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SWEDISH WORD OF THE DAY

Swedish word of the day: lönehelg

It's a lönehelg this weekend, so don't be surprised if Sweden's city centres feel a bit busier than usual on Saturday and Sunday.

Published: 24 August 2022 15:41 CEST
Updated: 24 May 2024 06:57 CEST
Swedish word of the day: lönehelg
Photo: Annie Spratt/Unsplash/Nicolas Raymond

Lönehelg is a compound word comprised of the word lön (salary) and helg (weekend). Its English equivalent would be “payday weekend”, the weekend after Swedish workers receive their salary.

In Sweden, unlike in some other countries, salary is paid monthly, with payments always reaching workers’ accounts on the 25th of the month (or the closest working day, if the 25th falls on a weekend or public holiday). This month, payday for most workers is March 24th.

This is the case for the vast majority of Swedish employees – meaning, as a general rule, everyone on Sweden gets paid on the same day.

This means that the first weekend after the 25th is always a lönehelg.

  • 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

You might notice the number of people in bars and restaurants gradually declining throughout the month, as people’s funds dwindle before payday, only for the city to be buzzing on the 25th after everyone has been paid.

In a similar vein, bars, clubs and restaurants are always more busy on a lönehelg, so it might be a good idea to book if you’re planning on meeting up with some friends just after payday.

This is also the period of the month where restaurants and shops earn the most money, when consumers finally splurge on the items they’ve decided they need but haven’t been able to afford since last payday.

Bizarrely, a 2014 study from the Institute for Labour Market and Education Policy Evaluation (IFAU) showed that more people die on paydays in Sweden than on other days – researchers saw a worrying 23 percent increase in deaths on payday, with deaths due to strokes or heart problems increasing by a whopping 67 percent.

There was no increase in alcohol-related deaths on payday though, so no need to worry if you do plan to indulge in a celebratory payday beer with your friends this weekend.

Example sentences:

“Ska vi ute och ta några bärs på fredag? Det är lönehelg!”

“Do you want to go out and get a few drinks on Friday? It’s payday weekend!”

“Åh, jag älskar den klänningen men tror inte jag har råd just nu…” “Köp den nästa vecka då, det är lönehelg i helgen!”

“Ah, I love that dress but I’m not sure I can afford it right now…” “Buy it next week then, it’s payday weekend this weekend!”

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.

Member comments

  1. This surprised me. I work for Region Dalarna and I don’t get paid until the 27th. Is this a Dalarna thing?

    1. Hi!
      It’s not a Dalarna thing but it is a public sector thing – a lot of regional and municipal workers are paid a couple of days later. Supposedly it used to be because the banks couldn’t handle that many transactions going through all on one day so they had to space them out on different days, but now it’s stuck.
      You could get paid as late as the 28th in some months, if the 27th falls on a Sunday, as it’s paid on the closest working day.
      Hope that clears it up!

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For members

SWEDISH WORD OF THE DAY

Swedish word of the day: annandag

Today is annandag pingst, but what does annandag actually mean?

Published: 20 May 2024 11:16 CEST
Swedish word of the day: annandag

Many Swedish religious holidays last three days, starting with the afton celebrated the day before the holiday, then the dag, which is the actual day of the holiday, then annandag, the day after the holiday.

Some examples of these are Christmas (jul), Easter (påsk) and Pentecost (pingst), where annandag refers to Boxing Day, Easter Monday and Whit Monday, respectively.

Annandag itself is a compound word consisting of two words: annan and dag. Let’s look at annan first.

Annan comes from the Old Swedish word annar, meaning “second”, “other” or “one of two”. In the accusative case, this became annan, which has hung on in modern Swedish. (For the purposes of this article I’ll be skipping the explanation of Old Swedish grammar, but the grammatically-inclined can read more on the accusative case here.)

It can be complicated to translate into English, and the fact that the word can appear as annat, andre or andra, too, depending on the object it refers to, doesn’t make this easier. 

Here are a few ways it can be translated: 

Vill du ha någonting annat? (Would you like something else?)

Jag vill ha en annan tröja (I want a different top)

Har du några andra leksaker? (Do you have any other toys?)

Den andre prinsen heter André (The second prince is called André [you could use andra here, too])

  • 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

Dag, meanwhile, comes from the Old Norse dagr via Old Swedish dagher, with the same Proto-West Germanic root as the English word “day”. 

It differs from the word dygn, which refers specifically to a 24-hour period (as an aside, there is a rarely used word for this in English, too, nychthemeron, from an Ancient Greek term meaning “lasting a day and a night”). 

As far as annandag is concerned, the annan here means “second”, so it literally translates to the second day of whatever holiday it’s referring to.

Usually, an annandag will be written alongside the name of its respective holiday, like annandag påsk or annandag pingst. If you see it written alone, it’s probably referring to annandag jul, which is December 26th or Boxing Day.

Although most holidays in Sweden have an afton and a dag, not all of them have annandagar, so you’ll probably raise a few eyebrows if you ask your colleagues about their plans for annandag midsommar. 

We won’t stop you trying to get your friends and family to celebrate you for an extra day on annandag födelse (second birthday), annandag mor (second mothers’ day) or annandag far (second father’s day), though.

Example sentences:

Annandag pingst var allmän helgdag i Sverige fram till 2004

Whit Monday was a public holiday in Sweden until 2004

Vi brukar fira med min pappas familj på annandagen

We usually celebrate with my dad’s family on December 26th

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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