Learn Hardcore Swedish: Under lovet känns varje dag som en lång helg och ingen tänker på vardagar. - During the school break every day feels like a long weekend and nobody thinks about weekdays.

You say under lovet because you are talking about a specific, known break (for example “this winter break”), so Swedish uses the definite form: lovet.

Compare:

Jag gillar lov. = I like breaks/holidays (in general).
Under lovet är jag ledig. = During the (this) break I am off.

Note: lov is usually used for school breaks; semester is used for adult/vacation time off from work.

Why is the preposition under used here instead of i or på?

In time expressions, under often means during (the whole period of).

under lovet ≈ during the break, throughout the break.

You could technically hear på lovet in speech, but:

under lovet emphasizes the whole duration of the break.
i lovet is not natural here.

So under is the standard and most idiomatic choice when you mean “during (a period of time)” in Swedish.

What is the difference between känns and känner, and why is känns used here?

Both come from the verb känna (to feel), but they are used differently:

känna (sig) = to feel (emotionally or physically) as an active subject.
- Jag känner mig trött. = I feel tired.
kännas = to feel / to seem (impersonal or passive-ish sense, “is experienced as”).
- Det känns bra. = It feels good.
- Det känns kallt här inne. = It feels cold in here.

In känns varje dag som en lång helg:

varje dag = the subject.
känns ≈ “feels / seems”.

So the idea is “Each day is experienced as / feels like a long weekend,” so känns is correct.
Using känner here (varje dag känner som…) would be ungrammatical.

Could the word order be Varje dag känns som en lång helg under lovet instead? Is that also correct?

Yes, both are grammatically correct:

Under lovet känns varje dag som en lång helg …
Varje dag känns som en lång helg under lovet …

The differences:

Under lovet at the start sets the time frame first: “During the break, …”.
Varje dag at the start puts more emphasis on each day: “Each day feels like a long weekend during the break …”.

Word order is quite flexible in Swedish, as long as the verb comes in the second position in main clauses (the V2 rule). Both of these obey that rule.

What does som mean in som en lång helg, and is it more like English “as” or “like”?

Here som means like / as, used for comparisons.

som en lång helg = like a long weekend.

In this structure:

[subject] + kännas/vara + som + [noun phrase]

you can think of som as English like or as in sense of “in the same way as”.

Examples:

Det känns som vår. = It feels like spring.
Han jobbar som lärare. = He works as a teacher.

So here som introduces what each day feels like.

Why is it en lång helg and not en lång helgen or långa helg?

Three things are happening: gender, indefiniteness, and adjective form.

Gender and article
- helg (weekend/holiday) is an en-word (common gender), so the indefinite article is en.
- So: en helg = a weekend.
Indefinite vs definite
- en lång helg = a long weekend (indefinite, general).
- den långa helgen = the long weekend (definite, specific).
In this sentence, we mean “a/one long weekend” in a general, descriptive way, so indefinite is used: en lång helg.
Adjective form
- Indefinite singular en-word: en lång helg.
- Definite singular: den långa helgen (note -a on lång and -en on helg).
- Plural indefinite: långa helger.

So en lång helg is the correct combination for “a long weekend.”

Why is it ingen tänker and not something like inte någon tänker or ingen person tänker?

ingen is the normal negative pronoun for “no one / nobody” in Swedish.

ingen = no one / nobody / not any (for en-words, or as a person pronoun).
inget = no / not any (for ett-words).
inga = no / not any (plural).

In this sentence:

ingen tänker på vardagar = no one thinks about weekdays.

You could say inte någon for emphasis:

Inte någon tänker på vardagar. = Not a single person thinks about weekdays.

But ingen is shorter, more idiomatic, and completely natural here.
ingen person tänker is grammatically possible but sounds heavy and unnatural in everyday speech.

Why do we say tänker på vardagar with på? Can we just say tänker vardagar?

With the meaning to think about something, Swedish uses the verb + preposition:

tänka på [något] = to think about [something].

So:

tänker på vardagar = think about weekdays.

You cannot drop på here; tänker vardagar is wrong in this sense.

Some useful contrasts:

tänka på = think about
- Jag tänker på dig. = I’m thinking about you.
tänka om = think about (in the sense of “have an opinion about / reconsider”)
- Vad tänker du om det här? = What do you think about this?
tänka
- infinitive = intend/plan to
  - Jag tänker resa imorgon. = I’m planning to travel tomorrow.

In your sentence, it’s clearly the “think about” meaning, so tänker på vardagar is correct.

Why is vardagar in the plural here, and what is the difference between vardag, vardagar, and vardagarna?

vardag = weekday / working day (singular, indefinite).
vardagar = weekdays (plural, indefinite).
vardagen = the weekday / everyday life (singular, definite).
vardagarna = the weekdays (plural, definite).

In ingen tänker på vardagar, we are talking about weekdays in general, not specific ones like “these particular weekdays”. So Swedish uses the indefinite plural: vardagar.

Compare:

Jag gillar vardagar. = I like weekdays (in general).
På vardagarna går jag upp klockan sju. = On weekdays (the weekdays, regularly) I get up at seven.

Both vardagar and vardagarna can refer to a general routine, but vardagarna sounds a bit more like “on (the) weekdays as a habit,” while vardagar here is just “weekdays” as a concept that no one is thinking about.

Could we say ingen tänker på vardagen instead of vardagar? Would the meaning change?

Yes, ingen tänker på vardagen is also possible, but the nuance is slightly different:

ingen tänker på vardagar = no one thinks about weekdays (Monday–Friday as days).
ingen tänker på vardagen = no one thinks about everyday life / the daily grind.

vardagen often means “ordinary, everyday life” as a concept (routines, work, school, chores).
So using vardagar keeps the focus more on the days themselves, while vardagen is more abstract: the normal routine you return to after the break.

How would this sentence look in the past tense, for example “During the break, every day felt like a long weekend and no one thought about weekdays”?

You change the verbs to past tense:

känns → kändes (past of kännas)
tänker → tänkte (past of tänka)

So the full sentence:

Under lovet kändes varje dag som en lång helg och ingen tänkte på vardagar.

Everything else stays the same: the time phrase under lovet already indicates the period.

How do you pronounce lovet, känns, and vardagar?

Here is a rough guide using English-like hints (not exact IPA):

lovet
- lo: like English “loo” (long o /uː/ sound).
- vet: like English “vet” (short e).
- Stress is on the first syllable: LO-vet.
känns
- kän: ä like “e” in “bed”, but a bit more open; kän a bit like “shen” but with a clear k at the start.
- Final s is pronounced; nothing is silent.
- Whole word roughly like “shens” but with a harder k at the start instead of “sh”: k-ens with a front e.
vardagar
- var: a like the a in British “father”, a long open a; var like in “varnish” (but longer a).
- da: short a, like the u in “cut” but more open.
- gar: again with that long open a, gar like “gar” in “garden” (without the den).
- Stress is usually on the first syllable: VAR-da-gar.

Note that Swedish vowel length and quality matter: the o in lovet is a long u-sound, and the a in vardagar is typically an open a, not like the English “cat” vowel.