localize-sv

Translate to Swedish (sv) — High-Fidelity Skill

Scope & Variants

Swedish has two recognized written variants for product localization:

Locale	Name	Speakers	Use case	Currency
`sv` / `sv-SE`	Sweden Swedish (default)	~10M	Pan-Swedish UI, default for `sv`	SEK (kr)
`sv-FI`	Finland Swedish (finlandssvenska)	~290k (Swedish-speaking Finns; official minority lang)	Products targeting Finland's Swedish-speaking population	EUR (€)

Practical reality: ~95% of Swedish translation work is sv-SE and the differences from sv-FI are mostly currency, a handful of vocabulary items (e.g., tvättstuga vs tvättinrättning), and Finnish-administrative loanwords. For pan-Nordic products, always default to sv-SE unless the audience is specifically Finland-Swedish.

When the target locale is unspecified

If the user requests "Swedish" without specifying:

Which Swedish variant should I target?

sv-SE (Sweden Swedish, Recommended) — Default. SEK currency, Stockholm-norm.

sv-FI (Finland Swedish) — Finland's Swedish-speaking minority. EUR currency, some Finnish-administrative vocabulary.

Default to sv-SE if no answer.

Register Auto-Detection (Apply Before Translating)

Modern Swedish is famously informal — the du-reform of the late 1960s abolished hierarchical pronouns. Ni (formal "you") survives only as an archaism, in some service-industry attempts at "old-school politeness" (poorly received), or in poetry/legal forms. All modern software uses du universally — banking, government services, healthcare apps, everything.

Auto-detect from source:

Source signal	Target register
Casual / conversational / playful (`Hey!`, contractions, exclamations, emoji)	Casual du — direct verbs, contractions where natural (`nån` for `någon` in some apps), short sentences. Avoid literary verbs (`förbli` → `vara kvar`).
Neutral product UI / documentation (DEFAULT)	Neutral du — du throughout, present tense status, imperative buttons, no literary vocabulary.
Legal / financial / formal corporate (terms of service, banking statements, government forms)	Formal du — still `du` (never `ni`!), but use full forms (`ska` over `kommer att`, `inte` over `nån`), avoid colloquialisms, prefer s-passive for impersonal statements.

Hard rule: NEVER use ni in modern Swedish UI. Even for legal/banking. It will be read as either archaic (irritating) or wrong (especially since ni is also the plural "you" in Swedish — using it as singular formal is ambiguous and dated).

Hard rule: source register matching for vocabulary — if the source uses casual English (stay, countless, ship), do NOT elevate to literary Swedish (förbli, otaliga, levereras). Match the register, not the dictionary's first hit.

Critical Hard Rules (Severity ≥ 2.0 — Auto-Fail If Wrong)

1. Compound words written as ONE word — särskrivning is a critical error (severity 2.5)

Swedish forms compounds by concatenation, not spacing or hyphens. Separating a compound into two words (särskrivning) changes meaning catastrophically — it's the most-mocked Swedish error.

✗ Wrong (split)	✓ Correct (joined)	Meaning of the split version
`sjuk sköterska`	`sjuksköterska`	"sick nurse" (the nurse is sick!) vs "nurse"
`kassa biträde`	`kassabiträde`	"shitty assistant" vs "cashier"
`brun hårig flicka`	`brunhårig flicka`	"brown hairy girl" vs "brown-haired girl"
`data bas`	`databas`	nonsense vs "database"
`bil förare`	`bilförare`	nonsense vs "car driver"
`användar gränssnitt`	`användargränssnitt`	nonsense vs "user interface"
`lösen ord`	`lösenord`	nonsense vs "password"

Rule of thumb: if two nouns together describe a single concept in English (user interface, database, password), they form a single Swedish word.

Hyphens are used only for:

Compound where first element is an acronym or number: IT-företag, 25-årig.
Brand names: Google-konto.
Avoiding three identical consonants in writing: tax-xa style edge cases (very rare).
Avoiding ambiguity in long compounds (rare; ask if uncertain).

When unsure, write it as one word. Native readers expect compounds joined.

2. Hybrid-compound verb anti-pattern (Swedish prefix + English stem) — REJECT (severity 2.5)

A common AI-translation failure mode: bolt a Swedish verbal prefix (av-, från-, ur-, upp-, in-) onto a raw English root (link, sync, share, stream, pair, merge, push, pull) and produce a non-word.

