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LANGUAGE AND CULTURE

Swedish word of the day: rötmånad

Rötmånad literally means 'rotting month' – here's why it's an important addition to your vocabulary.

Swedish word of the day: rötmånad
Image: nito103/Depositphotos

Rötmånad is a Swedish compound word, made up of the verb röta (to rot) and the noun månad (month).

It's used to describe the period from late July to late August. Some people might say it runs from July 23rd to August 23rd, but this is based in superstition: others use it to talk about any part of the summer with high temperatures and humidity which might cause fresh food to go off more quickly due to bacterial growth. 

It's much less of a worry since the invention of fridges, but the Swedish Food Agency still issues advice to use cooler bags for picnics and to store and transport food appropriately during this time of year. Taking these precautions, particularly with raw meat for example if used for barbecuing, helps to avoid unnecessary food waste and bacteria-borne illnesses, both of which are more likely in the hot summer period.

You can also translate rötmånad into English as 'dog days', a term to refer to the days of late summer where the long, humid days were thought to lead to bad luck and mysterious happenings, such as sudden thunderstorms and food deteriorating in quality. Of course, these days we know there are scientific reasons as to why these things happen on summer days.

A rötmånadshistoria (literally 'rotting month story' or 'dog days story') is a term to refer to stories with fantastic and unbelievable elements, because of the association between this time of year and unusual events.

And according to superstition, calves with deformities were more likely to be born in this late summer period, so they are sometimes called rötmånadskalv (literally 'a dog days calf').

Examples

Augusti är känd som rötmånaden i Sverige

August is known as the 'rotting month' in Sweden

Det är extraviktigt att hålla maten fräsch under rötmånaden

It's extra important to keep food fresh during the dog days of summer

Do you have a favourite Swedish word you would like to nominate for our word of the day series? Get in touch by email or if you are a Member of The Local, log in to comment below.

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SWEDISH WORD OF THE DAY

Swedish word of the day: släkt

Here’s another Swedish word where it’s important to remember the difference between ä and a.

Swedish word of the day: släkt

Släkt is a useful word to know in Swedish, as it’s one of the ways Swedes refer to family. It’s used roughly where you’d say “extended family” or “relatives” in English, and refers specifically to family outside of your core family unit.

If you were visiting family back home, for example, you would say jag ska hälsa på min släkt. If you used the word familj instead of släkt here, it would sound like you were visiting your immediate family – partner and children, or parents and siblings – rather than other relatives.

You can also say jag ska hälsa på mina släktingar. Think of släkt as the collective noun and släktingar as the individuals.

When discussing a royal or noble family, you would use the word ätt instead.

Släkt can also be used as an adjective – vi är släkt (we are related) – and you’ll see it in a number of compound words, like släktforskning (genealogy, literally “extended family research”), släktled (lineage), släktträff (family reunion) and släktskap (relationship or kinship).

You may also come across the phrase släkt och vänner (family and friends), which featured in Björn Afzelius’ 1999 number one single Farväl till släkt och vänner (“Goodbye to family and friends”).

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Another word which is useful for Word of the Day articles is besläktad, used to describe words which are related to each other.

Släkt originally comes from Old Swedish slækt, which has its roots in Middle Low German slecht (meaning family or lineage). 

There are two other Swedish words which look similar to släkt. The first is släckt, which is used to describe a light which has been turned off, or a candle or fire which has been extinguished. The second word, slakt, means “slaughter”, so it’s a good idea to keep an eye on your spelling.

Example sentences:

Har ni några planer för sommaren? Ja, vi ska besöka min frus släkt i Indien.

Do you have any plans for summer? Yes, we’re visiting my wife’s family in India.

Vi brukar ha en stor släktträff minst en gång om året.

We usually have a big family reunion at least once a year.

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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