Olle’s words

Olle is Mamma Mi’s Swedish teacher. He has a small trick for almost every word. Here are 15 of his favourites.

gift · marriedA false friend: gift means married. (It can also mean poison!)
chef · bossFalse friend: a chef is the boss, not a cook.
kö · queuekö (queue) or ko (cow)? The dots make the vowel rounder: kö.
sju · sevensju starts with the sj-sound, like a soft hw. Seven is a good word to practise it.
hjälper · helpThe h is silent: hjälp sounds like “yelp”. Shout Hjälp! if you need it.
grönsak · vegetablegrön (green) + sak (thing) = a green thing: a vegetable.
många · manymånga for things you count: många äpplen. For things you don’t count, Swedes say mycket: mycket kaffe.
fika · fika: a coffee break with something sweetCoffee or tea, something sweet, and company. Swedes do it every day.
pant · deposit (on cans and bottles)Cans and bottles cost a little extra, the pant. You get it back at the shop.
lagom · just rightNot too much, not too little. Swedes use it for everything.
allemansrätten · the right to roamallemans (everyone’s) + rätten (the right): you may walk, swim and pick berries almost anywhere.
jordgubbe · strawberryjord (earth) + gubbe (old man): a little old man in the earth.
lussekatt · Lucia bun (saffron bun)A yellow saffron bun shaped like an S, with two raisins: a curled-up cat.
varsågod · here you areSaid when you give something: Varsågod! (Here you are!). Also: Varsågod och sitt (please sit down).
mjölk · milkmjölk looks like milk. The j is soft: myölk.

Olle has 478 of these. They come with the lessons, free. Start with Kapitel 1