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SWEDISH WORD OF THE DAY

​​Swedish word of the day: ända in i kaklet

Today's word of the day is a phrase taken from swimming competitions.

Photo: Annie Spratt/Unsplash/Nicolas Raymond
Photo: Annie Spratt/Unsplash/Nicolas Raymond

Ända in i kaklet literally means ‘all the way into the tiling’, but in daily parlance it means to ‘keep fighting all the way until the end’.

Ända in i means ‘all the way into’, and kaklet, of course, is ‘the tiling’. Ända can also mean a’ behind’, as in someone’s ‘derriere’. This is because it literally means ‘an end’, as in either end of an object. A less common usage is ‘to finish’, as in ‘to finish something or someone’.

Here, of course, it means something like ‘all the way’, drawing from the meaning ‘along the entire route to a certain end point (or from a certain starting point)’.

The expression ända in i kaklet was born in the world of competitive swimming. You can almost imagine a coach at a competition screaming at their swimmer to keep going Ända in i kaklet! That is, keep swimming until you hit the tiling of the pool, or in other words, until the race is over.

As you might know, swimming is quite popular in Sweden. The country has had a disproportionate number of world champions for such a small country. And it is not hard to see how a popular expression in the sport would be carried home by fans to the wider public. 

The expression gained popularity broadly applied to any competition or struggle, where it simply means that you keep fighting until you win, or until the bitter end. During election years you might hear politicians use it, for instance, often referring to a tight race that they are gonna fight ända in i kaklet

You might want to use the expression for any number of occasions, perhaps going out to town you might say to your frends, Nu kör vi ända in i kaklet! Which would mean ‘Here we go, all the way until the end!’’ 

Anything that requires an effort (or a symbolic effort, like partying) is usually a good fit. If there’s a competition, even better. Good luck!

Example sentences:

Dom kör verkligen ända in i kaklet!

They’re really going all the way till the end!

Vi kommer att kämpa ända in i kaklet.

We are going to fight all the way till the end

Villa, Volvo, Vovve: The Local’s Word Guide to Swedish Life, written by The Local’s journalists, is now available to order. Head to lysforlag.com/vvv to read more about it. It is also possible to buy your copy from Amazon US, Amazon UK, Bokus 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.

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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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