Learn Hardcore Swedish: Allt är bra idag.

Swedish allt ≈ English everything, all (of it).
You do not use allt for people. For people you usually use alla:
- Alla är här. = Everyone is here.
allt is a neuter pronoun referring to “all things” as a whole, not to a specific list that’s been mentioned.

So think of allt as the default way to say everything about things/situations, not about people.

How is allt different from alla and allting?

allt – “everything” (things in general, abstract or concrete)
- Allt är bra idag. – Everything is fine today.
alla – “everyone / all (people/things, plural)”
- Alla är trötta idag. – Everyone is tired today.
- Alla böckerna är nya. – All the books are new.
allting – also “everything”, often slightly more colloquial; you can usually swap it with allt:
- Allting är bra idag. – Everything is fine today (very similar meaning).

In your sentence, Allt är bra idag and Allting är bra idag are both natural; allt is just a bit shorter and very common.

Why is the word order Allt är bra idag and not something like Allt bra är idag?

Swedish has a fairly strict basic word order: Subject – Verb – (other stuff) in simple statements.

Here:

Allt = subject
är = verb
bra = predicative adjective (describing the subject)
idag = time adverbial

So the natural order is:

Allt (subject) är (verb) bra (description) idag (time)

Allt bra är idag is ungrammatical in Swedish. The verb är must come directly after the subject in a normal main clause like this.

Can I also say Idag är allt bra? Is there any difference in meaning?

Yes, Idag är allt bra is perfectly correct.

Allt är bra idag. – neutral; information order “everything – is good – today”.
Idag är allt bra. – puts a bit more emphasis on idag (“today, as opposed to other days”).

Both mean Everything is fine today, but Idag är allt bra can sound slightly more contrastive, like:

“Today, everything is fine (maybe it wasn’t before).”

Why is there no word for the in Allt är bra idag? Shouldn’t it be like all the things?

Swedish doesn’t add any article here because allt already means “everything” in a general, total sense.

Allt by itself = all (of it) / everything.
You don’t normally say det allt or alla det or anything similar.

If you wanted to be very specific, you’d rephrase:

Alla sakerna är bra idag. – All the things are good today. (sounds a bit odd, but grammatically this is how “all the things” would look)

For the normal Everything is fine today, Allt är bra idag is exactly what you want, with no article.

Why is the verb är used for allt? Shouldn’t it change like am/is/are in English?

In Swedish, är is the present tense form of vara (“to be”) for all persons and numbers:

jag är – I am
du är – you are
han/hon/den/det är – he/she/it is
vi är – we are
ni är – you (plural) are
de är – they are
allt är – everything is

So Swedish doesn’t have separate am/is/are forms. It’s always är in the present tense, regardless of the subject.

Does bra need to agree with allt in gender or number, like changing form somehow?

No. Bra is one of the adjectives that do not change form for gender or number in modern Swedish (it’s “indeclinable”).

You say:

Allt är bra. – Everything is good.
Han är bra. – He is good.
Hon är bra. – She is good.
De är bra. – They are good.
En bra dag. – A good day.
Ett bra jobb. – A good job.

Bra stays bra in all these contexts, including your sentence Allt är bra idag.

Could I use another word instead of bra, like okej or fint? Would it change the meaning?

Yes, several adjectives work here, each with a slightly different nuance:

Allt är bra idag. – Everything is good/fine today. (neutral, very common)
Allt är okej idag. – Everything is okay today. (a bit more casual, can sound slightly less positive)
Allt är fint idag. – Everything is nice/lovely today. (often more “pleasant/beautiful” in tone)
Allt är lugnt idag. – Everything is calm today. (focus on there being no stress or problems)
Allt är toppen idag. – Everything is great today. (informal, positive)

For the standard “Everything is fine today”, Allt är bra idag is the default.

Is there any difference between idag and i dag?

Meaning: no difference – both mean today.

Spelling:

idag – the most common modern spelling.
i dag – also correct, somewhat more traditional/old-school; still accepted in formal writing.

You can treat idag as the normal spelling, but don’t be confused if you see i dag in books, newspapers, or older material. Same pronunciation, same meaning.

How do you pronounce Allt är bra idag?

Approximate pronunciation (Swedish standard, written roughly with English-like sounds):

Allt ≈ alt (like “ult” in “ultimate”, but with a clearly pronounced t at the end)
är ≈ air but with a shorter r; more like ehrr
bra ≈ brah (b + a rolled or tapped r, long a sound)
idag ≈ ee-dahg or ee-dah (the g is often very weak or almost silent in everyday speech)

Phrase rhythm (stressed syllables in caps): ALLT är BRA i-DAG.

Can I just say Allt är bra without idag? Does that change the meaning?

Yes, you can say:

Allt är bra. – Everything is fine.

Without idag, the sentence is more general or “right now” in meaning, not tied to today specifically. It answers questions like:

Hur är läget? – How are things?
Allt är bra. – Everything’s fine.

With idag, you’re specifically talking about how things are today as a whole:

Allt är bra idag. – Everything is fine today (as opposed to another day).

How would I say Everything is not good today or Nothing is good today in Swedish?

Two slightly different ideas:

Everything is not good today (some things are not good):
- Allt är inte bra idag.
Word order: the negation inte comes after the verb är.
Nothing is good today (zero things are good):
- Inget är bra idag.
- Ingenting är bra idag.

Both inget and ingenting mean nothing; ingenting is a bit more explicit/strong.

So:

Allt är inte bra idag. – Not everything is good today.
Ingenting är bra idag. – Nothing is good today.

Is Allt är bra idag a natural way to answer “How are you?” in Swedish?

More natural answers to Hur är det? / Hur är läget? / Hur mår du? are:

Det är bra. – I’m fine.
Jag mår bra. – I feel good / I’m doing well.
Det är bara bra. – (I’m) just fine.

Allt är bra idag is also possible, but it usually comments on your whole situation, not just your own state. It’s more like:

“Everything (in my life / around me) is fine today.”

So you can say it, but as a reply to “How are things (overall)?”, Det är bra is much more common and idiomatic.