The short answer
The most useful Swedish city places include station, hållplats, bibliotek, apotek, vårdcentral, mataffär, bank, kommunhus, torg and park. Ask Var ligger...? for a location, Hur kommer jag till...? for a route and Finns det en... i närheten? for something nearby.
Ten places that cover an ordinary day
Learn station, hållplats, bibliotek, apotek, vårdcentral, mataffär, bank, kommunhus, torg, park. Place them around your own neighbourhood.
Add an activity to every location, using Swedish cooking verbs for a market or café and practical verbs for public services.
| In Swedish | What it means | When you use it |
|---|---|---|
| Biblioteket ligger vid torget. | The library is by the square. |
Ask for location, route or proximity
Var ligger...? asks for location. Hur kommer jag till...? asks for the route. Finns det en... i närheten? asks whether a service is nearby.
Swedish phone and technology vocabulary helps when the map, ticket or app is not working.
| In Swedish | What it means | When you use it |
|---|---|---|
| Finns det ett apotek i närheten? | Is there a pharmacy nearby? |
Use vid, bredvid and mittemot
Vid means by or near, bredvid right next to, mittemot opposite and mellan between. These landmarks are more useful than a long chain of street names.
The guide to asking directions in Swedish brings complete questions and answers together.
| In Swedish | What it means | When you use it |
|---|---|---|
| Banken ligger mittemot stationen. | The bank is opposite the station. |
Draw a map from memory
Draw five nearby places without checking a map, then describe their positions. Verify the real map afterwards and correct only the inaccurate sentences.
Test the route with the SvenskaApp tutor.
Questions people ask
- How do you say city in Swedish?
- Stad means city or town. Centrum means a town centre or shopping centre depending on context.
- How do you ask where a place is?
- Say Var ligger...? followed by the place in its definite form, such as Var ligger biblioteket?
- How do you say nearby in Swedish?
- I närheten means nearby. Finns det ett apotek i närheten? asks whether there is a pharmacy close by.
Know someone who has just moved here?