✗ Wrong (hybrid)	✓ Correct (native attested)	English
`avlinka` / `avlänkad`	`koppla bort` / `frånkopplad`	unlink / disconnected
`avsynca`	`synkronisera` / `avsynkronisera`	sync / desync
`delea`	`dela`	share (dela exists; delea doesn't)
`pairea`	`para ihop` / `koppla samman`	pair
`uppgrade` / `uppgreja`	`uppgradera`	upgrade
`mergea`	`slå ihop` / `sammanfoga`	merge
`pushea`	`skicka in` / `pusha` (git context only)	push
`streama`	`streama` ✓ (this one is attested)	stream
`downloada`	`ladda ner`	download
`uploada`	`ladda upp`	upload
`deleta`	`radera` / `ta bort`	delete
`cancella`	`avbryta`	cancel
`updatea`	`uppdatera`	update
`supportera`	`stödja` / `stöder`	support
`deployera`	`driftsätta` / `rulla ut` / `publicera`	deploy

Verification test: before accepting any verb formed with a Swedish prefix + English-looking root, ask "would this appear in SAOL (Svenska Akademiens ordlista)?" If you're not sure, use the attested native verb. Standard Swedish has native forms for almost every IT verb concept.

A few English loans that ARE attested and acceptable: streama, tweeta, chatta, mejla, googla, pusha (git-context only), bloga, dejta. These have entered the language. Hybrid prefixed forms of them generally have not.

3. Gender — `en` vs `ett` (severity 2.0)

Swedish has two genders: common (en, ~75%) and neuter (ett, ~25%). There is no reliable phonological rule — you must know the gender per noun.

Common IT nouns and their genders (memorize for tech UI):

en (common)	ett (neuter)
en fil (file)	ett system (system)
en mapp (folder)	ett konto (account)
en plattform (platform)	ett problem (problem)
en app (app)	ett lösenord (password)
en sida (page/side)	ett meddelande (message)
en knapp (button)	ett dokument (document)
en inställning (setting)	ett nätverk (network)
en användare (user)	ett objekt (object)
en flik (tab)	ett gränssnitt (interface)
en länk (link)	ett alternativ (option)
en bild (image)	ett verktyg (tool)
en uppdatering (update)	ett resultat (result)
en sökning (search)	ett fält (field)
en webbplats (website)	ett namn (name)
en e-post (email — but `mail` is `ett`)	ett kort (card)
en webbsida (web page)	ett tema (theme)
en kommentar (comment)	ett ämne (subject/topic)
en notis (notification)	ett konto (account)

Indefinite article: en/ett before the noun. Definite (without adjective): suffix -en (common) or -et (neuter). filen, systemet. Definite (with adjective): free article den/det + adjective + noun + definite suffix = DOUBLE DEFINITENESS. den stora filen, det nya systemet.

4. Double definiteness — both article AND suffix (severity 2.0)

When a definite noun has a preceding adjective, Swedish requires both the free article den/det/de AND the definite suffix on the noun. This is unusual among Germanic languages.

✗ Wrong	✓ Correct	English
`stora filen` (no article)	`den stora filen`	the large file
`den stora fil` (no suffix)	`den stora filen`	the large file
`nya systemet` (no article)	`det nya systemet`	the new system
`det nya system` (no suffix)	`det nya systemet`	the new system
`nya filerna` (no article)	`de nya filerna`	the new files

Exception: certain fixed expressions and proper-noun-like compounds skip the article (Svenska Akademien, Sista versen). For UI, always use both.

5. V2 word order (verb in second position in main clauses) (severity 2.0)

Swedish, like all mainland Scandinavian languages and German, is strict V2: in any declarative main clause, the finite verb must come in position 2, regardless of what fills position 1.

✗ Wrong	✓ Correct
`Idag användaren sparar filen`	`Idag sparar användaren filen` (Today saves the user the file)
`Nu systemet laddar data`	`Nu laddar systemet data`
`Efter inloggningen du kan ändra...`	`Efter inloggningen kan du ändra...`
`Snart vi kommer att lansera`	`Snart kommer vi att lansera`

When an adverbial or object is fronted to position 1, the subject is inverted with the verb.

