Warning: As you may expect, this article contains uncensored swearing which some readers may find offensive.

Have you ever wondered if the people of the Nordic countries swear? Finland and Denmark take turns being the happiest country in the world, and Iceland, Norway and Sweden are not far behind on the same metric.

So, do Nordic people even have reason to curse? If you ask them, the answer would probably be: of course! Across the Nordic countries, swearing is a widespread practice, from teenagers to jaunty grandmothers. Even younger children are known to throw in a swearword once in a while (sometimes under their breath, depending on the proximity of their parents).

If you鈥檙e curious about this perhaps controversial language practice as performed in the Nordic countries, then this article is for you. Read on to get an idea of the nature of profanity in this part of the world, as well as specific examples of swearwords from each country.

So, hva faen are you waiting for? Have fun learning a bit about Nordic foul language!

The nature of Nordic swearing

As in other parts of the world, swearing in the Nordic countries is often done to let off steam. For instance, when you鈥檙e angry with someone, you want to express annoyance at something, or you seek to (mentally) relieve the pain of stubbing your toe (we鈥檝e all been there!).

Just like swearing in other languages, swearwords in the Nordic languages reference things that are taboo in the local culture. However, swearing in the Nordic countries does seem to differ from swearing in the UK or the US, for example, in two particular areas: the perceived offensiveness of swearing and the themes of the swearwords.

Perceived offensiveness of swearing in the Nordic countries

Studies on the perceived offensiveness of swearing in English-speaking countries as well as the Nordic countries have been conducted and compared. The results suggest that Nordic people swear more freely than their English-speaking counterparts.

In general, Nordic people have a laissez-faire attitude towards swearing, and to many, swearing is an integral part of their everyday language. Whilst many in the UK share the same attitude, Nordic people often go further, swearing in contexts even Brits would find unacceptable.

To many Nordic people, swearing is an integral part of everyday language.

This laid-back relationship with bad words is evident when watching TV for instance. Even when guests on Nordic TV shows are instructed not to swear while on air, some just can鈥檛 help doing so 鈥 and the swearwords themselves aren鈥檛 censored or bleeped out.

Although Nordic people tend to swear more freely, swearing is not considered good form. Given that swearing is a rather informal use of language, there are of course certain situations in which it would be inappropriate to do so.

At a job interview, for example, you鈥檇 probably be better off keeping the swearing to a minimum 鈥 or just refrain from doing it at all. That way you don鈥檛 risk coming across as unprofessional.

However, if your potential employer is blown away by your wit, skills and vision, you might just get the job anyway.

Themes of Nordic swearwords

Some of the themes present in English-language swearing also exist in the Nordic languages.

Religion as a theme, or the incorporation of God, the devil or hell when swearing, is a prime example of this. In Sweden, for instance, many people use the swear word fan, which literally means 鈥榯he devil鈥, as an exclamation for when something goes wrong.

You can also swear by 鈥榟ell鈥 in all five Nordic languages. In Finnish, Icelandic, Norwegian and Swedish, you would exclaim Helvetti!, 贬别濒惫铆迟颈!, Helvete! and Helvete!, respectively, whilst you would say For helvede! in Danish.

One theme that is not present in English-language swearing today is that of diseases. In Danish, this theme contains swearwords with reference to serious illnesses such as cancer.

Kraftedeme is an example of this as it is a contraction of Kr忙ften 忙de mig, which translates into 鈥榤ay cancer eat me鈥. This swearword acts as an oath: a curse that is used to strengthen a statement and underline the seriousness of the speaker. For example, Det er kraftedeme ikke i orden!, means 鈥楾his is not okay 鈥 may cancer eat me if it is okay!鈥.

Another theme that is exclusive to the Nordic languages as compared to English is numbers. In Sweden, you can exclaim Sjutton! or Attans! when something doesn鈥檛 go according to plan. Meaning 鈥榮eventeen鈥 and 鈥榚ighteen鈥 respectively, these words are technically classified as euphemisms in Swedish, which makes them very unloaded and safe to use in any situation.

Danish has a similar euphemism 鈥 For syv sytten!, literally meaning 鈥楩or seven seventeen!鈥 鈥 which is used in a similar way to its Swedish counterparts.

The influence of English on Nordic swearing

Like other societies, the Nordic countries are heavily influenced by American culture in the form of TV, films, music and, as a consequence of this, language use.

