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SWEDISH WORD OF THE DAY

Swedish word of the day: trotsåldern

Anyone bringing up small children in Sweden will know this word, but it will probably be a mystery to other foreigners.

Swedish word of the day: trotsåldern
Photo: Annie Spratt/Unsplash/Nicolas Raymond

Trotsåldern is the age of toddler tantrums; what in English-speaking countries is known as ‘the terrible twos’, but which often extends to three and four-year-olds too. 

You’ll usually see it in the definite form, trotsåldern, where the final ‘n’ is the equivalent of English ‘the’. It is a compound word combining trots, meaning ‘defiance’ (note: trots is also a preposition meaning ‘despite’) and åldern meaning ‘the age of’, and therefore literally means ‘the age of defiance’. 

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It is used most often in Sweden as a one-word excuse from embarrassed Mums and Dads as their child lies shrieking on a supermarket floor, red-faced, hammering the ground, and refusing to be moved. 

For example: [sighs]…Det är ju trotsåldern. This could be translated as “It’s just the terrible twos, you know”.

Trotsåldern is also the subject of innumerable articles in newspapers, magazines and parenting blogs with titles like: Hur man hanterar barn i trotsåldern (How to handle children in the terrible twos), Myten om trotsåldern (The myth of the terrible twos), and Så överlever ni trotsåldern (How you survive the terrible twos). 

You will sometimes hear the word trotsig (defiant) applied to toddlers in the trotsåldern, although it can equally describe a rebellious teenager, a stubborn animal, or a stubborn adult. 

And you can also talk about trotsålder (ages of defiance), tvåårstrots (two-year-old defiance), treårstrots (three-year-old defiance), and even tonårstrots (teenage defiance). 

Example sentences

Med ett barn i trotsåldern ställs stora krav på dig.

When you have a child in the terrible twos, it demands a lot of you 

Ordet trotsålder syftar på perioder i ett barns utveckling när det testar gränser.

The word ages of defiance describes periods in a child’s development when they test boundaries. 

Den klassiska trotsåldern börjar omkring 2½ år .

The classic terrible twos starts at around two and a half years old. 

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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