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SWEDISH WORD OF THE DAY

Swedish word of the day: nja

This little word can help you navigate tricky social situations with ease in Swedish.

Swedish word of the day: nja
Will this help you sound fluent? Nja... Photo: Annie Spratt/Unsplash/Nicolas Raymond

Nja is a useful word to have in your arsenal.

It’s a jumble of the words nej (no) and ja (yes), which you can use when you don’t want to express an opinion on something outright. That might be because you don’t have the information to give a concrete answer yet, or because you just don’t want to pick a side. There’s a similar construction in German: jein, from ja (yes) and nein (no).

  • 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

So it might express hesitation, doubt, or disagreement. Depending on the context, the English equivalent might be something like “We-ell…” or “yes and no…”. It’s a perfect word to pull out if you’re put on the spot in a debate and need to give a non-committal response.

Nja is often used like a counterpart of jo. Jo means “yes”, when answering a question posed in the negative, for example: Talar du inte svenska? Jo (Don’t you speak Swedish? Yes, I do). And nja can be used to respond negatively to questions, without giving an outright denial: Talar du svenska? Nja, men… (Do you speak Swedish? Well, sort of, but…)

If you’re trying to work out what Swedish-speaking friends really mean with their nja, be aware that it’s usually slightly closer to the “no” end of the “yes-no” spectrum.

To really emphasise the doubt or hesitation, you can draw out the word for longer: njaaaa

Examples

Men ni är väl vänner? – Nja, inte vänner direkt.

But you’re friends, right? – Well, not really ‘friends’.

Alla tycker ju om kaffe – Nja, jag tycker bättre om te

Everyone likes coffee – Well, I like tea more.

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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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.

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