Numbers and money: first words
Count from zero to a thousand and learn the money words you'll see on every price tag and receipt.
Swedish numbers are regular once you know the first twelve and the tens. Learn them together with the words for crowns, notes and coins, and prices start to make sense.
- 1
noll
zero (0)
Tip: Swedish mobile numbers start with this digit.
- 2
ett
one (1)
Tip: The counting form. Before an en-word it changes: one coffee.
- 3
två
two (2)
Tip: Sounds roughly like 'tvoh'.
- 4
tre
three (3)
Tip: Roll the r slightly.
- 5
fyra
four (4)
Tip: Stress on the first syllable.
- 6
fem
five (5)
Tip: Short and simple.
- 7
sex
six (6)
Tip: Yes, really. It's just the number.
- 8
sju
seven (7)
Tip: Starts with the breathy Swedish sj-sound.
- 9
åtta
eight (8)
Tip: Starts with the å-sound, like the 'o' in 'more'.
- 10
nio
nine (9)
Tip: In everyday speech the final vowel often becomes -e.
- 11
tio
ten (10)
Tip: In everyday speech the final vowel often becomes -e.
- 12
elva
eleven (11)
Tip: Related to English 'eleven'.
- 13
tolv
twelve (12)
Tip: Related to English 'twelve'.
- 14
tretton
thirteen (13)
Tip: From here, -ton works like English '-teen'.
- 15
arton
eighteen (18)
Tip: The odd one out: it doesn't look like eight at all.
- 16
tjugo
twenty (20)
Tip: In speech the last vowel is often an -i or -e sound.
- 17
tjugoett
twenty-one (21)
Tip: Tens first, then units, all written as one word.
- 18
trettio
thirty (30)
Tip: Often said without the final -o.
- 19
fyrtio
forty (40)
Tip: Pronounced 'förti'.
- 20
femtio
fifty (50)
Tip: Often said without the final -o.
- 21
hundra
a hundred (100)
Tip: Add 'ett' in front when you want to be precise.
- 22
tusen
a thousand (1,000)
Tip: Swedes write it with a space: 1 000.
- 23
en krona
a krona (Swedish crown)
Tip: The Swedish currency, written kr. Plural ends in -or.
- 24
en tjuga
a 20-kronor note
Tip: Slang from the number twenty.
- 25
en hundralapp
a 100-kronor note
Tip: lit. 'hundred-slip'.
- 26
ett mynt
a coin
Tip: Swedish coins come in 1, 2, 5 and 10 kronor.
- 27
ett kort
a card (for paying)
Tip: Also a playing card or a postcard. The usual way to pay in Sweden.
- 28
kontanter
cash
Tip: Always plural. Many places in Sweden no longer take it.
- 29
ett kvitto
a receipt
Tip: Plural ends in -n.
- 30
ett pris
a price
Tip: Also means 'a prize'.
- 31
dyr
expensive
Tip: Add -t after det: it's expensive.
- 32
billig
cheap
Tip: The opposite of expensive. Add -t after det.
- 33
gratis
free (no cost)
Tip: The same word exists in English with the same meaning.