Tips for learning Swedish
If you truly want to integrate into Swedish society, knowing Swedish is essential. We’ll give you our best tips for learning Swedish – including a list of learning resources.
Motivation is key
Figure out why you’re learning, and you’ll quickly see which areas to focus on. Prioritise vocabulary for the situations that are relevant to you.
Look for cognates
There are many Swedish words that are similar to English and other languages. Take the word broder (brother) for example. Start with these cognates but look out for false friends where the words sound alike but have different meanings!
Google translate is allowed
It isn’t perfect, but it’s still a helpful tool – definitely check out the audio features for help with pronunciation.
When in doubt, guess ’en’
It’s close to impossible to figure out the gender of Swedish nouns, and when to use ’en’ and ’ett’ (a/an). So, if you’re not sure, start by guessing ’en’. It might seem arbitrary, but you’ll be right about 70% of the time.
Top Swedish learning resources
Here are some of our favorite learning resources that you can access from northern Sweden.
Svenska för invandrare, SFI.
SFI (Swedish for Immigrants) is a free educational program for immigrants. Google ’SFI Skellefteå’. SFI also offers quite a few specialist language courses, so do your research.
Svenska som andraspråk, SAS.
SAS (Swedish as a second language) is basically a continuation of the SFI levels. The education is free, and often taught at KOMVUX, Sweden’s secondary education institution for adults.
Learning Swedish
Learning Swedish is a free course for beginners arranged by Svenska Institutet. Learn more at
learningswedish.se/.
Swedish for professionals
Professionals and academics often want to learn Swedish relating to their work field. Check out the SIFA (Swedish for academics) distance courses.
Say it in Swedish
Say it in Swedish is a site with free audio lessons, videos, and vocabulary lists. Learn more at sayitinswedish.com.
Språkkraft Läscoach
Språkkraft Läscoach is an app which helps you get started with Swedish reading – from tweets to novels. Learn more at sprakkraft.org.
Duolingo
Duolingo is a free language-learning platform with a website and app. Learn more at duolingo.com.
8 Sidor
Read and listen to the news in simple Swedish.
8sidor.se
Finally, the news programme ’Radio Sweden på lätt svenska’ lets you listen (and read) to Swedish news in easy-to-understand Swedish.
Start listening here: sverigesradio.se/radioswedenpalattsvenska.
