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Swedish word of the day: jaha

Catherine Edwards
Catherine Edwards - [email protected]
Swedish word of the day: jaha
Jaha is a useful word in your Swedish vocabulary. Photo: Annie Spratt/Unsplash/Nicolas Raymond

Here's a word that will make you sound infinitely more Swedish, and can be used in almost any situation.

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Jaha can mean "really?", "right then", "so", "oh", "ah, right!" and many more things, depending on the context.

One common use is to show understanding of something, for example if someone says Anna jobbar på Ikea (Anna works at Ikea), you could say jaha ("OK" or "I see"). Or if someone explains something you've been puzzling over, you might say, Jaha, så det var därför (Aha, so that's why).

Or if you're told on your first day at work vi fikar tre gånger om dagen på kontoret (we have fika three times a day in the office) you could reply jaha ("I see" or "oh, right").

It can indicate either disinterest or interest, so be mindful of your tone and avoid saying it too casually. To clearly show that you're genuinely interested in what the other person is saying, stretch out the second syllable: jahaaa.

You can indicate surprise, excitement, scepticism or any other emotion you want through the tone of your jaha. To emphasise surprise, an alternative response would be Jaså! which means something like "Is that so?!"

You can also use jaha as a filler word to indicate a change of subject, or conclusion of something. For example, if your group of friends has finished eating at a restaurant and paid the bill, and you're sitting waiting for someone to make the first move to leave, you can say Jaha? to indicate that you're ready. In this case, it's similar to "Right then" or "Shall we?" in English.

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Or after a film has finished, or a conversation has come to an end (or even if you just want to indicate that you'd like it to come to an end!), you can say something like Jaha, ska vi äta nu? (Right, shall we eat now?), or a simple Jaha on its own.

Either way, it's a useful word to add to your Swedish vocabulary for plenty of occasions when you're not quite sure what else to say.

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Examples

Jaha, nu förstår jag

Ah/Aha, now I understand

Jaha, ska vi gå ut nu?

Right then, shall we go out now?

Villa, Volvo, Vovve: The Local’s Word Guide to Swedish Life, written by The Local’s journalists, is available to order. Head to lysforlag.com/vvv to read more about it. It is also possible to buy your copy from Amazon USAmazon UKBokus or Adlibris.

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