In Denmark, code-switching (the act of alternating between languages in the same conversation) is not unheard of, especially within the younger generations. The occasional 鈥榣iterally鈥, 鈥榟onestly鈥, 鈥榮orry鈥 or even typical English syntax often enter the conversation.

This English-inspired language use has also found its way into swearing across the Nordic languages.

The Nordic countries and their swearing are heavily influenced by American culture and English-language use.

Apart from swearwords originating from Nordic languages, the use of 鈥榝uck鈥 and 鈥榝ucking鈥 can be heard and seen in each of the Nordic countries 鈥 鈥榮hit鈥 has also been adopted by many Nordic people. Both four-letter words are used in much the same way as they are in the English-speaking countries, i.e. when something goes wrong.

In Danish, for instance, you could say Fuck, jeg har glemt mine n酶gler!, meaning 鈥楩uck, I forgot my keys!鈥. You could easily use 鈥榮hit鈥 instead of 鈥榝uck鈥 in this example 鈥 the swearwords are interchangeable in most situations.

Just like in English, the swearword 鈥榝ucking鈥 is used descriptively to emphasise a negative attitude the speaker has towards someone or something. In Danish, Han er en fucking idiot! means 鈥楬e is a fucking idiot!鈥.

The perceived offensiveness of English swearwords amongst Nordic people compared to Americans or Brits has been debated, as it seems that the aforementioned four-letter specimens don鈥檛 have the same impact when used in the Nordic countries.

It could be that the theme of sex is just not as taboo as in the English-speaking countries鈥 or maybe swearing in a foreign language doesn鈥檛 feel as bad as in your mother tongue.

In any case, 鈥榝uck鈥 and 鈥榮hit鈥 have become an integral part of the Nordic vocabulary of swearwords. So much so that certain countries have developed their own spellings of 鈥榝uck鈥 and 鈥榝ucking鈥. Icelanders, for instance, spell the words fokk and fokking, respectively, whilst the Norwegians often spell 鈥榝uck鈥 either fakk or 蹿酶办办.

Swearwords from each Nordic country

Are you curious to learn some bad language from each of the Nordic countries? Below is a list of the most common or remarkable swearwords from Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden.

Denmark

Swearword Literal meaning Description
Kraftedeme 鈥楳ay cancer eat me鈥 An oath used to underline a statement, e.g. Det er kraftedeme ikke i orden, meaning 鈥楾his is not fucking okay鈥. It鈥檚 one of the most loaded Danish swearwords.
Fanden 鈥楾he devil鈥 An exclamation with variations (for fanden). Fand(e)me is an example of fanden being used as an oath, meaning 鈥楳ay the devil eat me鈥.
Helvede 鈥楬别濒濒鈥 Exclamation with variations (for helvede). It can also be used to describe a situation: Det er et helvede means 鈥業t鈥檚 like hell鈥.
Lort 鈥楽丑颈迟鈥 An exclamation that can also be used to describe an object that the speaker dislikes, e.g. Jeg hader den lortetelefon, meaning 鈥業 hate that shitty telephone鈥.
Sgu 鈥楽o help me God鈥 An oath used to underline a statement, e.g. Det gik sgu godt, meaning 鈥楾hat went damn well鈥. Sgu is very mild, and it has been debated whether the word is still classified as a swearword.

Finland

Swearword Literal meaning Description
Perkele 鈥楾he devil鈥 An exclamation with variations: Voi perkele, meaning 鈥極h the devil鈥; and Perkeleen perkele, meaning 鈥楾he devil of the devil鈥. It鈥檚 used much like 鈥楪oddamnit鈥 in English.
Helvetti 鈥楬别濒濒鈥 An exclamation with variations: Voi helvetti, meaning 鈥極h hell鈥; and Helvetin helvetti, meaning 鈥楬ell of hell鈥. You can also say Helvetin kuustoista, meaning 鈥楬ell’s sixteen鈥.
Saatana 鈥楽补迟补苍鈥 Exclamation. Another version is Voi saatana, meaning 鈥極h satan鈥. You can say On t盲盲 saatanallinen ty枚maa, which literally means 鈥楾his is a satanic construction yard鈥, or more colloquially 鈥楾his is such a pain in the arse鈥.
Perse 鈥楢谤蝉别鈥 An exclamation with variations: Voi perse, meaning 鈥極h arse鈥, and Perseen perse, meaning 鈥楢rse of the arse鈥. You can also say Perseen suti, meaning 鈥楾he brush of the arse鈥 when something goes really wrong.
Paskiainen 鈥楽丑颈迟丑别补诲鈥 A form of name-calling used in the same way as 鈥楽on of a bitch鈥 in English. Another version is Senkin paskiainen, meaning 鈥榊ou shithead鈥.

