Calling in Sick: Key Words
The Swedish words for being ill, reporting sick at work, sick pay and coming back.
Calling in sick in Sweden has its own vocabulary: you report sick, there's a deduction on the first day, you need a doctor's note after a week, and parents stay home with sick kids. Start with how you feel, then the work side, then the money and paperwork.
- 1
sjuk
ill, sick
Tip: The basic adjective. Plural and definite add -a.
- 2
frisk
healthy, well
Tip: The opposite of ill. Also 'fresh' about air.
- 3
att må dåligt
to feel unwell
Tip: Word for word: 'to feel badly'. Also used for feeling low.
- 4
förkyld
having a cold
Tip: An adjective: you ARE 'colded'.
- 5
magsjuk
having a stomach bug
Tip: Stomach + sick in one adjective.
- 6
smittsam
contagious
Tip: From the verb for infecting. Tells you to stay home.
- 7
att smitta
to infect, spread (illness)
Tip: Used about people and illnesses alike.
- 8
ett symtom
a symptom
Tip: Ett-word; the plural looks the same.
- 9
att stanna hemma
to stay at home
Tip: 'Stay' + 'at home' (the form for location, not direction).
- 10
en chef
a manager, boss
Tip: Not a cook! Your boss. Borrowed from French.
- 11
en arbetsgivare
an employer
Tip: Word for word: 'work-giver'.
- 12
en kollega
a colleague
Tip: Plural ends in -or.
- 13
ett pass
a shift
Tip: Ett-word. A work shift, e.g. an evening or night shift.
- 14
ett schema
a rota, schedule
Tip: Ett-word. The sch- is said like English sh.
- 15
en vikarie
a substitute, temp
Tip: Common in schools and healthcare.
- 16
att sjukanmäla sig
to report sick
Tip: A reflexive verb: you report yourself sick.
- 17
en sjukanmälan
a sick report
Tip: The noun. Same form in definite singular.
- 18
frånvarande
absent
Tip: Formal-ish; you'll see it in HR systems.
- 19
en frånvaro
an absence
Tip: The noun. Used for all kinds of time off.
- 20
en sjukdag
a sick day
Tip: Sick + day. Gender from the last part.
- 21
en sjukperiod
a period of sick leave
Tip: Sick + period. Counts from the first sick day.
- 22
en karensdag
a 'qualifying day' (colloquial)
Tip: What people still call the first-day deduction; the official term changed.
- 23
ett karensavdrag
the sick-pay deduction
Tip: The official term: a one-off deduction from your sick pay.
- 24
en sjuklön
sick pay (from your employer)
Tip: Paid by the employer for the first two weeks.
- 25
en sjukpenning
sickness benefit (from Försäkringskassan)
Tip: Paid by the Social Insurance Agency after the first two weeks.
- 26
ett läkarintyg
a doctor's note
Tip: Doctor + certificate. Gender from the last part.
- 27
sjukskriven
on sick leave (signed off)
Tip: Signed off by a doctor, often for a longer period.
- 28
en företagshälsovård
occupational health service
Tip: Company + health care. Many employers use one.
- 29
att vabba
to stay home with a sick child
Tip: Slang verb from the abbreviation for 'care of child'. Everyone uses it.
- 30
att friskanmäla sig
to report yourself fit again
Tip: The opposite of reporting sick: you report yourself healthy.