Jan 31, 2012

fin

adjective [ fina ]
Fin means anyhting from sweet to proper. When someone says, Du är så fin it's quite a compliment.

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Jan 30, 2012

mingla

verb [ minglar, minglade, minglat, mingla! ]
To mingle at a cocktail party becomes att minglain Swedish. While mingling, you may engage in småprat, or small talk.

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Jan 29, 2012

trängselavgift

noun [ trängselavgiften, trängselavgifter, trängselavgifterna ]
A trängselavgift, or congestion charge, was introduced in Stockholm in 2007 to alleviate traffic congestion. Also called trängselskatt (congestion tax).

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Jan 28, 2012

pinkod

noun [ pinkoden, pinkoder, pinkoderna ]
A pinkod, or pin code in English, is a string of digits that users enter into a terminal to verify their identity. Pin codes are used with bank teller machines, doors, and on mobile devices.

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Jan 27, 2012

nyspråk

noun [ nyspråket ]
Another import from English, nyspråk is a literal translation of newspeak, a concept invented by George Orwell in his novel "1984". Orwell's newspeak is a language where criticism of government policy is impossible and hence unthinkable. In current usage, newspeak is any political speech that attempts to whitewash an unpalatable truth through a particular choice of words.

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Jan 26, 2012

nolltolerans

noun [ nolltoleransen ]
Nolltolerans means zero tolerance in English. For example, Swedish authorities have nolltolerans for driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs.

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Jan 25, 2012

konsumism

noun [ konsumismen ]
Konsumism is Swedish for consumerism, a western disease where the afflicted equate happiness with the purchase and consumption of material possessions. In both languages, the term is a noncount abstract noun, so you can't pluralize it.

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