"Hur mår du?" is how you ask "how are you" in Swedish, and "Hej" is your everyday hello. Swedish greetings are refreshingly simple compared to languages with strict formal/informal splits — Swedish famously dropped most of its formal address forms in the mid-20th century — but there's still a right way to sound natural rather than textbook-stiff. Here's the full toolkit.
Saying Hello
- Hej — hello / hi (the universal, all-purpose greeting, used with anyone, anywhere)
- Hej hej — a warmer, more casual doubled version
- Tjena / Tja — very casual, slang equivalents of "hey," common among younger speakers and close friends
- God morgon — good morning
- God kväll — good evening
Pronunciation note: the Swedish "j" is pronounced like an English "y," so "hej" sounds like "hay," not "hedge." This trips up a lot of English speakers seeing the word written for the first time.
Asking How Someone Is
The standard question is "Hur mår du?" (literally "how feel you"), though in casual speech Swedes often simplify this to just "Läget?" — roughly "what's up?" or "how's it going?" — especially among younger or informal speakers.
Typical responses:
- Bra, tack. Och du? — good, thanks. And you?
- Det är bra — it's good
- Så där — so-so
- Inte så bra — not so good
As with much of Scandinavian small talk, the expected answer is short and positive, followed by returning the question — this isn't usually an invitation for a detailed update on your week.
Introducing Yourself
- Jag heter … — my name is …
- Vad heter du? — what's your name?
- Trevligt att träffas — nice to meet you
- Var kommer du ifrån? — where are you from?
Saying Goodbye
- Hej då — goodbye (the most common, everyday farewell)
- Vi ses — see you
- Ha det bra — take care / have it good
- Adjö — a more formal, slightly old-fashioned goodbye, roughly equivalent to "farewell"
A Sample Conversation
A: Hej! Jag heter Erik.
B: Hej Erik! Jag heter Sofia. Trevligt att träffas.
A: Detsamma! Hur mår du?
B: Bra, tack. Och du?
A: Också bra, tack!
Translation: "Hi! My name is Erik." / "Hi Erik! My name is Sofia. Nice to meet you." / "Likewise! How are you?" / "Good, thanks. And you?" / "Also good, thanks!"
Learning Swedish Beyond Greetings
Once greetings feel automatic, the next practical step for anyone starting to learn Swedish is building core everyday vocabulary — numbers, days of the week, and a handful of high-frequency verbs — so that a first real conversation can go beyond the opening exchange. Swedish's relatively simple pronunciation rules and largely regular grammar (compared to, say, Finnish or Icelandic) make it one of the more approachable Scandinavian languages for a motivated English-speaking beginner to pick up.