6. Subordinate clause word order — DIFFERENT from main clauses (severity 1.5)

In subordinate clauses (introduced by att, som, eftersom, när, om, medan, innan, efter att), the subject comes BEFORE the verb, and adverbs like inte, alltid, aldrig go between subject and verb.

Clause type	Word order	Example
Main (V2)	Subject — Verb — Adverb — Object	`Användaren sparar inte filen.`
Subordinate (SVx)	Subject — Adverb — Verb — Object	`…eftersom användaren inte sparar filen.`

7. Negation placement (severity 2.0)

Inte (not) follows the V2/subordinate split above. The classic native-speaker test:

Context	Pattern	Example
Main clause	Verb + inte	`Filen sparas inte.` (The file is not saved.)
Main clause with object	Verb + Subject + inte + Object	`Sparar filen inte automatiskt?` (no) — actually: `Sparas filen inte automatiskt?`
Subordinate clause	inte + Verb	`…eftersom filen inte sparas.`

8. Compound-quantifier distinction: `fler` (countable) vs `mer` (uncountable) (severity 2.0)

Countable (use fler/färre)	Uncountable (use mer/mindre)
`fler filer` (more files)	`mer minne` (more memory)
`fler alternativ` (more options)	`mer information` (more information)
`fler språk` (more languages)	`mer plats` (more space)
`färre fel` (fewer errors)	`mindre data` (less data)
`färre klick` (fewer clicks)	`mindre brus` (less noise)

Button labels: Visa fler ✓ (show more — countable items), NOT Visa mer for a list. Body text: Lägg till fler språk ✓, NOT Lägg till mer språk.

9. Comma rules — `eller`, `och` vs `men`, `för` (severity 1.0)

No comma before coordinating conjunctions eller (or) and och (and).
Comma before contrastive conjunctions men (but), för (because/for).
Comma before subordinating conjunctions: Han kom hem, eftersom det började regna.

✗ Wrong	✓ Correct
`Spara, och stäng.`	`Spara och stäng.`
`Dra hit, eller klicka.`	`Dra hit eller klicka.`
`Det är enkelt men effektivt.`	`Det är enkelt, men effektivt.`
`Vi kan inte det för det är låst.`	`Vi kan inte det, för det är låst.`

10. Special characters `å ä ö` are essential — NEVER strip (severity 3.0)

Replacing å ä ö with a a o or aa ae oe is the single highest-severity character-level error in Swedish translation. They are letters, not diacritics — år (year) and år are different words from ar (would-be nonsense).

A Swedish-localized product with Sprak instead of Språk, Andra instead of Ändra, Lasenord instead of Lösenord is broken on its face.

11. ICU plurals — `one` + `other` is enough for Swedish (severity 1.5)

Swedish has only two CLDR plural categories: one (n = 1) and other (everything else). Unlike Arabic/Russian, no extra categories needed.

{count, plural,
  one {# fil}
  other {# filer}
}

But: the definite plural form differs (# filer indefinite vs de # filerna definite), and adjective agreement must be checked separately (see Grammar Reference).

Pronouns and Possessives

Personal pronouns

English	Swedish	Notes
I	jag
you (sg.)	du (always, modern)	NEVER `ni` for singular formal
you (pl.)	ni	This is the only modern use of `ni`
he / she / they (sg., gender-neutral)	han / hon / hen	`hen` is gender-neutral, increasingly common
we	vi
they	de (subject) / dem (object) — in spoken Swedish often `dom` for both	UI: write `de` / `dem` for written register
it (common)	den
it (neuter)	det

Possessive pronouns (agree with the POSSESSED noun's gender/number)

Person	en-noun	ett-noun	plural
min (my)	min fil	mitt system	mina filer
din (your sg.)	din fil	ditt system	dina filer
hans (his — invariable)	hans fil	hans system	hans filer
hennes (her — invariable)	hennes fil	hennes system	hennes filer
sin / sitt / sina (reflexive — own)	sin fil	sitt system	sina filer
vår (our)	vår fil	vårt system	våra filer
er (your pl.)	er fil	ert system	era filer
deras (their — invariable)	deras fil	deras system	deras filer

Reflexive sin/sitt/sina is critical: used when the possessor is the subject of the same clause.

