Indulgences

1. Systembolaget

   The state alcohol monopoly shop

   Usage

   The single most useful piece of practical knowledge about alcohol in Sweden: anything over 3.5% ABV is sold here and nowhere else. You must be 20 to buy (18 to drink in a licensed restaurant), and staff will ask for ID from anyone who could be under 25. By law it cannot open on Sundays; weekdays are roughly 10:00–20:00 and Saturdays 10:00–15:00. Friday afternoon is very busy

   Grammar Note

   The final "-et" is already the definite article ("ett bolag" = a company, "bolaget" = the company), so the name is used in this form as it stands. Colloquially shortened to "Systemet" or "Bolaget"

2. folköl

   Low-strength beer sold in shops

   Usage

   Beer between 2.25% and 3.5% ABV — the only strength ordinary supermarkets and convenience shops may sell, and you must be 18 to buy it (not 20, as at Systembolaget). The same brand often exists in a weaker supermarket version, so check the percentage on the can. In the alcohol law it is "klass II"

3. starköl

   Beer above 3.5% ABV

   Usage

   Beer stronger than 3.5% ABV. For takeaway it exists only at Systembolaget, but licensed bars and restaurants pour it freely — order "en öl" in a bar and this is what you get. If you want to carry some home, mind the monopoly's opening hours

   Grammar Note

   "Stark" (strong) + "öl" (beer); the definite form is "starkölet". The set phrase for ordering a large draught beer in a bar is "En stor stark, tack"

4. lättöl

   Very weak beer, up to 2.25%

   Usage

   Beer up to 2.25% ABV, sold without an age limit and drunk with weekday lunch. It is not alcohol-free: if you want 0%, look for one labelled "alkoholfri öl"

5. brännvin

   Nordic grain or potato spirit

   Usage

   The general Nordic term for a spirit distilled from grain or potatoes. Potato was dominant in the nineteenth century; modern brands such as Renat are grain-based. "Akvavit" is a subtype: brännvin flavoured with dill or caraway, and an EU protected designation

   Grammar Note

   "Vin" is neuter (ett vin), so "ett brännvin", definite "brännvinet". From "bränna" (to burn, to distil) + "vin"

6. nubbe

   A shot of aquavit

   Usage

   Also called "snaps": a mouthful of brännvin served in a "snapsglas", nowadays about 6 cl. The custom is to sing a "snapsvisa" together, say "Skål!" and drink it in one go. It belongs to Midsummer, the crayfish party and the julbord

   Grammar Note

   Common gender (en nubbe), definite "nubben". Synonyms include "snaps", "sup" and "hutt"

7. glögg

   Hot spiced wine

   Usage

   A hot drink spiced with cloves, cinnamon, cardamom, ginger and bitter orange, poured into small cups over almonds and raisins and eaten with gingerbread. There are wine-based, spirit-based and alcohol-free versions — the alcohol-free one is what supermarkets sell; the others come from Systembolaget

   Grammar Note

   Common gender (en glögg), definite "glöggen". From the verb "glödga" (to heat)

8. punsch

   Sweet arrack liqueur

   Usage

   Arrack, sugar, lemon juice, water and tea — about 25% alcohol and 30% sugar. Traditionally served warm with Thursday's pea soup, and deeply tied to nineteenth-century student culture, which produced a whole repertoire of songs about it. "Svensk Punsch" holds an EU protected geographical indication

   Grammar Note

   Common gender (en punsch), definite "punschen". Not the same thing as English fruit punch

9. snus

   Moist snuff placed under the lip

   Usage

   Finely ground tobacco treated with salt and sodium carbonate, tucked under the upper lip (the verb is "snusa"). It comes loose ("lössnus") or in pouches ("portionssnus"). It is a tobacco product: some studies link heavy use to certain cancers and to type 2 diabetes, while other reviews find the evidence inconclusive. The EU bans oral tobacco everywhere except Sweden, which negotiated an exemption on joining in 1995, so it cannot legally be sold on elsewhere

10. rökfritt

    No smoking

    Usage

    The tobacco act of 2018 (2018:2088), in force from 1 July 2019, widened the ban considerably: besides indoor restaurants, it now covers outdoor serving areas, the entrances to smoke-free premises, bus stops and platforms, public playgrounds and outdoor sports grounds. No smoking section may be set aside on a terrace, and e-cigarettes and water pipes count as smoking. Signs read "rökfritt" or "rökförbud"

    Grammar Note

    "Rök" (smoke) + "fritt", the neuter form of "fri" (free of). The ban itself as a noun is "rökförbud" (ett rökförbud)

Browse all TravelPhrases languages