8 Swedish words that sound obscene in English

This article was originally republished on Business Insider Australia with the kind permission of the Swedish edition of The Local.

Swedish is a fun language to learn, but there are some words which can bring a blush to English-speakers’ cheeks.

Here are eight words which we still find awkward to use in conversation and will almost definitely make English speakers giggle. 

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1. Fart

There’s a clever and delightful little Swenglish play on words: “It’s not the fart that kills, it’s the smell.” Why is it clever? Well, the word "fart" is Swedish for "speed" and the word "smäll" (pronounced smell) is the Swedish word for "crash." So, it’s not the speed that kills you, it’s the crash. If you invite your non-Swedish friends on a road trip, be prepared for adolescent humour every time you go past a police "fartkontroll" (speed check) or drive into a carpark at the "infart" (entry) sign.

2. Puss

We know that Swedes have a reputation for being sexually liberal, but if your “sambo” (the Swedish term for live-in lover) ends phone conversations by going “Puss, puss!” it is important to remember they are not suddenly confusing you with a kitten or trying to be saucy.

"Puss" actually means "kiss" in Swedish and is a common way of wrapping up a phone call or email between family members, similar to "bisous" in French or "bacio" in Italian. Confusingly, the Swedish word "kiss" translates to "pee," so beware of that one too.

3. Prick

If a Swede tells you to meet at 8pm“prick”, don’t punch them in the face. Not only because violence does not solve anything, but also because they did not mean to insult you using a vulgar English slang word. In Swedish, ‘prick’ means ‘dot’. So when the ever-so-punctual Swedes want to meet at prick 8pm, they just mean 8pm on the dot.

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