Hon sparar sin fil. (She saves her own file.) ← reflexive
Hon sparar hennes fil. (She saves her [someone else's] file.) ← non-reflexive

Grammar Reference

Adjective agreement

Three forms: base / -t / -a.

Subject	Form	Example
en-noun, indefinite singular	base	en stor fil
ett-noun, indefinite singular	-t	ett stort system
plural (indefinite)	-a	stora filer
definite (sg./pl., either gender)	-a	den stora filen, det stora systemet, de stora filerna

Irregular: liten (small) → litet (neuter) / små (plural). Irregular: gammal (old) → gammalt / gamla. Mass nouns (en svår tid → den svåra tiden) follow the same pattern.

Verb conjugation — present tense uses ONE form for all persons

Swedish verbs do not conjugate by person. The same form serves I/you/we/they.

Group	Infinitive	Present (all persons)	Past	Supine	Past participle
1 (-ar)	tala	talar	talade	talat	talad/at/ade
2a (-er)	ringa	ringer	ringde	ringt	ringd/t/da
2b (-er)	läsa	läser	läste	läst	läst/ta
3 (-r)	bo	bor	bodde	bott	bodd/tt/dda
4 (strong)	skriva	skriver	skrev	skrivit	skriven/et/na

For UI work, the key forms are present (status messages) and past/supine (completion).

S-passive — Swedish's elegant passive voice

Form: stem + -s (from older -st). The s-passive is the preferred passive in technical and impersonal contexts.

Active	S-passive	Past s-passive
Systemet sparar filen.	Filen sparas. (The file is saved / is being saved.)	Filen sparades.
Användaren raderar kontot.	Kontot raderas.	Kontot raderades.
Vi laddar data.	Data laddas.	Data laddades.

Avoid the periphrastic bli + past participle (Filen blir sparad) in UI — it sounds bureaucratic.

Definite forms summary

Indefinite sg.	Definite sg.	Indef. pl.	Def. pl.
en fil	filen	filer	filerna
en mapp	mappen	mappar	mapparna
ett system	systemet	system	systemen
ett konto	kontot	konton	kontona
en användare	användaren	användare	användarna
en plattform	plattformen	plattformar	plattformarna

UI Conventions

Buttons — imperative (preferred) or infinitive

English	✓ Imperative (preferred)	✓ Infinitive (also OK)
Save	Spara	Spara
Cancel	Avbryt	Avbryta
Delete	Radera / Ta bort	—
Send	Skicka	—
Edit	Redigera	—
Search	Sök	Söka
Confirm	Bekräfta	—
Continue	Fortsätt	Fortsätta
Submit	Skicka in / Bekräfta	—
Sign in / Log in	Logga in	—
Sign out / Log out	Logga ut	—
Sign up	Skapa konto / Registrera dig	—
Next	Nästa	—
Back	Tillbaka	—
Done	Klar	—
OK	OK	—
Close	Stäng	—
Upload	Ladda upp	—
Download	Ladda ner	—
Refresh	Uppdatera	—
Settings	Inställningar	—
Apply	Använd / Tillämpa	—
Reset	Återställ	—

Standard Swedish platform localization (Windows, macOS, iOS, Android) uses imperative — follow this convention.

Status messages — present tense + ellipsis

English	✓ Swedish
Loading…	Laddar…
Saving…	Sparar…
Sending…	Skickar…
Connecting…	Ansluter…
Processing…	Bearbetar…
Uploading…	Laddar upp…
Searching…	Söker…
Please wait	Vänligen vänta / Vänta…

Completion messages — concise, often nominal + past participle

English	✓ Swedish
Saved	Sparat / Allt sparat
Done!	Klar (NOT `Klar!` — drop exclamation in product UI)
Translation complete	Översättning klar
File uploaded	Filen uppladdad
Sent	Skickat
Payment successful	Betalningen genomförd

Empty states — concise label, drop pronouns

✗ Verbose	✓ Concise
Inga resultat hittades	Inga resultat
Du har inga projekt ännu	Inga projekt ännu
Det finns ingenting här	Inget att visa
Inga filer tillgängliga	Inga filer

Drag-and-drop terminology

drag → dra
drop → släpp (NOT frigör = "liberate" — wrong sense)
release → släpp
Combined: Dra och släpp filer här (Drag and drop files here).

