Smaken Är Som Baken: Swedish Idiom for Differing Taste
By LearnSwedishFast Team · 7 min read
Sit in any Stockholm office long enough, and you will eventually witness an expat hit an invisible cultural wall.
The conversation starts innocently. A team is reviewing product designs, debating two candidate layouts, or arguing over which bakery in Södermalm bakes the superior cardamom bun. The expat enters the discussion with energy. They build a rigorous case. They cite user test data, contrast ratios, or pastry texture. They want a debate. They want a definitive resolution where one perspective wins.
The Swedish colleagues listen quietly. They nod, take a slow sip of filter coffee, and let a three-second silence settle over the room. Then someone shrugs, smiles mildly, and says five words:
Smaken är som baken.
If they want to be thorough, they finish the rhyme under their breath: ...delad.
The expat pauses. The debate is over. Not because one side won, but because the discussion has been declared fundamentally pointless.
The literal translation? "Taste is like the backside: divided."
It sounds crude in literal English. Foreigners often mistake it for a sarcastic insult or a dismissive brush-off. In reality, it is one of the most useful social tools in the Swedish language. It is a pragmatic, disarming verbal escape hatch engineered to prevent useless arguments and preserve social peace.
What the phrase actually means
To understand how the idiom works, look at the component words:
- Smak (definite: smaken) = taste, flavor, or aesthetic preference
- Är = is
- Som = like, as
- Bak (definite: baken) = the backside, bottom, or rear
- Delad = divided, split
Literally: The taste is like the butt: split in two.
Every language has an expression for acknowledging that people like different things. English speakers say "to each their own," "there is no accounting for taste," or the Latin proverb de gustibus non est disputandum.
Notice the tone difference. The English and Latin versions sound academic, slightly aloof, or moralizing. The Swedish expression goes straight to bodily anatomy. Yet Swedes use it with complete nonchalance in boardrooms, casual lunches, and family dinners.
The brilliance of the phrase lies in its pun on delad:
- The physical meaning: The human backside is anatomically split down the middle.
- The figurative meaning: Opinions, tastes, and perspectives are divided among people.
By linking an abstract intellectual disagreement to an obvious physical fact, the phrase injects immediate humor into a tense discussion. It reminds everyone that arguing over whether blue is better than green is just as ridiculous as debating whether a backside has two cheeks.
The cultural logic: Why Swedes refuse to argue over taste
Sweden is widely known as a consensus culture. Decisions in Swedish workplaces and social circles take time because people prefer alignment over top-down authority. But consensus applies to shared goals, systems, and practical execution. It does not apply to personal preference.
When it comes to individual taste, Swedish culture swings toward radical autonomy.
1. The boundaries of individual autonomy
Swedes respect personal boundaries. What you wear, what you eat, how you decorate your home, and what music you enjoy are your private domain. There is no social expectation that everyone in a group must pretend to like the same thing.
When someone says smaken är som baken, they are drawing a clean boundary. You have your perspective, and I have mine. We do not need to convert each other. More importantly, neither of us needs to surrender.
2. Avoiding pointless friction
In our breakdown of the expression det löser sig, we examined how Swedes use language to defuse unnecessary stress. Similarly, our post on ingen ko på isen showed how humor and agricultural imagery keep emotional reactions grounded.
Smaken är som baken performs the same psychological function for subjective opinions. Heated arguments over aesthetic choices burn social energy without producing practical value. It is the verbal equivalent of pressing the eject button on a cyclical argument.
3. The balance of moderation
In our guide to lagom, we explored the concept of balance—not too much, not too little. Trying to force everyone into a single standard of taste violates lagom. It creates excess drama where simple acceptance is enough.
When two people have a different syn on something subjective, there is rarely an absolute rätt or fel. One person has their egen preference, and the other has theirs. Acknowledging that split allows everyone to stay comfortable without pretending to agree.
How to use the expression naturally
Timing and tone dictate whether you sound like an insider or someone clumsily repeating phrases from an internet guide.
The full version vs. the shortened version
The traditional proverb has two parts:
- Smaken är som baken. (The setup)
- Delad. (The punchline)
In everyday speech, most native speakers drop the word delad. They simply say:
"Ja, smaken är som baken."
Everyone knows the second half. Leaving it unsaid makes the delivery drier, subtler, and more conversational. If you add delad, say it with a slight smile or a pause:
"Smaken är som baken... delad."
Real-world scenarios
Scenario 1: The aesthetic disagreement at work
You and a colleague are reviewing a new website header. You prefer minimalist white space; they prefer high-contrast banners. After three minutes of debating visual appeal without reaching agreement, you smile and say:
"Vi gillar olika stilar helt enkelt. Smaken är som baken."
(We just like different styles. Taste is like the backside.)
The debate wraps up cleanly, and you move on to testing both options with real users.
Scenario 2: Food preferences at fika
Someone brings traditional Swedish salt licorice (saltlakrits) to coffee. You try a piece, grimace at the ammonium chloride sting, and decline a second piece. The host laughs and says:
"Det är inte för alla. Smaken är som baken!"
(It is not for everyone. Taste is like the backside!)
No hurt feelings. No prolonged apologies.
When NOT to use it
Do not use smaken är som baken in situations where objective standards or factual correctness matter:
- Code architecture or security: If someone introduces a security vulnerability, that is not a matter of taste. That is an error. Saying smaken är som baken here sounds careless.
- Contractual obligations: Missing a hard client deadline is not a stylistic disagreement.
- Genuine ethical issues: The phrase is designed for light aesthetic choices. Using it for serious conflicts trivializes the topic.
Why idioms accelerate your language learning
Most people study Swedish the hard way. They memorize conjugations, drill preposition charts, and learn vocabulary in isolated lists.
Grammar rules are necessary—and you can explore our clear explanations in our Swedish grammar guides. But grammar alone does not make you fluent. Idiomatic expressions are what make conversations flow naturally.
When you drop smaken är som baken at the right moment, you demonstrate that you understand Swedish humor and social norms. You transform from an outsider translating sentences in your head into someone participating in real cultural shorthand.
To make these words automatic under pressure, passive reading is not enough. You need rapid retrieval practice. Test your recall speed in our Swedish learning game to drill core vocabulary until it becomes second nature.
Try it yourself
Turn this expression into active vocabulary today with this quick drill:
- Practice the pronunciation: Say the phrase aloud three times:
- SMAH-ken air som BAH-ken.
- Keep the intonation relaxed and slightly flat at the end.
- Add the punchline: Say the complete two-part version:
- Smaken är som baken — delad.
- Map the vocabulary: Reinforce the core words used in discussions about opinions:
- Deploy it this week: Find one low-stakes moment this week—debating a film, a restaurant choice, or a playlist—and use the phrase. Notice how immediately it dissolves tension.
When you master the idioms Swedes actually use, speaking the language stops feeling like an academic chore and starts feeling like second nature.