What are the most common Swedish words?

The top of the list is mostly small function words: i (in), att (to / that), jag (I) and inte (not). They carry little meaning alone but appear in almost every Swedish sentence, which is why they come first.

Is this really a 1,000-word list?

Not quite. It has 1073 entries, ranked from most to least useful for a beginner. We would rather give you a list that is 1073 words long and cleaned up than pad it to a round number.

Is there a Swedish word list PDF?

Yes. The first 100 words are free as a PDF and a CSV you can import into a flashcard app. Enter your email in the form on this page and the download links appear straight away. The full list as a printable pack is still being finished.

How long does it take to learn them?

It depends on how much time you have, so we will not promise a number. A realistic pace is 10 to 15 new words a week with daily review. The review is what makes them stick, so a short session every day beats a long one on Sunday.

Swedish word list

The 1073 Most Common Swedish Words

A ranked list with English meanings, free to learn in your browser.

If you want to learn Swedish quickly, start with the words you will meet most often. A small core of frequent words shows up in almost every sentence, which is why a frequency list is a better starting point than a themed list of animals or colours. Learn the common words first and a lot of ordinary Swedish starts to make sense.

This page holds the top 50 words of our list, with the rest one click away. The full list has 1073 entries. The order is a learning order: the core words you need for almost every sentence come first, then the rest follow in the order the lessons teach them. It is a teaching sequence built around frequency, not a raw corpus count.

The top 50 Swedish words

The 50 most common Swedish words with English meaning and part of speech
#	Swedish	English	Part of speech
1	i	in; at	Preposition
2	att	to (before a verb); that	Infinitive marker / conjunction
3	jag	I	Pronoun
4	inte	not	Adverb
5	ett	a/an (before ett-words)	Determiner
6	de	they	Pronoun
7	det	it; that	Pronoun
8	om	if; about	Preposition
9	annan	other, another	Adjective
10	du	you	Pronoun
11	någon	someone, some, any	Pronoun
12	när	when	Adverb
13	detta	this	Pronoun
14	nu	now	Adverb
15	den	it (for en-words); that	Pronoun / determiner
16	där	there; where	Adverb
17	min	my	Possessive pronoun
18	lite	a little	Adverb
19	denna	this	Determiner
20	in	in, into (movement)	Adverb
21	här	here	Adverb
22	en hand	a hand	Noun
23	en mun	a mouth	Noun
24	samma	same	Adjective
25	kanske	perhaps	Adverb
26	därför	therefore	Adverb
27	som	who, that, which; as	Pronoun / conjunction
28	för	for	Preposition
29	att göra	to do, to make	Verb
30	att ge	to give	Verb
31	att använda	to use	Verb
32	att få	to get; to be allowed to	Verb
33	att gå	to go; to walk	Verb
34	ett land	a country	Noun
35	många	many	Adjective
36	att vilja	to want	Verb
37	att känna	to feel; to know (a person)	Verb
38	vatten	water	Noun
39	mat	food	Noun
40	en	a/an (before en-words)	Determiner
41	ett öga	an eye	Noun
42	en kropp	a body	Noun
43	ett barn	a child	Noun
44	en kvinna	a woman	Noun
45	före	before	Preposition
46	att vara	to be	Verb
47	att kunna	to be able to	Verb
48	att se	to see	Verb
49	att säga	to say	Verb
50	att skriva	to write	Verb

Want the rest? Browse all 1073 in the searchable word list, or start with the most common Swedish verbs, nouns and adjectives.

Test yourself: 5 quick questions

See how many of these words you remember. Pick the English meaning of each Swedish word. Nothing is saved.

Start learning free

Get the free Top 100 pack

The 100 most useful Swedish words as a PDF, a CSV and an Anki deck. Leave your email and the downloads appear right away.

Questions about the list

What are the most common Swedish words?: The top of the list is mostly small function words: i (in), att (to / that), jag (I) and inte (not). They carry little meaning alone but appear in almost every Swedish sentence, which is why they come first.
Is this really a 1,000-word list?: Not quite. It has 1073 entries, ranked from most to least useful for a beginner. We would rather give you a list that is 1073 words long and cleaned up than pad it to a round number.
Is there a Swedish word list PDF?: Yes. The first 100 words are free as a PDF and a CSV you can import into a flashcard app. Enter your email in the form on this page and the download links appear straight away. The full list as a printable pack is still being finished.
How long does it take to learn them?: It depends on how much time you have, so we will not promise a number. A realistic pace is 10 to 15 new words a week with daily review. The review is what makes them stick, so a short session every day beats a long one on Sunday.