File picker — `välj` not `bladdra`

Action-oriented välj (choose) or välj filer is the modern Swedish platform standard (Chrome, Windows-SV, macOS-SV). Bladdra (browse) is older/literal-calque feel.

✗ Older	✓ Modern
Bladdra efter filer	Välj filer
Klicka för att bladdra	Klicka för att välja
Sök efter filer	(only for actual search)

"Support" expressions — verb form, not noun

✗ Calque	✓ Native
Stöd för X-filer	Stöder X-filer
Stöd för flera språk	Stöder flera språk / Flera språk stöds
Stöd för {formatList}	Stöder {formatList}

Quantity expressions

✗ Calque	✓ Native
25+ språk	fler än 25 språk / över 25 språk
+{count} fler	och {count} till
+25 nya funktioner	över 25 nya funktioner

Error messages — what + next step

✗ Bare	✓ With next step
Filen hittades inte.	Filen hittades inte. Kontrollera sökvägen.
Nätverksfel.	Nätverksfel. Försök igen.
Ogiltig e-post.	Ogiltig e-postadress. Kontrollera formatet.
Inloggning misslyckades.	Inloggning misslyckades. Kontrollera dina uppgifter.

Validation — clear structure

✗ Comma soup	✓ Structured
3-50 tecken, bokstäver, siffror, bindestreck	3-50 tecken. Tillåtet: bokstäver, siffror, bindestreck
Fält saknas	Detta fält är obligatoriskt
Fel format	Ogiltigt format

Punctuation, Numbers, Dates, Currency

Punctuation

Mark	Swedish	Notes
Question mark	`?`	Same as English
Comma	`,`	Same as English; rules about conjunctions differ
Period	`.`	Same
Colon	`:`	Same; used in brand-suffix attachments (`OneSky:et`)
Quotation marks	`"…"` (common in modern Swedish) or `»…»` (rare, dated)	Either works; prefer plain `"…"`. Smart quotes `"…"` if typography allows.
Apostrophe	only in foreign names (`Joe's`)	Swedish genitive uses bare `-s`: `Annas bok` (NOT `Anna's bok`)
Ellipsis	`…` (one character) or `...` (three dots)	Either

Numbers

Format	Pattern	Example
Thousands separator	space (or no separator)	1 234 567
Decimal separator	comma	3,14 — `99,99 kr`
Negative	`-25`
Percent	`25 %` (with space) OR `25%` (acceptable in UI)
Negative percent	`-25 %`

Critical: Swedish uses space for thousands, NOT comma. 1,000 reads as "one comma zero zero zero" (= one) in Swedish — very confusing.

Dates — ISO 8601 default

Swedish strongly prefers YYYY-MM-DD (ISO 8601). This is the official standard and most familiar to Swedish users in business/government/UI contexts.

Format	Example	Use
YYYY-MM-DD	2024-01-15	Default, all UI/business contexts
D mån. YYYY	15 jan. 2024	Casual prose, marketing
D månadnamn YYYY	15 januari 2024	Long-form prose

Months (lowercase always, no period for full names):

| 1 | januari | 7 | juli | | 2 | februari | 8 | augusti | | 3 | mars | 9 | september | | 4 | april | 10 | oktober | | 5 | maj | 11 | november | | 6 | juni | 12 | december |

Weekdays (lowercase): måndag, tisdag, onsdag, torsdag, fredag, lördag, söndag. Week starts Monday in Swedish calendar.

Time

24-hour preferred: 14:30 or kl. 14:30 (kl. = klockan).
12-hour rarely used in Sweden. If shown: 2:30 e.m. (eftermiddag) / 2:30 f.m. (förmiddag) — but stick to 24-hour.

Currency

Locale	Currency	Format
`sv-SE`	Swedish krona	`99,99 kr` or `99,99 SEK` (kr after amount, with space)
`sv-FI`	Euro	`99,99 €` or `99,99 EUR` (€ after amount, with space)

Never kr 99,99 or $99,99 style in Swedish UI.

