· 3 min read

Learn Swedish Idioms: 79 Flashcards and the Ones Swedes Actually Say

Learn Swedish idioms from a 79-card deck: no cow on the ice, shrimp sandwiches, beard in the mailbox, plus 7 cards to fix before you review them.

Red Dala horse on a frozen lake beside a cow and a shrimp sandwich among floating flashcards

Studying. But it's also a video game. 🎮

Flashcards, quizzes and games that make you actually remember.

Start playing — it's free

Posted by

Swedish idioms are a lot of fun: shrimp sandwiches, cows on ice, beards stuck in mailboxes. Swedish Idioms & Expressions (deck code ZX1557, 79 cards) has the famous ones. It also has a batch of expressions no Swede would recognise, so it pays to know which is which before you start.

Study this deck: Swedish Idioms & Expressions

1 / 10
Question

There is no cow on the ice

Knew itLearning

Tap the card for the answer · swipe right if you knew it, left if not

How the deck is built

  • Cards 1-32: a word-for-word English translation on the front, the Swedish idiom and its meaning on the back. This is the part worth your time.
  • Cards 33-79: English proverbs on the front, their Swedish equivalents on the back. Some are real Swedish sayings. Many are just the English phrase translated word for word (piska en död häst, stjäla någons show, gå plankan, tiden flyger).

The real classics

FrontBack
There is no cow on the iceDet är ingen ko på isen (no problem)
To slide in on a shrimp sandwichAtt glida in på en räkmacka (to have it easy)
To be out and rideAtt vara ute och cykla (to be completely wrong)
To stand with the beard in the mailboxAtt stå med skägget i brevlådan (caught in an awkward spot)
To be like cat around hot porridgeAtt gå som katten kring het gröt (to beat around the bush)
To not have all horses in the stableAtt inte ha alla hästar i stallet (to be crazy)
To make a mountain out of a molehillAtt göra en höna av en fjäder
Don't count your chickens…Man ska inte ropa hej förrän man är över bäcken

Also in the deck: bita i gräset, se genom fingrarna med, ha vinden i ryggen, sitta med Svarte Petter, kosta skjortan, ha myror i brallan, ta för stora tuggor, döma hunden efter håren, många bäckar små gör en stor å, bättre en fågel i handen än tio i skogen.

Seven cards to fix before your first review

  1. Card 3: the real idiom is nu trillade poletten ner ("now the token dropped").
  2. Card 17: halka in på ett bananskal means to get somewhere by luck, not to make a mistake.
  3. Card 25: Swedes sit på staketet, not på stängslet.
  4. Card 30: the fixed form is hålla god min i elakt spel.
  5. Card 31: it's slå huvudet på spiken. The deck's spika doesn't work here.
  6. Card 13: add the reflexive: ta sig vatten över huvudet.
  7. Cards 5, 7, 19, 20, 40, 46: det smakar kråka, smör i magen, bröd för tänderna, gammalt bröd är inte gammalt and the rest aren't idioms in use. Suspend them.

Two tips that make it stick

  • Pair each idiom with its English counterpart: ropa hej förrän man är över bäcken = don't count your chickens; sälja skinnet innan björnen är skjuten = the same idea (card 44). Learn the two Swedish versions of one English proverb as a single contrast card.
  • Review cards 1-32 in both directions (the English literal translation is a great memory hook). For cards 33-79, review only English → Swedish, and skip the literal translations once you've checked them.

Keep going

Idioms only stick once you know the core words. Start with the Top 100 Swedish words, then 1000 Swedish words.

Find ZX1557 — Swedish Idioms & Expressions in the library on Flip It.

Ready to learn faster? 🚀

Join FLIP IT for free and turn studying into a game.

Create my free account