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SWEDISH WORD OF THE DAY

Swedish word of the day: varuberg

Understanding this peculiar word will help you to avoid accidentally alienating people in Sweden.

Swedish word of the day: varuberg
If you want to annoy a Swede, try building one of these at the cash register. Photo: Annie Spratt/Unsplash/Nicolas Raymond

Varuberg is one of those concepts that doesn’t have a snappy translation in many other languages. It refers to a heap of items piled up on a supermarket conveyor belt, and is a big no-no when shopping in Sweden.

Perhaps you’ve already learned that berg means “mountain” (from the Old Norse word bjarg), but it also means “heap” or “pile”. Meanwhile, varu- comes from the noun vara, which means “product”; an item being bought or sold. So varuberg is basically “mountain of goods”.

You can hear it used in general, for example to describe large shopping displays or the items in someone’s cart/trolley, but it’s most often used to talk about how people arrange their goods on the conveyor belt before paying.

You usually hear varuberg combined with the verb bygga (to build) rather than göra (to make) – and it’s often preceded by inte (don’t) since most Swedes agree that the preferred way to arrange your shopping is in a neat line.

  • 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

You might be tempted to roll your eyes at the concept of a varuberg and chalk this up to Swedes loving conformity and rule-following, but some studies have shown that a varuberg can actually be a health issue for checkout staff. It delays the checkout process, since staff need to dismantle the “mountain” and scan each item one by one, and these repetitive motions can, over time, cause damage to their muscles and shoulders.

So while this isn’t exactly one of the most common words in the Swedish language, it’s very handy to know in order to avoid hearing it mumbled passive-aggressively by shoppers queuing behind you. 

Examples

Vänd streckkoden mot dig och bygg inte varuberg

Turn the barcode towards yourself and don’t pile up your items

Varuberg kan skada personal

Mountains of piled-up goods can injure staff

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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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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