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SWEDISH WORD OF THE DAY

​​Swedish word of the day: mallgroda

Today's word of the day is a cocky frog.

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

Mallgroda literally means ‘cocky frog’, but it is simply another way of saying that someone is cocky. 

Mallig means cocky, but this word has been attested as far back as 1912. It comes from the expression to malla sig which in turn comes from a dialectal baking term, malle, which means ‘core; marrow; inside of bread (which lifts and ferments)’. 

So it describes the bit that is fermenting and puffing itself up, much like a cocky person. It’s little surprise then that before 1912 the word that Swedes used instead of mallig was jäsig, which means ‘yeasty’. 

But why frog? Well, that is to be found in the second meaning of groda in Swedish, a meaning which supposedly is drawn from a folktale about the frogs that jumped out of the wicked daughter’s mouth when she laughed. In this sense a groda means a ‘blunder’, as in someone accidentally saying something inaccurate, often something embarrassing. 

So a mallgroda is literally a yeasty frog, but really a cocky, blundering embarrassment or, perhaps more succinctly, a person who is boisterous, yet full of nonsense. 

Being by now, as many of you are, experts of Sweden, you know that no Swede likes a boisterous person – it violates the Law of Jante. Yet calling someone a mallgroda doesn’t really count as harsh invective. In fact, if you tried to use it on someone seriously, they would probably laugh in your face.

Mallgroda is most often used jokingly when someone is being a bit boisterous, which obviously is also most often only done tongue-in-cheek, because how many Swede would actually brag about themselves? (Except for Zlatan, of course, but that is ok, because there is only one Zlatan, as he so often says.)

Mallgroda is also frequently used in Astrid Lindgren’s famous work Madicken, which you can watch right now on SVT Play, but hurry up, there is only one day left of Season 1, although these series tend to return.

Practice using mallgroda when a colleague or friend is feeling just a little bit too good about what they have achieved, and mentions it once too often. As a good Swede, you cannot have that.

Best of luck!

Example sentences:

Nä, nu får du va tyst, din lilla mallgroda!

Ok, quiet down now, you little show-off!

Nu ska du inte komma här och tro, din mallgroda!

Don’t come here thinking you’re all that, you show-off!

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: 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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