Phone Calls: Key Words
The everyday Swedish words for making, answering and missing phone calls.
Phone calls are hard in a new language: no faces, bad lines, people talking fast. Start with the words around the call itself — ringing, answering, hanging up, voicemail and the problems in between.
- 1
ett samtal
a call
Tip: Also means 'a conversation'. An ett-word.
- 2
att ringa
to call, phone
Tip: Same verb as for a bell. You call someone directly, no preposition.
- 3
att svara
to answer
Tip: You answer the phone with the preposition 'in': answer in phone.
- 4
att ringa tillbaka
to call back
Tip: Particle verb; the stress is on the particle.
- 5
att lägga på
to hang up
Tip: Literally 'lay on' — from the days when you put the receiver down.
- 6
en mobil
a mobile phone
Tip: The everyday word for your phone. En-word.
- 7
ett nummer
a number
Tip: Ett-word; the plural is the same as the singular.
- 8
ett okänt nummer
an unknown number
Tip: The adjective takes -t because the noun is an ett-word.
- 9
ett missat samtal
a missed call
Tip: Participle as adjective, -t ending for an ett-word.
- 10
en signal
a ring (on the line)
Tip: When the phone is ringing at the other end, Swedes say the rings 'go through'.
- 11
upptaget
busy, engaged (the line)
Tip: Neuter form, because you say 'it is ...' about the line.
- 12
dålig täckning
bad reception
Tip: Literally 'bad coverage'. The noun is an en-word, used without an article.
- 13
en röstbrevlåda
a voicemail box
Tip: Literally 'voice letterbox'. Gender from the last part.
- 14
ett röstmeddelande
a voice message
Tip: Literally 'voice message'. Gender from the last part.
- 15
en ringsignal
a ringtone
Tip: The sound your phone makes when someone calls.
- 16
en högtalare
a speaker (phone)
Tip: Literally 'loud-talker'. Also any loudspeaker.
- 17
ett headset
a headset
Tip: Borrowed from English, and an ett-word.
- 18
ett videosamtal
a video call
Tip: Gender from the last part.
- 19
en växel
a switchboard
Tip: Big companies and hospitals have one; they put you through.
- 20
en anknytning
an extension (number)
Tip: The direct line inside an organisation; literally 'a connection'.
- 21
att koppla
to put through, connect
Tip: The receptionist does this to your call.
- 22
en kö
a queue
Tip: You wait in one on the phone too. En-word.
- 23
att stava
to spell
Tip: You'll be asked to do this with your name.
- 24
att upprepa
to repeat
Tip: A bit formal; in speech people often ask you to 'take it again'.
- 25
att störa
to disturb
Tip: Used in the classic polite opening 'am I disturbing?'
- 26
att blockera
to block (a number)
Tip: For spam callers. Regular -a verb.
- 27
en laddare
a charger
Tip: From the verb for charging.
- 28
ett batteri
a battery
Tip: An ett-word, stress on the last syllable.
- 29
att sms:a
to text (send a text message)
Tip: The colon marks where the verb ending is added to the abbreviation.
- 30
att nå
to reach (someone)
Tip: Short verb: what you try to do when they never answer.