Learn Hardcore Swedish: Stämningen är lugn i vardagsrummet. - The atmosphere is calm in the living room.

The basic noun is stämning = mood, atmosphere
Swedish often puts “the” at the end of the noun instead of in front:
- stämning = a mood / mood
- stämningen = the mood / the atmosphere

So -en is the definite ending for most common-gender nouns (the ones that take en in the indefinite: en stämning → stämningen).

Why is it är lugn and not är lugnt?

Lugn is an adjective meaning calm.

In Swedish, adjectives agree with the gender and number of the noun they describe:

en stämning → stämningen (common gender, singular)
→ adjective form: lugn
ett rum → rummet (neuter, singular)
→ adjective form: lugnt
plural (any gender): lugna

So:

Stämningen är lugn. – The atmosphere is calm.
Rummet är lugnt. – The room is calm.
Barnen är lugna. – The children are calm.

Could you also say Stämningen är lugn i det vardagsrum?

No. In Swedish, you normally don’t use a separate word for “the” together with the noun in this way.

You say:

ett vardagsrum – a living room
vardagsrummet – the living room

So “the living room” is almost always just vardagsrummet, not det vardagsrum.

Correct options:

Stämningen är lugn i vardagsrummet.
Stämningen är lugn i det här vardagsrummet. – in this living room
(Here det is part of det här, this, which is fine.)

What is the structure of vardagsrummet? Why that word for “living room”?

Vardagsrummet is a compound noun:

vardag – weekday / everyday life
rum – room
vardagsrum – living room (literally “everyday room”)
vardagsrummet – the living room

So the pattern is:

ett vardagsrum → vardagsrummet
(neuter noun, definite form with -et)

Why is it i vardagsrummet and not på vardagsrummet?

Both i and på can mean “in / at / on”, but they’re used in different types of expressions.

i is used for inside places or rooms:
- i vardagsrummet – in the living room
- i köket – in the kitchen
- i huset – in the house
på is used for:
- surfaces: på bordet – on the table
- some institutions/places: på jobbet – at work, på skolan – at school

A room of a house is something you are in, so i vardagsrummet is the natural choice.

Could I change the word order to I vardagsrummet är stämningen lugn?

Yes, that’s correct Swedish, just a slightly different emphasis.

Stämningen är lugn i vardagsrummet.
→ neutral, states the situation; focus a bit on the mood.
I vardagsrummet är stämningen lugn.
→ puts more emphasis on the place: In the living room, the mood is calm (maybe in contrast to somewhere else).

Both are grammatically fine and natural.

Is there a reason stämning is en-word and vardagsrum is ett-word?

This mostly has to be memorized; there is no simple rule that predicts it.

en stämning (common gender) → stämningen
ett vardagsrum (neuter) → vardagsrummet

Some rough tendencies exist (for example, many -ing words are en-words), but you still have to learn the gender with each noun:

en stämning, en tidning, en räkning
ett rum, ett hus, ett bord

What’s the difference between stämning as “mood” and other meanings of the word?

Stämning has several meanings; in this sentence it clearly means “mood / atmosphere”:

stämning = mood, atmosphere
- Det är bra stämning här. – There’s a good atmosphere here.

Other meanings (not relevant here, but useful to know):

stämning = tuning (music)
- gitarrens stämning – the tuning of the guitar
stämning = summons (legal)
- en stämning – a legal summons

Context decides the meaning. With i vardagsrummet, the natural interpretation is the atmosphere in the room.

How do I pronounce the vowels ä and å in Stämningen?

Approximate English comparisons:

ä (in Stämningen) – similar to the vowel in “ten” or “bed”, but often a bit more open.
- stäm- sounds roughly like “stem” (but with Swedish accent).
å is not in this particular sentence, but in general:
- å sounds a bit like the “o” in “more” (British) or “or” in “born”, but often a bit shorter and more rounded.

So Stämningen is roughly: STEHM-ning-en, with stress on STÄM.

Why is it är lugn and not blir lugn or känns lugn?

Different verbs give slightly different meanings:

är lugn – is calm
- Just describes the current state.
blir lugn – becomes calm / gets calm
- Focuses on a change: it wasn’t calm before, but now it is.
känns lugn – feels calm
- Focuses on how it feels to someone.

In this sentence we simply want to state a fact about the atmosphere, so är lugn is the neutral, most direct choice.

Could I say Stämningen i vardagsrummet är lugn instead?

Yes, that is also correct and very natural:

Stämningen i vardagsrummet är lugn.

Now the phrase i vardagsrummet directly describes stämningen (“the mood in the living room”), instead of describing where it is calm. The meaning is nearly the same; it just slightly changes the structure:

Stämningen är lugn i vardagsrummet.
→ The mood is calm in the living room.
Stämningen i vardagsrummet är lugn.
→ The mood in the living room is calm.

Both are fine in everyday Swedish.

Are there synonyms for lugn that would fit in this sentence?

Yes, you could replace lugn with other adjectives, depending on the nuance:

Stämningen är stilla i vardagsrummet. – The atmosphere is still/quiet.
Stämningen är avslappnad i vardagsrummet. – The atmosphere is relaxed.
Stämningen är harmonisk i vardagsrummet. – The atmosphere is harmonious.

But lugn is the most common, neutral way to say the atmosphere is calm.