My first conversation in Swedish!

Hello everyone!

Another day, another progress update! I promised you a food update yesterday but I changed my mind. And I’ll tell you why!

So in the morning I was translating some new words from Swedish to Dutch and you know, I’m a bit of a lazy person, so I decided to try the microphone feature on Google Translate and guess what….it translated all the words correctly! Hence I guessed my pronunciation isn’t that bad after all I, all motivated, tried to find a person who would speak with me.

Did it work?

Nope.

I gotta confess that I tried speaking with Google Assistant and Siri, but…well, I didn’t like it. Of course I didn’t, speaking with artificial intelligence is nothing like speaking with a real person. I should either find friends or visit Sweden. The second option is more likely huh. Anyway, since I finished the fifth lesson and a big revision was ahead of me, I decided to refresh my memory and write three model conversations from….basically everyday life of an illiterate idiot, I do not really fancy myself, I can’t really imagine anyone having such primitive conversation but I’m just learning, okay? It’s gonna get better. At least I hope so!

Anyway, here are the conversations I came up with with their translations:

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1. Två kompisar (Two friends)

– Hej, Eva. Hur är det?

– Hej, det är bra, tack. Själv då?

– Det är också bra. Vad ska du göra ikväll?

– Ikväll? Jag vet inte, jag är ledig. Varför?

– Vill du gå på bio med mig och Simon?

– Gärna, vad ska ni se för film?

– Vi vill se en Ingmar Bergman film.

– Det låter bra. Var och när ska jag träffa er?

– Klockan åtta vid biografen.

– Okej, klockan åtta passar bra. Hej då.

– Hej då!

——

– Hey Eva! How are you?

– Hey, everything’s fine, thanks. What about you?

– Same. What are you doing tonight?

– Tonight? I don’t know, I’m free. Why?

– Do you want to go to the cinema with me and Simon?

– Gladly, what are you going to see?

– We’ll see a movie from Ingmar Bergman.

– That sounds good. Where and where can I meet you?

– By the cinema at 8 o’clock.

– Okay, I can make it there at 8. Bye.

– Bye!

2. I mataffären (In the grocery store)

– Hej, kam jag hjälpa dig?

– Ja, tack.

– Vad vill du ha? Köttet, grönsaker, frukter?

– Nej, tack. Jag vill köpa två hekto skinkan, tre hekto osten och en kilo tomater.

– Varsågod. Är det bra så?

– Hmm. Hur mycket blir det?

– Det blir fyrtionio kronor, tack.

– Jaha. Jag vill då ockå ha två kilo apelsiner, ursäkta.

– Varsågod. Vill du inte några bananer eller jordgubbar?

– Nej, men har du några hallen?

– Ja, hur mycket vill du ta?

– Ett hekto, ursäkta. Hur mycket kostar de?

– Ett kilo kostar elva kronor.

– Det räcker. Hur mycket betalar jag för allt?

– Det blir femtiotre kronor.

– Varsågod, här är sextio kronor.

– Tack så mycket! Och här är sju kronor tillbaka. Hej då!

– Hej.

——-

– Hey, can I help you?

– Yeah, thanks.

– What would you like? Meat, vegetables, fruit…?

– No, thanks. I’d like to buy two hekto (0.2kg) of ham, three hekto of cheese and one kilo of tomatos.

– Please. Is that all?

– Hmm. How much is it?

– That is 49 SEK, please.

– Okay. I will therefore also take two kilos of oranges, please.

– Please. Don’t you want some bananas or strawberries?

– No, but do you have any raspberries?

– Yes, how much do you want?

– One hekto, please. How much are they?

– One kilo is for 11 SEK.

– That’s enough. How much do I pay for everything?

– That’s gonna be 53 SEK.

– Please, here are 60 SEK.

– Thank you very much! And here are 7 SEK back. Goodbye!

– Bye.

3. Inbjudan (Invitation)

– Hej Eva, jag vill bjuda dig hemma till mig. Vill du komma och äta middag ikväll hos mig?

– Hej Simona, det låter bra men jag kan inte komma idag, jag måste arbeta.

– Jaha. När passar det?

– Kanske på lördag?

– Okej, det passer bra. Vad tycker du om för mat?

– Till exempel kyckling. Eller fisk. Och med ris. Jag också tycker om grönsaker.

– Det låter bra, jag också tycker om fish och grönsaker. Och för efterrät?

– Kan vi ha frukt eller glass?

– Javisst. Bra, jag måste handla mat nu. Vet du var bor jag?

– Nej, jag vet var är Tesco men jag vet inte var är ditt hus.

– Okej, du måste svänga till höger och fortsätta sen långt rakt fram till du ser Juhoslovan. Sen måste du svänga till vänster och första gatan svänga till vänster. Mitt hus är först till höger.

– Bra, tack. Jag hoppas jag ska hitta ditt hus.

– Ja, du säker ska hitta det. Så på lördag klockan sju?

– Det låter fantastisk, hej då!

– Hej då!

——-

– Hey Eva, I’d like to invite you home. Do you want to come and eat dinner tonight with me?

– Hey Simona, that sounds great but I can’t come today, I have to work.

– Okay, when is it good for you?

– Maybe on Saturday?

– Okay, that’s fine for me. What do you like to eat?

– For example chicken. Or fish. And with rice. I also like vegetables.

– That sounds great, I also like fish and vegetables. And for the dessert?

– Can we have fruit or an ice-cream?

– Of course. Fine, I have to go shopping now. Do you know where I live?

– No, I know where is Tesco but I don’t know where is your house.

– Okay, you have to turn right and continue long straight ahead until you see Juhoslovan. Then you have to turn left and on the first street turn left again. My house is the first one on the right.

– Great, thanks. I hope I will find your house.

– Yeah, you certainly will. So on Saturday at 7 o’clock?

– Dat sounds perfect, goodbye!

Goodbye!

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This was definitely not a heroic achievement but honestly, I can imagine myself having such conversation also with a human being, not only Siri. Well hopefully I’ll meet someone in the Netherlands or elsewhere, because otherwise….one never know, maybe I’ll get a chance to directly travel to Sweden! I’d really love to practise this language in real world, I’d mostly like to see if I’d understand anything…you know, people can have various accents and understanding is quite difficult sometimes.

Anway, tomorrow I want to start another lesson which is supposed to be about celebrations and numbers, I’m really curious. I’ll keep you updated as always, the next progress article should be published on Saturday if everything goes right…..until then I’d like to go back to my old roots a little and write one complex guide about Thessaloniki and also implement my newly discovered vocabulary learning method from yesterday in another area and read some articles about Swedish food on the internet. And of course, share it here just like yesterday. This weekend is definitely gonna be thrilling, I hope you’re as excited as I am!

Have a great day!

NOT MY PHOTO, ALL THE RIGHTS GO TO THE OWNERS!