Terminology — preferred Swedish terms

English	✓ Swedish	Avoid
user	användare	brukare
account	konto	account
password	lösenord	passord
settings	inställningar	settings
dashboard	instrumentpanel / översikt	dashboard
email	e-post	mail (rare for verb: mejla)
link	länk	link
browser	webbläsare	browser
website	webbplats	website
folder	mapp	folder
file	fil	—
device	enhet	device
phone	telefon / mobiltelefon / mobil	—
computer	dator	komputer
application / app	applikation / app	—
update (v.)	uppdatera	updatea
save	spara	—
delete	radera / ta bort	deleta
upload	ladda upp	uploada
download	ladda ner	downloada
sign in / log in	logga in	sign in
sign up	skapa konto / registrera	sign up
search	sök / söka	search
click	klicka	—
share	dela	sharea
profile	profil	—
notifications	aviseringar / notiser	notifications
privacy	integritet / sekretess	privacy
terms	villkor	terms
support	support (noun, OK) / stödja (verb)	supportera (verb form is wrong)
help	hjälp	—
feedback	feedback (OK) / återkoppling	—
menu	meny	—
home	hem / startsida	—
build (software)	bygga / skapa / utveckla	builda
deploy	driftsätta / rulla ut / publicera	deployera
commit (git)	committa (informal, attested) / spara	—
merge	slå ihop / sammanfoga / merga (informal git)	mergea
repository	repository / arkiv	—
branch (git)	gren / branch	—
pipeline	pipeline / processkedja	—
API	API (keep)	—
endpoint	endpoint / slutpunkt	—
cache	cache (keep) / mellanlagring	—
log (n.)	logg	—
sync	synkronisera / synka (informal)	—
webhook	webhook (keep)	—
source of truth	enda källa / källa till sanning (calque — avoid)	—

Tech identifiers — keep in Latin/English

These MUST stay in English inside Swedish text:

Programming languages: Python, JavaScript, Go, Rust, Java.
Frameworks: React, Vue, Next.js, Django, Spring.
Tools: Git, GitHub, Docker, npm, pip.
Protocols: HTTP, HTTPS, REST, GraphQL, TCP, SSH.
File formats: JSON, XML, CSV, PDF.
Commands, file paths, URLs, code identifiers.

False Friends — Critical

Swedish has many words that look like English but mean something else. These are common AI-translation errors.

Swedish word	Actually means	NOT this	Correct for the English
aktuell	current / relevant	"actual"	"actual" → faktisk / verklig
eventuellt	possibly / perhaps	"eventually"	"eventually" → till slut / så småningom
semester	vacation	"academic semester"	"semester" → termin
sensibel	sensitive	"sensible"	"sensible" → förnuftig / vettig
kontrollera	to check / verify	"to control"	"control (v.)" → styra / hantera
engelsk	English (Englishman's)	"Anglican"	"Anglican" → anglikansk
receipt	a recipe	"receipt" (proof of payment)	"receipt" → kvitto
chef	boss / manager	"chef" (cook)	"chef (cook)" → kock
smaka	to taste	"to smack"
barn	child(ren)	"barn"	"barn" → lada
gift	married OR poison	"gift" (present)	"gift" → present / gåva
rolig	funny / amusing	"rolling"	—
kock	a cook	"cock"	—

Calque / Anti-Pattern List

✗ Calque	✓ Native	Reason
Det ger mening	Det är vettigt / Det är logiskt	"makes sense" calque
ta plats	äga rum (events) / finnas plats (space)	"take place" calque
i slutet av dagen	i slutändan / när allt kommer omkring	"at the end of the day" calque
på en daglig basis	dagligen / varje dag	"on a daily basis"
i termer av	när det gäller / vad gäller	"in terms of"
göra en förbättring	förbättra	"make an improvement" — use verb
ge ett svar	svara	"provide an answer" — use verb
Få din översättning klar på minuter	Översättning på bara minuter	"Get X done"
Håll dina projekt synkroniserade	Se till att projekten är synkroniserade	"Keep X synced"
Gör ditt arbetsflöde snabbare	Effektivisera ditt arbetsflöde	"Make X faster"
Noll stillestånd / Zero downtime	Utan avbrott / Inga avbrott	"Zero X" calque
Noll engagemang	Utan förpliktelser / Helt fritt	"Zero commitment"
AI-driven	AI-baserad / drivs av AI / med AI	"X-driven" awkward
AI-medveten	AI-anpassad / med AI-stöd / stödjer AI	"X-aware" calque
användarvänlig	lätt att använda / intuitiv	"user-friendly" (this one is borderline OK in marketing but flagged in technical UI)
det sparas av systemet	systemet sparar	English-style agentless passive
Det är 5 år sedan jag (when "2019 me" / "[year] me")	mitt 2019-jag / den jag var 2019	year-vs-age confusion
Amerikas förenta stater	USA	UI short form
Förenade kungariket	Storbritannien / UK	UI short form

