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First 50 Swedish Words Every Beginner Should Learn

Lalo Team·Updated April 17, 2026·3 min read

Start your Swedish journey with the 50 most essential high-frequency words. These cover roughly 40% of everyday conversation.

These 50 words cover ~40% of everyday Swedish

Pronouns(15)

det

it, that

/deː/

som

who, which, that, as

/sɔm/

den

it, the (common gender)

/dɛn/

jag

I

/jɑːɡ/

de

they, the (plural)

/dɔm/

han

he

/han/

vi

we

/viː/

hon

she

/huːn/

du

you (singular)

/dʉː/

sig

oneself, himself, herself

/sɛj/

alla

all, everyone

/ˈalːa/

sina

his, her, its, their (reflexive possessive)

/ˈsiːna/

sin

his, her, its (reflexive possessive, common)

/siːn/

vad

what

/vɑːd/

hans

his

/hans/

Articles(2)

en

a, an, one

/eːn/

ett

a, an, one (neuter)

/ɛt/

Core Verbs(8)

är

is, are, am

/ɛːr/

har

have, has

/hɑːr/

hade

had

/ˈhɑːdɛ/

kan

can, may

/kan/

vara

to be

/ˈvɑːra/

ska

shall, will

/skɑː/

kommer

comes, will

/ˈkɔmːɛr/

säger

says, say

/ˈsɛːjɛr/

Adverbs(9)

inte

not

/ˈɪntɛ/

var

was, were; where

/vɑːr/

so, then, thus

/soː/

också

also, too

/ˈɔksoː/

nu

now

/nʉː/

sedan

then, since, afterwards

/ˈseːdan/

där

there, where

/dɛːr/

bara

only, just

/ˈbɑːra/

här

here

/hɛːr/

Prepositions(12)

i

in, at

/iː/

on, at, in

/poː/

av

of, by, from

/ɑːv/

för

for, because

/fœːr/

med

with

/meːd/

till

to, until, for

/tɪl/

om

if, about, around

/ɔm/

från

from

/frɔːn/

vid

at, by, near

/viːd/

över

over, above, across

/ˈøːvɛr/

efter

after, behind

/ˈɛftɛr/

under

under, during

/ˈɵndɛr/

Connectors(4)

och

and

/ɔk/

att

to, that

/at/

men

but

/mɛn/

eller

or

/ˈɛlːɛr/

Start learning Swedish now

Start learning Swedish now