False friends are a very common thing in similar languages, and they can cause funny or weird situations, from calling someone calm instead of fun and pastries becoming headaches. Or insulting a girl by calling her girl.
So here is a list to find out curious false friends and keep yourself safe from incoveniences. As you will notice, Danish and Norwegian often have the same meaning opposed to Swedish, but not always.
| (se-dk-no) word | Swedish meaning | Danish meaning | Norwegian meaning |
| rolig | fun (calm=lugn) | calm | calm |
| artig | polite | funny | funny |
| frukost/frokost | breakfast (lunch=lunch) | lunch (breakfast=morgenmad) | breakfast (lunch=lunsj) |
| blomma/e | flower (plum=plommon) | plum (flower=blomster) | plomme=plum (flower=blomster) |
| varelse/værelse | (living) being (room=rum) | room | room |
| by | town/village (city=stad) | city (town=landsby) | city (town=landsby) |
| stad/sted | city | place | place |
| semester | holiday (semester=termin) | semester (holiday=ferie) | semester (holiday=ferie) |
| lov | summer break , promise (law=lag) | law (a promise=et løfte, but to promise=at love) | law (a promise=et løfte, but to promise=at love) |
| rar | weird (nice=snäll) | nice, friendly | weird (nice=snill) |
| konstig/kunstig | weird | artificial (weird=mærkelig, underlig) | artificial (weird=rar, merkelig) |
| snål | stingy | – | weird, odd |
| le | smile (laugh=skratta) | laugh (smile=smile, read smeeleh) | laugh (smile=smile) |
| grina/e | weep, cry, also gråta | laugh (cry=græde) | cry (laugh=le, also gråte) |
| glass | ice cream (glass=glas) | glass (ice cream=is) | glass (ice cream=is) |
| kjol/kjole | skirt (dress=klänning) | dress (skirt=nederdel) | dress (skirt=skjørt) |
| killing | young goat | kitten* | geitekilling=young goat |
| bums | immediately, at once | pimple | – |
| kryddsill/krydsild | spiced herring | crossfire (spiced herring=kryddersild) | -, spiced herring=kryddersild) |
| tallrik/talrig | plate | numeous (plate=tallerken) | -, plate=tallerken |
| hurtig | cheeky | fast | fast |
| anledning | reason | reason | opportunity |
| bedrift | achievement | company | company |
| stygg | naughty | ugly | |
| fly | escape | airplane | flight |
| tillbud/tilbud | incident | offer | offer |
| tull | customs | – (customs=told) | joke/nonsense (customs=toll) |
| snort | snot | lace, cord | |
| driva/e med | joking with/kidding | doing | |
| måste/må jeg… | do I have to? | may I? | do i have to? |
and here special section with Naughty words…. Pay attention
| Swedish meaning | Danish meaning | Norwegian meaning | |
| skede | phase | vag**a | |
| tös/tøs | girl | girl | sl*t |
| bolla/e | play boll (to f8&k=knulla) | to f*ck | en bolle=bun pastry, å bolle seg=chill, have fun (to f8&k=knulle) |
| kneppe | – | to f**k (button=knappe | button (fuck=pul3) |
| mås | seagull | butt (seagull=måge) | – (seagull=måke) |
| svans | tail | fag**t | – |
| källing/kælling | kitten* | b**ch | – |
| kuk | d1ck | cuckoo , mess (d*ck=p1k) | d1ck |
| bärs/bæ,sj | slang for a beer | poop |
icelandic also has a few interesting cases:
| Swedish | Icelandic | |
| hugga | chop | console |
| bakverk | pastry | backache |
That’s all for now, I will keep this updated in the future!
more:
Illustrated Guide to Swedish Fika
Fika is a cherished Swedish tradition involving a coffee and cake break. Discover various Fika treats, from classic kanelbullar (cinnamon buns), cakes and cookies to savory options.
Faroese vs Icelandic: Old Norse and its daughters
Discover Faroese – today spoken by about 80,000 people in the North Sea archipelago- as Icelandic still has much in common with Old Norse in grammar and vocabulary
Celebrating Norway’s National Day outside Norway
Norwegian Seamen Churches all over the world host 17th May celebrations. I attended the festivities in Rotterdam, joining the parade and eating a pølse i lompe!
a Polyglot illustrating Scandinavia 