Custom Sections

Time / duration — `återstår` and unit abbreviations

English	✓ Swedish
30 seconds remaining	30 s återstår
5 minutes remaining	5 min återstår (NOT `5 m`)
2 hours remaining	2 tim återstår or 2 h återstår
3 days remaining	3 d återstår or 3 dagar återstår

återstår (preferred for UI) > kvarstår (more formal/bureaucratic).
Always space between number and unit: 5 min ✓, 5min ✗.
min for minutes, NOT m (which is meters).

Per vs för (rate vs total) — CRITICAL semantic distinction

Source	✓ Swedish	Meaning
per language (rate)	per språk / per språk	rate, per-unit
for 25 languages (total)	för 25 språk / till 25 språk	total scope
$5 per language	5 USD per språk	rate
$5 for all languages	5 USD för alla språk	total

Mixing these in pricing copy is an auto-fail.

Cost / estimate ordering

Prefer amount first, then scope:

✗ Ambiguous	✓ Clear
5 språk 25 krediter	25 krediter för 5 språk
5 språk: 25 krediter	5 språk: totalt 25 krediter (acceptable variant)

Compound descriptive nouns — restructure don't stack

English allows long noun-compound chains (mom creators, niche AI writers). Swedish doesn't stack compounds 3+ deep gracefully — restructure with som clauses or prepositional phrases:

✗ Calque	✓ Restructured
mamma-skapare	mammor som skapar innehåll
nisch-skapare	skapare inom nischområden / nischade innehållsskapare
AI-skribent-verktyg	AI-verktyg för skribenter

"Lagom" cultural tone

Swedish culture values lagom — "just right, balanced, not too much". This translates into UI copy as:

No superlatives or hype ("Bästa någonsin!" → just Förbättrad).
No emoji overload.
Practical, calm, understated.
Don't be flashy or boastful.

For marketing copy especially, soften American-style hyperbole.

UI element references in prose

When prose refers to a specific named UI element, use quotation marks around the label, not a compound:

✗ Compound	✓ Quoted label
Klicka på Spara-knappen	Klicka på knappen "Spara"
Öppna Inställningar-fliken	Öppna fliken "Inställningar"
Använd Namn-fältet	Använd fältet "Namn"

(Sparaknappen would also be one word but reads as a generic concept; the quoted form clearly references a specific labelled element.)

Brand names + Swedish suffixes — use colon

Foreign brand names take Swedish definite/possessive endings via colon:

OneSky (en/ett brand) → OneSky:et (def. neuter), OneSky:s (possessive)
Google:s (Google's)
GitHub:s (GitHub's)
iPhone:n (the iPhone)

sv-FI Delta (Finland-Swedish)

If target is sv-FI, apply these overrides:

Domain	sv-SE	sv-FI
Currency	SEK (kr)	EUR (€)
Date	YYYY-MM-DD (ISO)	DD.MM.YYYY (Finnish style) or YYYY-MM-DD
Phone	Swedish format (+46)	Finnish format (+358)
ID number	personnummer (10/12 digits)	personbeteckning / HETU
postcode → city	12345 Stockholm	00100 Helsingfors
`kommun`	kommun	kommun (same) but local council = `stadsfullmäktige`
`landstinget`	regionen	landskapet (region in Finland)
`kärnkraftverk`	(same)	—
`tvättstuga`	tvättstuga	tvättinrättning (in some contexts)
`kaffepaus`	fika	— (no Finnish-Swedish equivalent of `fika`; use `kafferast`)
`roligt`	roligt (fun)	rolig + ng for "calm/peaceful" can confuse; use `kul / trevligt`
`prick`	(period)	(also period; but `prick` vs `punkt` varies)

Most product UI doesn't need sv-FI-specific treatment beyond currency and possibly date format. When in doubt, sv-SE is understood perfectly by Finland-Swedish speakers.

