Animals

1. hund

   Dog

   Usage

   "Jag har blivit biten av en hund" — a dog bit me. Dogs travel on Swedish trains and sit in cafés, and some carriages are designated for them

2. katt

   Cat

   Usage

   "Jag är allergisk mot katt" — I'm allergic to cats. Worth asking before booking a private room

3. fågel

   Bird

   Usage

   Birdwatching is "fågelskådning". The plural is "fåglar"

4. fisk

   Fish

   Usage

   The same word for the animal and the food. Fishing is "fiske", and many Swedish lakes are open to anyone

5. häst

   Horse

   Usage

   Horse riding is "ridning". The carved "dalahäst" from Dalarna is Sweden's best-known souvenir

6. ko

   Cow

   Usage

   The plural is "kor". Beef is a separate word, "nötkött", so you will not see "ko" on a menu

7. gris

   Pig

   Usage

   Pork is "fläskkött" or just "fläsk". To avoid it, say "jag äter inte fläsk"

8. får

   Sheep

   Usage

   A common sight on Gotland's pastures. The meat is usually "lamm". Note it is spelled like the past tense of "få" (to get)

9. höna

   Hen

   Usage

   Chicken as food is a different word, "kyckling", and that is what menus use. "Höna" is the live bird

10. ren

    Reindeer

    Usage

    Herded across Lapland — almost none are truly wild, they belong to Sámi herders, so never chase one off the road. "Renskav", shaved reindeer, is the northern speciality on menus

    Grammar Note

    Spelled like the adjective "ren" (clean) found in the Adjectives category — a different word

11. älg

    Moose / Elk

    Usage

    Sweden's emblematic forest animal, on those yellow warning triangles. They step onto roads at dawn and dusk, and if you hit one you are legally required to stay and call 112

12. räv

    Fox

    Usage

    Found in suburbs as well as forests. Do not touch one — they carry mange and tapeworm

13. igelkott

    Hedgehog

    Usage

    Snuffling through gardens on summer nights. Protected, so leave it alone — and never offer it milk, which harms them

14. ekorre

    Squirrel

    Usage

    The red squirrel with tufted ears, common even in city parks

15. hare

    Hare

    Usage

    The northern mountain hare turns white in winter. A pet rabbit is a different word, "kanin"

16. rådjur

    Roe deer

    Usage

    The deer you will actually see in Sweden — much smaller than a moose, often in small groups by fields and roads

17. björn

    Bear

    Usage

    Brown bears live in the central and northern forests. Encounters are rare and making noise as you walk is enough to avoid one. The given name Björn is the same word

18. varg

    Wolf

    Usage

    A small population in the central forests. You are very unlikely to see one, though wolf hunting is a permanently contested topic in Sweden

19. säl

    Seal

    Usage

    Basking on rocks in the Baltic and on the west coast, and a regular sight on Stockholm archipelago boat tours

20. val

    Whale

    Usage

    Only occasionally seen off the west coast — Sweden is not a whale-watching country. The same spelling also means "a choice" or "an election"

21. mås

    Gull

    Usage

    They will take food off an outdoor table in any harbour town, so keep an eye on your plate. Also called "fiskmås"

22. svan

    Swan

    Usage

    Common on city waterfronts, but aggressive near a nest, so keep your distance. The Nordic eco-label "Svanen" takes its name from the bird

23. and

    Duck

    Usage

    Plural "änder". Everywhere on park ponds — but do not feed them bread, which is bad for waterfowl

    Grammar Note

    Nothing to do with English "and" — Swedish for "and" is "och"

24. kråka

    Crow

    Usage

    The Swedish one is the grey-and-black hooded crow. The big all-black bird is a different word, "korp" (raven)

25. skata

    Magpie

    Usage

    The black-and-white long-tailed bird you see in every Swedish town, and the one folklore accuses of stealing shiny things

26. uggla

    Owl

    Usage

    More often heard than seen in the forest at night. The far north also has the snowy owl, "fjälluggla"

27. huggorm

    European adder (venomous)

    Usage

    Sweden's only venomous snake, marked by the zigzag stripe down its back and found on sunny rocks and forest-track edges. If bitten, keep still and call 112. The harmless "snok" is told apart by the yellow patches on its neck

28. groda

    Frog

    Usage

    "Små grodorna" — the little frogs — is the midsummer dance song every Swede knows. Asking what the words mean is a guaranteed conversation

29. mygga

    Mosquito

    Usage

    They swarm in the northern summer — in July you simply cannot walk into a Lapland forest without repellent, which is "myggmedel". Plural "myggor"

30. knott

    Blackfly / Midge

    Usage

    Smaller than a mosquito and swarming along rivers in the northern summer. The bites swell more and itch longer than mosquito bites, and only a fine-mesh net keeps them out

31. fästing

    Tick

    Usage

    The insect to take seriously in Sweden — ticks carry both borreliosis and tick-borne encephalitis. Check your whole body after walking through long grass and pull any tick straight out with a "fästingplockare" from a pharmacy. TBE vaccination is widely available

32. geting

    Wasp

    Usage

    They arrive at outdoor tables in late summer. "Jag har blivit stucken av en geting" — a wasp stung me. Say so at once if you are allergic

33. bi

    Bee

    Usage

    Distinguished from the aggressive "geting". Honey is "honung" — useful when hunting for local honey at a market

34. myra

    Ant

    Usage

    Those metre-high mounds in the forest are "myrstack", wood ant nests. Step on one and you get sprayed with formic acid, so give them room

35. spindel

    Spider

    Usage

    No Swedish spider is dangerous to people, including the big ones that wander indoors in autumn

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