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Swedish word of the day: softa

The Local Sweden
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Swedish word of the day: softa
Are you going to softa tonight? Photo: Annie Spratt/Unsplash/Nicolas Raymond

Softa is a peculiar Swedish word which has very little to do with its English origins.

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Softa comes from the English word "soft", but in Swedish it means to take it easy, to chill out, or to calm something down.

Soft can also mean that someone is nice, relaxed or cool. Its opposite is osoft.

The word first entered the Swedish dictionary in 2006, but is thought to have been used as a slang word from at least the early 1990s.

Swedish hip hop trio Just D in 1991 used the word in its song Relalalaxa, singing tryck på paus å softa (hit pause and chill).

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Examples:

Jag kommer stanna hemma och softa ikväll

I'm staying in and taking it easy tonight

Han är en soft kille.

He's a cool guy

Don’t miss any of our Swedish words and expressions of the day by downloading our new app (available on Apple and Android) and then selecting the Swedish Word of the Day in your Notification options via the User button.

Article by Louise Nordström.

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