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SWEDISH WORD OF THE DAY

Swedish word of the day: vinterkräksjuka

Today's word is vinterkräksjuka – not particularly festive, but definitely an important word to understand for the winter season.

Published: 12 December 2018 15:43 CET
Updated: 15 December 2023 06:22 CET
Swedish word of the day: vinterkräksjuka
We really, really hope you don't need this word this winter. Photo: Annie Spratt/Unsplash/Nicolas Raymond

Vinterkräksjuka is usually translated in English as “winter vomiting virus” or “norovirus” and the Swedish word can be broken down into the words vinter (winter), kräk (from kräkas meaning “to vomit” – note that kräk used on its own can also be an insult meaning something like “creep” or “wretch”), and sjuka (illness).

It’s caused by the Caliciviridae group of viruses, and symptoms including nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea typically emerge shortly after infection. It’s not a pleasant experience, and thousands are affected each year. Many Swedish families will have their own horror stories of the whole household being infected with the bug.

  • Don’t miss any of our Swedish words and expressions of the day by downloading The Local’s new app (available on Apple and Android) and then selecting the Swedish Word of the Day in your Notification options via the User button

The best way to try to ward off the illness is to keep good hand hygiene by washing hands with soap and water regularly, and if you experience the symptoms, stay hydrated and get rest.

So why have we chosen this word for today?

Well, the virus is most common between the months of November and April, and Sweden’s Public Health Agency said this week that the 2023/24 season had started based on searches for vinterkräksjukan on healthcare website 1177, as well as analysis of voluntary reports to microbiological laboratories across the country.

So, now you know. We hope you don’t need to use this word, but if you do end up getting the virus, then at least you know what to call it.

Example sentences

Så kallad vinterkräksjuka orsakas av calicivirus

The so-called winter vomiting bug is caused by calcivirus

Hur kan jag skydda mig mot vinterkräksjukan?

How can I protect myself from the winter vomiting bug?

Need a good Christmas gift idea?

Villa, Volvo, Vovve: The Local’s Word Guide to Swedish Life, written by The Local’s journalists, is available to order. Head to lysforlag.com/vvv to read more about it. It is also possible to buy your copy from Amazon US, Amazon UK, Bokus or Adlibris.

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SWEDISH WORD OF THE DAY

Swedish word of the day: nyckelpiga

These little red and black insects are starting to pop up in gardens and fields all across Sweden. But where does their name come from?

Published: 14 May 2024 09:18 CEST
Swedish word of the day: nyckelpiga

Nyckelpiga, or nyckelpigor in the plural, is the Swedish word for the red and black spotted insects known in English as ladybirds or ladybugs.

Their name is made up of two words in Swedish, nyckel, which is the word for key, and piga, meaning a maid or other female servant, so it could be literally translated as a “keymaiden”.

In many European languages, these insects have names which relate to the Virgin Mary. 

In English, legend has it that farmers prayed to the Virgin Mary asking her to protect their crops, and when ladybirds appeared to eat aphids (a common garden pest), they called them “Our Lady’s birds”, which over time was simplified to ladybirds.

They’re known as mariquita in Spanish and marieta in Catalan, while in Danish and Norwegian they’re called mariehøner or marihøner (literally: Mary hens), and in German they’re called Marienkäfer (Mary beetles).

The Swedish term has a less obvious relationship to the Virgin Mary, and dates back to Sweden’s Catholic past.

Mary is believed in Catholicism to have seven sorrows, which are all events in her life often depicted in art by seven swords piercing her heart. The most common ladybird in Sweden has seven spots, which were seen as representing these seven sorrows.

  • Don’t miss any of our Swedish words and expressions of the day by downloading our app (available on Apple and Android) and then selecting the Swedish Word of the Day in your Notification options via the User button

Seven was also considered to be a holy number in general, and it was believed therefore that ladybirds held the keys to heaven on behalf of Mary. According to an old Swedish folk tale, anyone who releases a captured ladybird would be let through the gates of heaven, and in many countries they are believed to be able to reveal when someone will marry.

In Sweden, it was said that if one landed on your hand and walked along your fingers, it was measuring new gloves for you, which meant that you were either going to attend a wedding or a funeral, and in France, a woman could put a ladybird on her finger and count out loud until it flew away, with the number reached representing how many years would pass before she would marry.

Another word for ladybird in Swedish is gullhöna (yellow hen), which most likely refers to the less common yellow ladybirds with black spots.

These ladybirds were believed to be able to predict the weather in some parts of Sweden. In Bohuslän, ladybirds meant good weather, and if you saw one, you were supposed to say gullhöna, gullhöna, flyg, flyg, flyg, så blir det sommar och gott, gott väder (ladybird, ladybird, fly, fly, fly, then it will be summer and good, good weather). In Värmland, however, seeing a ladybird meant the opposite: bad weather and rain.

Example sentences:

Tycker du inte att det har varit ovanligt många nyckelpigor i år?

Don’t you think there has been an unusually large number of ladybirds this year?

Nyckelpigor är ett bra nyttodjur att ha i trädgården då de äter bladlöss.

Ladybirds are a good beneficial insect to have in the garden, as they eat aphids.

Villa, Volvo, Vovve: The Local’s Word Guide to Swedish Life, written by The Local’s journalists, is available to order. Head to lysforlag.com/vvv to read more about it. It is also possible to buy your copy from Amazon US, Amazon UK, Bokus or Adlibris.

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