SHARE
COPY LINK
For members

SWEDISH WORD OF THE DAY

Swedish word of the day: tjafs

"Lite mer tjafs," Liberal leader Johan Pehrson was heard whispering to Sweden Democrat leader Jimmie Åkesson in a parliamentary debate this week. But what does it mean, and why are people talking about it?

the word tjafs written on a blackboard next to the swedish flag
Don't be all tjafs and no action. Photo: Annie Spratt/Unsplash/Nicolas Raymond

Tjafs is the noun form of the verb tjafsa, which translates roughly to “quibble”, “bicker” or “squabble” in English – essentially some sort of petty argument or conflict.

The etymology is not particularly clear, but it may be related to two other similar words, tjata (to nag) and tafsa (to grope).

  • 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

According to the Swedish Academy’s dictionary, it has existed in Swedish since at least 1889. It can also be used as an adjective, tjafsig, for someone who is engaging in tjafs.

Tjafs is an outdated word for bell-bottoms or flares, too (probably from the English word “chaps”) but it’s unlikely that Pehrson was commenting on Åkesson’s fashion choices.

So, what was Pehrson trying to say to Åkesson? He clearly didn’t mean for it to be picked up on Åkesson’s microphone, but it’s unclear what exactly he was trying to say to the Sweden Democrat leader. 

There are a few possibilities. Pehrson said the phrase while walking past Åkesson’s lectern on his way to debate him in parliament, so it could have been some sort of suggestion that Åkesson, whose party support the Liberals, Moderates and Christian Democrats’ coalition government, should act a bit more tjafsig towards him. This could explain why Åkesson responded by lifting his left fist in the air and smiling.

Was Pehrson accusing Åkesson of bickering? Or was he apologising in advance that he was about to tjafsa at Åkesson?

Despite being political allies, the two parties differ the most of the four parties in the ruling block, publicly disagreeing on a number of issues – most recently the Sweden Democrats’ use of anonymous troll accounts to slander political opponents and allies.

Some members of the opposition, particularly the Social Democrats, believe that the phrase was proof that the Liberals’ supposed hard stance against these troll accounts is nothing more than political theatre.

“It’s all theatre. It’s all a game,” Social Democrat press secretary Mirjam Kontio wrote on X.

Pehrson, on the other hand, claimed via his press secretary Elin Olofsson in a comment to Aftonbladet that the statement was actually a comment on the parties’ differing stances on the EU, the topic they were debating.

The Sweden Democrats are one of the most Eurosceptic parties in the Swedish parliament, while the Liberals are the opposite – so pro-EU that they want to join the Euro.

“Johan stated on the way to the podium during an EU debate that he, in his response to the Sweden Democrats, is going to continue to bicker at the Sweden Democrats about the EU and their Swexit fantasies,” Olofsson wrote to the newspaper.

Whatever Pehrson meant to say with his lite mer tjafs comment, at least it’s provided us with the opportunity to teach you a new Swedish word today.

Example sentences:

Men sluta tjafsa nu, jag pallar inte höra på er.

Stop bickering now, come on, I can’t stand listening to you.

Hur var mötet? Det var ett evigt tjafsande.

How was the meeting? It was non-stop squabbling.

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 USAmazon UKBokus or Adlibris.

Member comments

Log in here to leave a comment.
Become a Member to leave a comment.
For members

SWEDISH WORD OF THE DAY

Swedish word of the day: jordgubbe

If there's one thing Swedes can't get enough of in summer, it's these.

Swedish word of the day: jordgubbe

Jordgubbe is made up of two words: jord and gubbe.

Jord means earth or soil, and it’s also used in Swedish for Planet Earth.

It’s easy to assume that jordgubbe means “earth man”, gubbe on its own being a common word for referring to a male person (usually gubbe refers to someone either very young or very old, and it can be either affectionate or derogatory, depending on the context).

But this is wrong.

  • Don’t miss any of The Local’s 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

Gubbe is also a Swedish dialect word used to refer to a small lump, so jordgubbe literally means “a small lump that grows in the earth” – more accurate, but less romantic than picturing strawberries as tiny little men who live in our garden and are to be picked and eaten with whipped cream… now that we think about it, “small lump” is probably better.

Strawberries were introduced to Sweden in the second half of the 18th century and were originally called ananassmultron due to their Latin name (Fragaria x ananassa).

The word jordgubbe has existed in the Swedish language since at least 1638, but was then the main name for musk strawberries, later known as parksmultron in Swedish.

Jordgubbar are one of the staple foods on Midsummer’s Eve and Swedes are convinced that they grow the best strawberries in the world.

Example sentences:

Polisen misstänker att gängkriminella har infiltrerat jordgubbsindustrin

Police suspect that gang criminals have infiltrated the strawberry industry

Goda jordgubbar! Är de svenska eller belgiska?

Yummy strawberries! Are they Swedish or Belgian?

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 USAmazon UKBokus or Adlibris.

SHOW COMMENTS