Slang (Stockholm)
How to use slang in Stockholm
Stockholm-first slang
Compiled by Gabriel Gilles · Updated
Short answerIn Stockholm, say assåLike / I mean (a filler word)
Slang level: medium → heavy. Items marked young are more common among younger people and online.
If you want to sound local but safe, stick to the ones without a young badge.
Everyday casual (safe-ish)
- assåLike / I mean (a filler word)
- typLike / kind of.
- Nu kör viLet's go.
- baJust (short for bara, often used as filler)
- fattaTo get / to understand.
- hajaTo follow / to catch on — slangier than fatta.
- pallar inte / orkar inteCan't be bothered / don't have the energy.
- softaTo chill.
- taggadHyped / excited.
- sjuktInsanely / really — "sjukt bra" = really good.
Cool / nice / strong reaction
- fettyoungReally / very — an intensifier.
- skitbra / skitkulReally good / really fun (milder than the English equivalent)
- niceLoanword, very common.
- kanon!Brilliant! — literally "cannon".
- toppen!Great!
- grymtAwesome — literally "cruelly".
- as- (asbra, asgott)youngReally, seriously — an intensifier prefix alongside skit-.
- snyggt!Nice one! — about something done well, not about a person.
Stockholm-specific
- tubenStockholmThe metro (Tunnelbanan).
- bulleStockholmTaxi — old Söder slang. You'll hear it; saying it dates you.
- tjackaStockholmTo buy.
- TC / T-CentralenStockholmStockholm's central station (shorthand)
- MedisStockholmMedborgarplatsen.
- SöderStockholmSödermalm — the southern island, and a whole personality with it.
- StureplanStockholmThe nightlife square — expensive, and fully aware of it.
- SLStockholmStockholm's public transport (the card, the app and the turnstile)
Party / going out
- bärs / biraBeer (casual; "bärs" feels Stockholm-y)
- ta en afterwork / AWAfter-work drinks.
- förfestThe pre-party — where most of a Swedish night actually happens.
- efterfestThe afterparty.
- krogenThe pub — "ut på krogen" is going out for the night.
- nubbeA shot of snaps, usually with a song attached to it.
- Systemet / BolagetThe state liquor store (nobody says Systembolaget in full)
- folköl3.5% supermarket beer — the only kind sold outside Systembolaget.
Micro-phrases you'll actually hear
- Hur så?How come? — asking why someone said that.
- Orka.youngStandalone: "ugh, no way".
- Vi tar tuben.StockholmWe'll take the metro.
- Vi splittar en taxi.StockholmWe'll split a taxi.
- liksomLike / sort of — sits next to typ, often in the same sentence.
- jodåYes, actually — contradicts a negative, the way German uses doch.
- nja…Hmm, sort of — the Swedish yes-and-no.
- skitsammaWhatever / never mind.
The glue — tiny words that carry a conversation
- precisExactly.
- just detThat's right / oh, right — the remembering noise.
- jaså?Oh really?
- äsch!Oh, never mind.
- usch!Ugh! — distaste, not anger.
- oj då!Oh dear! / whoops!
- nämen!Well I never! — surprise, usually delighted.
- det är lugntIt's all good / no worries.