nivå. Jag vill ha B2-nivå nu för att studera på universitetet. De som har uppnått B2 eller C1, vad gjorde ni förutom att läsa många tidningar och lyssna på poddar?


r/Svenska • • 8d ago

Language question (see FAQ first) Vad är det för R-ljud som bland andra Tobbe Ek och Jessica Abbott gör?

14 Upvotes

Jag tittar på Fråga Lund där forskaren Jessica Abbot ibland figurerar. Hon verkar göra samma sorts R som Aftonbladets Tobbe Ek gör, eller åtminstone liknande. Hon kommer visst från Kanada från början men talar flytande svenska med skånsk dialekt. Har ingen aning om hur hon låter på engelska eller franska.

Tobbe Ek är från Vallentuna, så det är inget som man uteslutande kan beskylla skåningar för att hålla på med. Jag noterar att R-ljuden inte låter exakt likadana, men jag skulle ändå placera dem i samma kategori.

Är det något dialektalt eller talfel eller något annat?

Edit: När jag tänker efter så har jag även träffat en äldre herre från Göteborgsområdet som har gjort något liknande. Han talade ofta om sin lillasyster, men när han säger "lillesyrran" låter det mer som "lillesögan."


r/Svenska • • 8d ago

Resource request/tip Looking for Swedish-dubbed 90s/2000s kids' cartoons (full episodes, free on YouTube)

8 Upvotes

Which foreign children's cartoons from my childhood (1990s-2000s) can I watch for free on YouTube with Swedish dubbing?

I'm learning Swedish and looking for full episodes with Swedish audio (svenskt tal), not English audio or Swedish subtitles. I've noticed that adult series and films are rarely dubbed in Swedish, so I'm focusing on children's shows.

Which series and channels do you recommend?

I'm bigginer


r/Svenska • • 9d ago

Language question (see FAQ first) "Lank"

16 Upvotes

Do you ever use the word ”lank” (tunn, smaklös dryck)? I have found no examples. Does it occur in the indefinite form as in ”Usch, det var en lank!”? Surprisingly I can find no connection to English ”lank” (adjective used for example of long, dull, limp hair).