Self-Check Checklist (Run Before Returning Output)

Accuracy (auto-fail on miss)

Compound words written as ONE word — no särskrivning (databas not data bas).
Hybrid-compound verbs rejected — no avlinka, avsynca, cancella, deleta, downloada.
Gender (en/ett) correct on every article and definite suffix.
Double definiteness present when noun has adjective: den stora filen.
Adjective agreement: -t for ett-noun indefinite singular, -a for plural/definite.
V2 word order in every main clause (verb in position 2).
Subordinate clause word order: subject before verb, inte between them.
Negation placement: after verb (main), before verb (subordinate).
fler vs mer: countable uses fler/färre, uncountable uses mer/mindre.
No comma before och / eller; comma before men / för.
Special chars å ä ö preserved — never replaced with a/a/o.
ICU plurals: one and other categories present.
Placeholders {var}, {{var}}, , URLs, code identifiers preserved exactly.
Latin tech identifiers: Git, API, JSON, React, etc. stay in Latin.
Numbers: comma decimal (3,14), space thousands (1 000), kr after amount (99,99 kr).
Dates: ISO 8601 (YYYY-MM-DD) default.
per vs för: rate vs total — never mixed.
Time format: 24-hour, kl. 14:30.

Register

Du throughout — never ni for singular formal.
No literary register elevation when source is casual (no förbli, otaliga, levereras for casual stay, countless, ship).
Possessive forms match: din/ditt/dina (du-form), not mixed with er/ert/era (ni-form).

UI conventions

Buttons use imperative (Spara, Avbryt, Radera).
Status uses present + ellipsis (Laddar…, Sparar…).
Completion is concise (Klar, Översättning klar, NOT Klar! Översättningen är nu klar!).
Empty states are concise (Inga resultat, NOT Inga resultat hittades).
File picker uses välj, not bladdra.
Drag-drop uses dra and släpp.
Stöder X not Stöd för X.
Quantity: fler än 25 not 25+; och {count} till not +{count}.
Error messages include next step.

Naturalness

No English calques (ta plats, det ger mening, på en daglig basis, i termer av, göra en förbättring).
No marketing-zero calque (Noll X → Utan X / Inga X).
No anglicism-verb formations (supportera, deployera, downloada).
False-friend check: aktuell ≠ actual, eventuellt ≠ eventually, semester ≠ academic term, kontrollera ≠ to control.
återstår not kvarstår for time-remaining.
min not m for minutes; space before unit.
Proper nouns use short forms (USA, Storbritannien).
Lagom tone — no hype, no exclamations stacked.

Regional (when sv-FI)

Currency: € not kr.
Date: DD.MM.YYYY acceptable alongside ISO.
Phone format / postal codes appropriate to Finland.

Worked Example — Standard sv-SE UI

Source (neutral product UI):

Welcome back! You have 3 new files in your account. Click Continue to review them or Cancel to stay here. Saving your changes…

Register check: neutral product UI with exclamation → casual du, present-tense status.

Translation (sv-SE):

Välkommen tillbaka! Du har 3 nya filer i ditt konto. Klicka på Fortsätt för att granska dem eller Avbryt för att stanna kvar här. Sparar dina ändringar…

Why this works:

Välkommen tillbaka — standard greeting, no Hej! injected.
Du har — du-form throughout.
3 nya filer — adjective nya (plural -a), noun filer (plural). No double-def needed since indefinite.
i ditt konto — ditt matches neuter konto.
Buttons imperative: Fortsätt, Avbryt.
för att granska dem / för att stanna kvar — V2 not at play (subordinate att-clause: subject before verb implicit).
Status: Sparar dina ändringar… (present + ellipsis).
Possessive dina ändringar — plural form of din.
Punctuation: Latin ., !, … all fine. Comma NOT used before eller.

Same string in formal sv-SE (legal/banking):

Välkommen tillbaka. Du har 3 nya filer i ditt konto. Klicka på Fortsätt för att granska filerna eller på Avbryt för att avbryta. Ändringarna sparas…

(Drop !, switch to s-passive sparas, use definite filerna to reinforce specificity.)

Same string for sv-FI: