Mottagningen är dålig hemma.

Mottagningen is the definite form: the reception.

In Swedish, the definite article is usually added to the end of the noun as a suffix:

• en mottagning = a reception
• mottagningen = the reception

So instead of having a separate word like English the, Swedish often builds it into the noun.

Yes — mottagning can mean several things depending on context, including:

• reception / signal reception
• clinic
• reception desk / front desk

In this sentence, because of dålig hemma (bad at home), it most naturally means signal reception — for example phone, radio, or TV reception.

So here mottagningen is understood as the reception/signal.

Because mottagningen is a common gender noun (en word).

Swedish adjectives used after är agree with the noun:

• common gender singular: dålig
• neuter singular: dåligt
• plural: dåliga

So:

• mottagningen är dålig
• but vädret är dåligt because vädret is a neuter noun

Even though mottagningen is definite, the adjective after är still stays dålig, not dåliga. That is because this is a predicative adjective (after a linking verb), not an adjective directly before the noun.

Because Swedish usually marks definiteness by adding it to the noun itself.

English:

• the reception

Swedish:

• mottagningen

This is very normal in Swedish. A separate definite word is mainly used in other patterns, especially when there is an adjective before the noun, for example:

• den dåliga mottagningen = the bad reception

But in your sentence, the adjective comes after the verb, so only mottagningen is needed.

Är is the present tense of vara, which means to be.

So:

• är = is / are

In this sentence:

• Mottagningen är dålig hemma = The reception is bad at home

It links the subject (mottagningen) with the description (dålig).

Because hemma means at home — it describes a location.

Compare:

• hemma = at home (location)
• hem = home / to homeward destination in some uses

So:

• Jag är hemma = I am at home
• Jag går hem = I am going home

In your sentence, the meaning is location, so hemma is the correct choice.

Yes, the word order is normal.

The sentence structure is:

• Mottagningen = subject
• är = verb
• dålig = adjective/complement
• hemma = place adverbial

So this is a straightforward, neutral sentence.

You can move hemma for emphasis, for example:

• Hemma är mottagningen dålig.

That puts more focus on at home. But the original version is perfectly natural.

Yes — and in many everyday situations, that version may sound even more natural.

• Det är dålig mottagning hemma = There is bad reception at home
• Mottagningen är dålig hemma = The reception is bad at home

The difference is mostly about how specific you are:

• det är dålig mottagning presents the situation more generally
• mottagningen är dålig talks about the reception as a known thing

Both are grammatical.

Here dålig means something like:

• bad
• poor
• weak

With signal reception, English often says poor reception or weak reception, and Swedish uses dålig mottagning in the same way.

So it does not mean morally bad. It means the quality of the reception is poor.

A rough pronunciation guide is:

Mottagningen är dålig hemma
MO-taag-ning-en air DOH-lig HEM-ma

A few notes:

• å sounds somewhat like the vowel in British law
• ä in är is like the vowel in air for many learners
• gning in mottagningen can be tricky; listen carefully to native audio if you can
• stress is mainly on mottagningen, dålig, and hemma

If you want, I can also break the whole sentence down syllable by syllable in a more detailed learner-friendly way.