The short answer
A pet is ett husdjur in Swedish. Dog is en hund, cat is en katt and veterinarian is en veterinär. Build a useful description with species, age, colour and behaviour, then practise mata, rasta, leka and klappa in complete sentences.
Name the animal, its age and what it looks like
The core words are en hund, en katt, en kanin, en hamster, en fågel and en fisk. Use hane and hona when the animal's sex is relevant.
The Swedish colours guide lets you make a precise description such as en svart katt med vita tassar. Keep the agreement attached to the noun.
| In Swedish | What it means | When you use it |
|---|---|---|
| Jag har en brun hund som heter Milo. | I have a brown dog called Milo. | Introducing your pet in an everyday conversation. |
Four verbs for an animal's routine
Mata means feed, rasta means take a dog out, leka means play and klappa means stroke. Add a time or frequency so the sentence belongs to a real day.
Pet care fits naturally into the Swedish household chores guide: cleaning a litter tray, filling a bowl and vacuuming become actions you can retrieve.
| In Swedish | What it means | When you use it |
|---|---|---|
| Jag måste rasta hunden före jobbet. | I have to walk the dog before work. | Explaining a time constraint. |
At the vet, describe changes rather than diagnoses
Start with what has changed: appetite, sleep, movement or breathing. A concrete observation is more useful than a diagnosis you had to guess.
The Swedish body-parts vocabulary also works here when you need to point out a paw, ear, stomach or teeth.
| In Swedish | What it means | When you use it |
|---|---|---|
| Hon har inte ätit sedan i går. | She hasn't eaten since yesterday. | Giving both the change and a clear starting point. |
| Behöver vi boka en tid? | Do we need to book an appointment? | On the phone with a veterinary clinic. |
Pets make easy small talk
At work or in your building, asking an animal's name and age opens a concrete exchange without demanding broad vocabulary. A photograph supplies the missing context.
To carry that exchange further with a colleague, borrow an opener from the Swedish workplace phrases guide and let the other person do the storytelling.
| In Swedish | What it means | When you use it |
|---|---|---|
| Hur gammal är han? | How old is he? | After asking the animal's name. |
Questions people ask
- What is the Swedish word for pet?
- A pet is ett husdjur. The plural is also husdjur.
- How do you say walk the dog in Swedish?
- Rasta hunden is the compact phrase. Gå ut med hunden also means to take the dog out.
- What is veterinarian in Swedish?
- A veterinarian is en veterinär, and a veterinary clinic is en veterinärklinik.
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