A1 level

Introducing yourself in Swedish

Last updated 28 October 2026

The first conversation in a new language is usually the same: your name, where you are from, where you live and what you do. Swedish makes it easy, because verbs do not change with the person. Jag heter Anna and Du heter Erik use the same verb form, heter. The phrases below let you handle that first meeting.

Greeting people

Hej! Hi!
Hej hej! Hi! / Bye! (informal, said both ways)
God morgon. Good morning.
God dag. Good day. (a polite greeting)
God kväll. Good evening.
Hej då! Goodbye!

Hej is the all-purpose greeting, and Swedes use it with almost everyone, from friends to shopkeepers. There is no strong divide between formal and informal greetings.

Giving your name

Vad heter du? What is your name?
Jag heter Anna. My name is Anna.
Trevligt att träffas. Nice to meet you.
Det var roligt att träffa dig. It was nice to meet you.

Jag heter literally means "I am called". Many Swedes shake hands when they meet for the first time, and they usually say their own name while doing it.

Where you are from

Varifrån kommer du? Where are you from?
Jag kommer från England. I am from England.
Jag är från USA. I am from the USA.
Jag är svensk. I am Swedish.

Kommer från means "come from", and är från means "am from". Both are natural. A nationality adjective like svensk does not take a capital letter in Swedish. You write Jag är svensk, and the same goes for engelska (English, the language) and the names of days and months.

Where you live

Var bor du? Where do you live?
Jag bor i Stockholm. I live in Stockholm.
Jag bor i Göteborg. I live in Gothenburg.
Jag bor i en lägenhet. I live in a flat.

Use i for towns and på for islands: Jag bor på Gotland. The word order here is the basic subject, verb, place pattern. It changes when something else leads, as explained in verb-second word order.

What you do

Vad jobbar du med? What do you do for a living?
Jag är student. I am a student.
Jag är lärare. I am a teacher.
Jag jobbar som ingenjör. I work as an engineer.
Jag är pensionär. I am retired.

Unlike English, Swedish drops the article before a profession: Jag är lärare, not "Jag är en lärare".

Languages you speak

Pratar du engelska? Do you speak English?
Jag pratar lite svenska. I speak a little Swedish.
Jag lär mig svenska. I am learning Swedish.
Kan du prata långsammare? Can you speak more slowly?
Jag förstår inte. I do not understand.

Almost everyone in Sweden speaks excellent English, but a few words of Swedish are always appreciated.

Du, and what about ni?

Swedes use du (you) with almost everyone, including bosses, teachers and older people. The polite ni is rare today and can even sound stiff. If in doubt, use du. Using the title herr or fru is old-fashioned.