Iceland

Swearword Literal meaning Description
Andskotans 鈥楾he devil鈥檚鈥 Used descriptively prefacing another swearword, e.g. andskotans fl贸n, meaning 鈥榯he devil鈥檚 idiot鈥. Another version is andskotinn sj谩lfur, meaning 鈥榯he devil himself鈥, which is used to describe a person.
顿箩枚蹿耻濒蝉颈苍蝉 鈥楾he devil鈥檚鈥 Used descriptively prefacing another swearword, e.g. dj枚fulsins gunga, meaning 鈥榯he devil鈥檚 coward鈥.
贬别濒惫铆迟颈 鈥楬别濒濒鈥 An exclamation that can be combined with other swearwords, such as fokking helv铆ti. Another version is the curse far冒u til helv铆tis, which means 鈥榞o to hell鈥.
Rassgat 鈥楢谤蝉别丑辞濒别鈥 Used in multiple curses, e.g. far冒u 铆 rassgat, which means something along the lines of 鈥榗rawl up your own arsehole鈥. Can also be used for expressing endearment. Hva冒 镁煤 ert miki冒 rassgat!, which means 鈥楢ren鈥檛 you a little arsehole!鈥, is perfectly fine to say to your lovely little niece or nephew, for example.
Haltu kjafti 鈥楬old your mouth鈥 Used in the same way as 鈥榮hut up鈥 in English. Haltu 谩 ketti literally means 鈥榟old the cat鈥, and is a euphemism for haltu kjafti.

Norway

Swearword Literal meaning Description
Faen 鈥楾he devil鈥 Exclamation. Fy faen is a stronger and very common version of the word.
闯忙惫别濒 鈥楾he devil鈥 A form of name-calling used in the same way as 鈥榊ou fucker鈥 in English. 闯忙惫濒补 is the adjective version, e.g. Din j忙vla idiot, which means 鈥榊ou devilish idiot鈥.
Drittsekk 鈥楽丑颈迟产补驳鈥 A very common form of name-calling that can be compared to 鈥榮cumbag鈥 in English.
Skitt 鈥楽丑颈迟鈥 An exclamation that is often used when faen is too loaded, for example when expressing indifference to a minor incident.
Fakk deg 鈥楩uck you鈥 An insult used in the same way as its English counterpart. It can also be used sarcastically/playfully. This is an example of how 鈥榝uck鈥 can be used with a Norwegian spelling.

Sweden

Swearword Literal meaning Description
Fan 鈥楾he devil鈥 A very common exclamation that has almost lost its offensiveness. It can also be used as Fy fan to show disgust.
Satan 鈥楽补迟补苍鈥 Exclamation. It鈥檚 also used with 辞肠办蝉氓 in the expression Satan 辞肠办蝉氓! in the same sense as 鈥楩uck!鈥.
闯盲惫濒补谤 鈥楧别惫颈濒颈蝉丑鈥 Very commonly used as an exclamation (闯盲惫濒补谤 辞肠办蝉氓!) and description (din j盲vla idiot, meaning 鈥榶ou devilish idiot鈥).
Helvete 鈥楬别濒濒鈥 Exclamation. Another version is the expression Helvete 辞肠办蝉氓!, which literally means 鈥楬ell also!鈥.
Attans 鈥楨颈驳丑迟别别苍鈥 An exclamation used much like 鈥楧amn!鈥. As a euphemism, it is not technically a swearword, and is very unloaded.

Now that you know more about the controversial linguistic practice of swearing in the Nordic languages, you鈥檒l be able to show off what you鈥檝e learnt. Nordic people tend to have a great sense of humour and they鈥檒l probably enjoy hearing a foreigner swear like a native!

Just remember to keep the swearing to informal situations 鈥 Sandberg takes no responsibility for any lost job opportunities due to foul language!

Christina Bjerggaard is a Danish translator at Sandberg. She wrote her master鈥檚 thesis on the translation of swearwords from English to Danish and, with her additional research for this article, is now our in-house profanity expert!

Danish language, English language, Finnish language, Icelandic language, Nordic culture, Nordic languages, Norwegian language, Swedish language