A collection of idiomatic expressions in Swedish with English equivalents and translations.
| Idioms | English versions |
|---|---|
| Att ana ugglor i mossen | To smell a rat; to have suspicions ("To suspect owls in the moss/bog") |
| Att ha tomfar på loftet | To have bats in the belfry; to be a bit stupid/crazy ("To have gnomes in the attic") |
| Droppen som fick bägaren att rinna över | The straw that broke the camel's back ("The droplet that caused the beaker to overflow") |
| Först till kvarn (får först mala) | First come, first served ("First to the mill does the first grinding") |
| Göra en höna av en fjäder | To make a mountain out of a molehill ("To make a hen out of a feather") |
| Grädde på moset | The icing on the cake ("The cream on the mash") |
| Gå som katten kring het gröt | To beat around the bush; to pussyfoot ("To walk like a cat around hot porridge") |
| Ha en gås oplockad | To have a bone to pick ("To have an unplucked goose") |
| Ha en räv bakom örat | To be cunning ("To have a fox behind the ear") |
| Ha millimetrarna på sin sida | To be lucky ("To have the millimeters on your side") |
| Inte döma hunden efter håren | Don't judge a book by its cover ("Don't judge the dog after the hair") |
| Inte för allt smör i hela Småland | Not all the tea in China ("Not for all the butter in Småland") |
| Ingen ko på isen | There is no cause for concern; no immediate danger ("No cow on the ice") |
| Inte sälja skinnet förrän björnen är skjuten | Don't count your chickens until they hatch ("Don't sell the skin before the bear is shot") |
| Känna som sin egen ficka | To know like the back of one's hand ("To know like one's own pocket") |
| Mycket snack och lite verkstad | All talk, no action ("Lots of talk and no workshop") |
| Skriva som en kråka | To write illegibly ("To write like a crow") |
| Stava som en kråka | To spell badly ("To spell like a crow") |
| Ta sig vatten över huvudet | To bite off more than you can chew ("Take water over your head") |
| Vara ute och cykla | To be utterly confused; to misunderstand something ("To be out cycling") |
| Trampa i klaveret | To put one's foot in one's mouth - to do something awkward or embarrassing putting sb/oneself on the spot in a negative way ("To step (heavily) on the accordion") |
Hear some Swedish idioms:
Swedish idioms
https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Category:Swedish_idioms
http://lostinstockholm.com/2013/05/31/13-hilarious-swedish-idioms/
https://sv.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lista_över_svenska_idiomatiska_uttryck
http://idiom.nu/kategori/svenska-idiom/
https://youtu.be/q8RFdTFfkQE
- SwedishPod101.com - Learn Swedish with SwedishPod101
- Swedish learning software
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- Find Swedish Tutors with LanguaTalk
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