Swedish Written Language
Svenska
Swedish speaking areas:.
- Sweden
- Western fringes of Finland
(see to the right)Where Swedish (spoken/written) is understood/very similar:
- Denmark
- Norway
89% of Swedes speak/write English. English is compulsory in school.
Similarity with other Scandinavian languages: Danish and Norwegian.
Danish, Swedish and Norwegian are extremely similar with the Danish and Norwegian languages sharing the same alphabet. The Swedish alphabet is the same as the Finnish alphabet (mainly due to past Swedish colonisation of Finland).
All three languages are mutually undertood by each others speakers.
Written Swedish is extremly similar to Danish (see below).
Similarity between Swedish Danish and Norwegian
Swedish text
Alla människor är födda fria och lika i värde och rättigheter. De
är utrustade med förnuft och samvete och bör handla gentemot varandra
i en anda av broderskap.
Danish text
Alle mennesker er født frie og lige i værdighed og rettigheder. De
er udstyret med fornuft og samvittighed, og de bør handle mod hverandre
i en broderskabets ånd.
Norwegian text (Bokmål)
Alle mennesker er født frie og med samme menneskeverd og menneskerettigheter.
De er utstyrt med fornuft og samvittighet og bør handle mot hverandre
i brorskapets ånd.
Swedish Latin Alphabet
Z is only used in loan (foriegn) words and names.
Swedish uses exactly the same English latin alphabet, except for three more additional letters (see below).
The Swedish alphabet is the same as the Finnish alphabet.
Additions to Latin Alphabet (accents)
To type accents with ALT codes, hold down the ALT key, then on the numeric keypad type the three or four digits listed here. However not with laptops, ALT codes only work with the numeric keypad, NOT the row of numbers across the top of your keyboard, as on laptops.
a with ring
å Å
a with diaeresis accent
ä Ä
o with diaeresis accent
ö Ö
Full Norwegian alphabet
a A
b B
c C
d D
e E
f F
g G
h H
i I
j J
k K
l L
m M
n N
o O
p P
q Q
r R
s S
t T
u U
v V
w W
x X
y Y
z Z
a with ring
å Å
a with diaeresis accent
ä Ä
o with diaeresis accent
ö Ö
Improvements to this site?
Swedish Translation sample:
Alla människor är födda fria och lika i värde och rättigheter. De är utrustade med förnuft och samvete och bör handla gentemot varandra i en anda av broderskap.
All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood. (Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights)
Swedish Speaking countries
Sweden.
Indo-European Language group
Indo-European > Germanic > North Germanic
Difficulty in learning Swedish as a native English speaker
The Defense Language Institute categorizes Swedish as relatively easy (level 1, of 4 levels)
Swedish letter writing samples
- Letter (formal)
- Letter (informal)