Swedish
10 Swedish swear words you'll actually hear
A traveller's shortlist of Swedish expletives, insults and exclamations — what they mean, and how strong they are.
Every language swears differently. This guide collects 10 Swedish expressions you're genuinely likely to hear — from mild exclamations to properly strong stuff — and explains what each one actually means, not just its dictionary translation.
Burn Ratings are an approximate, cross-language heuristic. Context, region, tone and who's speaking all change how a word lands. Treat these as a guide, not gospel.
- 1
- 2bajs 1/5 · Mild
Literally “poo”. Mild bodily word, sometimes dismissive. Child-friendly register compared with skit.
Full entry → - 3
- 4
- 5tusan 1/5 · Mild
Literally “thousand”. Mild euphemistic exclamation roughly like darn. Usually much milder than helvete.
Full entry → - 6fan 2/5 · Coarse
Literally “devil”. Common exclamation roughly like damn. Intensity changes with tone and phrasing.
Full entry → - 7förbannad 2/5 · Coarse
Literally “cursed”. Angry; also damned as an intensifier. Context determines adjectival meaning.
Full entry → - 8kötthuvud 2/5 · Coarse
Literally “meat head”. Insult for a stupid person. Coarse but not strongly obscene.
Full entry → - 9mes 2/5 · Coarse
Literally “titmouse”. Insult for a timid person or wimp. Also an ordinary bird word.
Full entry → - 10