What you will learn
You can say that you did not hear or do not understand, ask for something once more or more slowly, and ask what a word means or how to say it in Swedish.
When you did not hear
| Swedish | English | When to use it |
|---|---|---|
| Förlåt? | Pardon? | You did not hear what someone said. |
| En gång till, tack. | Once more, please. | You want to hear it again. |
Förlåt means sorry. Said as a short question, with the voice going up at the end, Förlåt? asks the other person to say it again, like pardon? in English. En gång till means once more, or one more time.
When it is too fast
| Swedish | English |
|---|---|
| Jag förstår inte. | I do not understand. |
| Lite långsammare, tack. | A bit slower, please. |
| Förstår du? | Do you understand? |
| Ja, jag förstår. | Yes, I understand. |
Förstå means to understand. Its present form is förstår, the same for every person. Inte comes right after it, as after the other verbs you know. In a yes or no question the verb comes first, as in Förstår du?
A word you do not know
| Swedish | English |
|---|---|
| Vad betyder rum? | What does rum mean? |
| Hur säger man room på svenska? | How do you say room in Swedish? |
Ett ord means a word. Use Vad betyder …? when you hear a Swedish word and want to know what it means. Use Hur säger man … på svenska? when you know a word in English or another language and need it in Swedish. In this question man means one, or people in general.
You will also hear Vad heter … på svenska? It asks the same thing as Hur säger man … på svenska?
A short example
Elin gives Kenji the code for the door.
| Speaker | Swedish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Elin | Koden är fyra noll sju ett. | The code is four zero seven one. |
| Kenji | Förlåt? Lite långsammare, tack. | Pardon? A bit slower, please. |
| Elin | Fyra. Noll. Sju. Ett. | Four. Zero. Seven. One. |
| Kenji | Tack! Jag förstår. | Thanks! I understand. |
Common mistakes
| Not like this | Like this | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Jag inte förstår. | Jag förstår inte. | Inte comes right after the verb. |
| Jag förstå inte. | Jag förstår inte. | In a sentence about now, use the present form förstår. |