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SWEDISH WORD OF THE DAY

Swedish word of the day: snömos

Winter is here and snow and slush reign in many parts of the country, so today we take a look at one of Sweden's words for snow.

Swedish word of the day: snömos
One of Sweden's many, many, many words for snow. Photo: Annie Spratt/Unsplash/Nicolas Raymond

Snömos defines two different kinds of snow, which are equally common in Sweden.

Mos means “pulp” or “mash” (you might recognise it from potatismos, meaning “mashed potatoes”) and snömos is the kind of greyish slushy substance that covers the streets a few days after heavy snowfall, where the initial snow has begun to melt and mix together with grit, mud, and dirt from people’s shoes and cars. 

There are several other names for what in English is called “slush”. You can also call it snösörja (literally “snow sludge”, which is a beautiful word since sörja as a verb means “to mourn”, giving it a sense of sadness), slask (sludge), or modd (melted snow which is usually mixed with mud).

But confusingly, snömos can also refer to fresh, fluffy snow. There’s a creamy dessert made of egg whites, cream, spices and fruit that is known as snömos too, and if you follow the recipe correctly it should look like fresh snow rather than days-old gritty slush. Sometimes, whipped cream itself is referred to as snömos, especially among Swedish-speaking Finns.

  • 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.

Snömos can also be used in a metaphorical sense.

If you say that someone is serving or producing snömos, it means they are talking with beautiful imagery or powerful ideas, but no substance. It’s often used about politicians who offer plenty of rhetoric but less concrete options, or you might use it about a boss who talks about company values that are rarely acted upon, an article that fails to get to the point, or anyone else who uses meaningless phrases or empty promises. The idea behind this image is that the words are similar to fluffy fallen snow: they will soon melt to nothing.

Examples

Hon lovade mycket, men det var bara en massa snömos

She promised a lot, but it was just a load of empty talk

Snön har blivit till snömos

The snow has become slush

Looking for a good idea for a Christmas present?

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’s also possible to buy your copy from Amazon USAmazon UKBokus or Adlibris.

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SWEDISH WORD OF THE DAY

Swedish word of the day: kondis

Today’s word has two meanings: one is healthy, the other less so.

Swedish word of the day: kondis

Kondis is a great example of a Swedish slang word ending in -is, which essentially is the shortened version of a longer word.

Somewhat confusingly, in the case of kondis, there are actually two similar words which have both been shortened in this way, resulting in one word with two different meanings.

The first meaning comes from konditori, the Swedish version of a patisserie or bakery, which you might recognise from the German word Konditor (a confectioner or pastry chef), originally from the Latin word condītor, which referred to a person who preserved, pickled or seasoned food.

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

The word kondis can either refer to a konditori itself, or to the type of baked goods and pastries they offer. A kondis differs somewhat from a bageri (bakery), which is more likely to focus on savoury or rustic baked goods, like bread (although many kondis also sell bread, and many bagerier will serve some sort of cake or sweet treat too). 

A kondis is also more likely to have some area where you can sit and enjoy your food on-site, perhaps with a cup of tea or coffee, while bakeries are more likely to be take-away only.

The second meaning of kondis is a shortened version of the word kondition, which translates roughly as your endurance or fitness. If you’re good at running, you might be described as having bra kondition or bra kondis, roughly equal to being fit. 

Another similar slang word for this in Swedish would be flås, which technically translates to “panting”, but can be used in the same way as kondis to describe physical endurance or fitness.

Example sentences:

Om man äter för mycket kondis kan man få dålig kondis.

If you eat too many pastries you could end up less fit.

Sprang du hela vägen hit? Du måste ha bra kondis!

Did you run the whole way here? You must be in good shape.

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.

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