Learn to speak Swedish

1. 1

   Week 1: sounds and greetings

   Say hello (Hej) and thank you (Tack) until they feel natural. Learn the sounds that differ from English, and say ten short sentences about yourself. Swedish uses a pitch accent and has a few vowels English lacks. Listening closely and then saying a sentence aloud helps you hear the melody.

2. 2

   Week 2: everyday requests

   Learn to order, ask the price, ask where things are and say you do not understand. Build each as a full sentence and say it three times.

3. 3

   Week 3: questions and answers

   Practise question words and the answers to them. Listen to each Swedish sentence first, then say it, then compare.

4. 4

   Week 4: short exchanges

   Chain sentences into a mini conversation: greet, introduce yourself, ask a question, answer one. Record yourself and listen back.

Swedish uses the Latin alphabet, so you can read and sound out words from day one.

A friendly language for English speakers. Verbs do not change with the person and the grammar is regular. The pitch and the vowels are the parts to practise.

A good first target sentence: Jag förstår inte. (I don't understand.).

• Ten to twenty minutes, same time every day.
• Say everything out loud, even when alone.
• Learn whole sentences, not isolated words.
• Repeat yesterday's sentences before learning new ones.
• After a couple of weeks, find a conversation partner or tutor and use what you have practised. At 30 minutes a day, Swedish reaches working proficiency in roughly 3.8 years, and you will be speaking well before that.