Sluts, sex and farts - welcome to Swedish

Words in the Swedish language can sure look funny, especially to the untrained eye. Here's a list of Swedish words where a straight translation might leave you scratching your head. And whatever happens, DO NOT eat the mother cake…



An English speaker recently visited us in Stockholm, and found great amusement in pointing out all the funny looking words.

Yes, here in Sweden, most people don’t even raise an eyebrow when a train pulls into a “slut station” (final station). Nor when a magazine might offer “sex tips” for a better office environment (that is, six tips).

And when a road sign points out there is a “fart hinder” ahead, it just means speed bump (however the image above can always bring a smile).

Click here for The Local's list

Anyhow, these fresh eyes got us thinking. Sure, the Swedish language has some strange words from the perspective of an English speaker.

But even stranger, perhaps, are those Swedish words that amuse even the most determined language learner.

For example, the word "vegetables" in Swedish is “grönsaker” which literally translates to "green things" - and that's just the beginning.

With this in mind, we gathered our nine favourite Swedish words (with the help of our Twitter followers) where a literal translation could send you on a wild goose chase.

Call them weird translations, call them compounding madness, you can call them what you like: just don't eat the "mother cake".

Click here for the gallery of our top nine weird Swedish words

Oliver Gee
Follow Oliver on Twitter here