Hennes sociala kollega skämtar mycket på fikat.

Her sociable colleague jokes a lot at the coffee break.

Breakdown of Hennes sociala kollega skämtar mycket på fikat.

• på: at
• hennes: her
• kollegan: the colleague
• fikat: the coffee break
• mycket: a lot
• skämta: to joke
• social: sociable

Questions & Answers about Hennes sociala kollega skämtar mycket på fikat.

Why is it sociala and not just social?

In Swedish, adjectives change form depending on whether the noun phrase is definite or plural.

• social kollega = a social colleague (indefinite, singular)
• den sociala kollegan = the social colleague (definite, singular)
• sociala kollegor = social colleagues (plural)

When you use a possessive like hennes (her), the noun phrase behaves as definite, even though you don’t add den/det:

• en social kollega → hennes sociala kollega

So:

• social = indefinite singular (without a possessive or definite article)
• sociala = definite singular or any plural, and also after possessives like hennes, min, din, etc.

That’s why it must be sociala here.

Does social in Swedish mean “sociable / outgoing” or “relating to society / social issues”?

In this sentence, social clearly means sociable/outgoing, i.e., someone who likes talking to people, is friendly, chatty, etc.

Swedish social can mean both:

1. sociable:
   
   • Hon är väldigt social. = She is very sociable.
2. relating to society / social welfare:
   
   • socialt arbete = social work
   • sociala problem = social problems

Context decides the meaning. With kollega and skämtar mycket, the natural reading is “sociable, outgoing colleague”.

Why is it kollega and not something like vän (friend)?

Kollega specifically means colleague – someone you work with or study with.

• en kollega = a colleague (co-worker)
• en vän = a friend (relationship is personal, not defined by workplace)

So Hennes sociala kollega focuses on:

• the workplace relationship (colleague)
• and that this colleague happens to be outgoing and jokey.

If you said Hennes sociala vän, it would sound more like her sociable friend, not necessarily someone from work.

What exactly does skämtar mean, and how does skämtar mycket work?

Skämtar is the present tense of skämta, which means to joke / to tell jokes / to kid around.

• Han skämtar. = He is joking / he jokes.

Mycket here is an adverb meaning a lot or a great deal.

• skämtar mycket = jokes a lot / tells a lot of jokes (in general, habitually)

You could also say:

• Han berättar många skämt. = He tells many jokes. (more literal, focusing on the number of jokes)

But skämtar mycket is the most natural way to say “jokes a lot” in everyday Swedish.

Why is the word order skämtar mycket på fikat and not skämtar på fikat mycket?

Swedish prefers a fairly fixed order for adverbs and prepositional phrases in simple main clauses:

1. Verb (skämtar)
2. Adverb (mycket)
3. Place/time phrase (på fikat)

So:

• Hennes sociala kollega skämtar mycket på fikat.
  = Her social colleague jokes a lot during the coffee break.

You can say skämtar på fikat mycket, but it sounds less natural and slightly marked. Neutral, everyday Swedish puts mycket before på fikat here.

What does fikat mean, and why is there a -t at the end?

Fika in Swedish is both:

• a verb: att fika = to have coffee/tea and something small to eat (often a social break)
• a noun: ett fika = a coffee break (with something to eat)

As a noun, fika is neuter (ett‑word):

• ett fika = a coffee break
• fikat = the coffee break

So på fikat literally means “at/during the coffee break”.

The -t is the definite ending for neuter nouns:

• ett hus → huset
• ett fika → fikat

Why do we say på fikat and not something like i fikat or vid fikat?

The preposition på is very common in Swedish for:

• events or regular situations:
  • på jobbet = at work
  • på lektionen = in/at the lesson
  • på mötet = at the meeting
  • på rasten = at/during the break
  • på festen = at the party

Fikat here is understood as an event/occasion (a coffee break), so på fikat is the natural choice: “at/during the fika”.

Alternatives:

• under fikat = during fika (emphasising the time span)
• vid fikat is unusual here and would normally not be used; vid is more like “by/near” in terms of physical location.

So på fikat is idiomatic Swedish.

Is fika always about coffee, or can it be tea or something else?

Fika is broader than just “coffee”.

It usually means:

• a social break with something to drink (often coffee, but tea or something else is fine)
• often with something small to eat (a bun, biscuit, sandwich, etc.)

You can have fika with tea, hot chocolate, or even something cold. The key idea is the social break, not the exact drink.

So på fikat is really “during the coffee/tea break” in a more general sense.

Could I say Hennes kollega är väldigt social och skämtar mycket på fikat instead? Is that more natural?

Yes, that is also completely natural Swedish, and maybe even a bit clearer:

• Hennes kollega är väldigt social och skämtar mycket på fikat.
  = Her colleague is very sociable and jokes a lot during the coffee break.

Differences in nuance:

• Hennes sociala kollega skämtar mycket på fikat.
  Packs the information into one noun phrase. “Her social colleague” is almost like a fixed label.
• Hennes kollega är väldigt social och…
  States first that the colleague is sociable, then adds the behavior (joking a lot at fika).

Both are correct; your version splits the description into two clear statements, which can feel more natural in some contexts.

What is the difference between mycket and många, and why is mycket used here?

Mycket and många both relate to “a lot / many”, but they’re used with different kinds of words:

• mycket:

  • with uncountable nouns:
    
    • mycket kaffe = a lot of coffee
    • mycket tid = a lot of time
  • as an adverb, modifying verbs or adjectives:
    
    • Han skämtar mycket. = He jokes a lot.
    • Det är mycket bra. = It is very good.

• många:

  • with countable plural nouns:
    
    • många skämt = many jokes
    • många kollegor = many colleagues

In skämtar mycket, mycket modifies the verb skämtar, so it must be mycket, not många.

Can I use skojar instead of skämtar?

Yes, skojar is also common and means roughly the same thing: to joke / to kid around.

• Han skämtar mycket.
• Han skojar mycket.

Both are fine. Nuance:

• skämta is slightly more neutral or standard.
• skoja can feel a bit more colloquial or playful, but it is very normal in everyday speech.

So you could say:

• Hennes sociala kollega skojar mycket på fikat.
  That would be fully natural.

Why is it hennes and not something like sin?

Swedish has two different “her” words in these contexts:

• hennes = her (non‑reflexive, can refer to any woman, not necessarily the subject)
• sin/sitt/sina = her/his/their own (reflexive; refers to the subject of the same clause)

In this stand‑alone sentence:

• Hennes sociala kollega skämtar mycket på fikat.

there is no other subject in the same clause for a reflexive pronoun to refer to, so you must use hennes.

Examples to contrast:

• Hon tycker om sin kollega.
  = She likes her own colleague. (reflexive: sin → refers to hon)

• Hon tycker om hennes kollega.
  = She likes her (another woman’s) colleague. (non‑reflexive: hennes → someone else)

In the original sentence, hennes simply refers to some woman previously known in the context.

Is kollega singular here? How would I say “Her social colleagues joke a lot at fika”?

Yes, kollega here is singular:

• en kollega = one colleague
• kollegan = the colleague
• kollegor = colleagues
• kollegorna = the colleagues

To say “Her social colleagues joke a lot at fika”, you would say:

• Hennes sociala kollegor skämtar mycket på fikat.

Notice:

• kollegor is plural.
• sociala stays the same form in plural.
• skämtar looks the same for singular and plural (Swedish verbs don’t change with person/number).

How do you pronounce skämtar and fikat, especially the skä sound?

Approximate pronunciation (Swedish varies a bit by region):

• skämtar ≈ “shem-tar” in English approximation

  • skä = a “sh”-like sound (the Swedish /sj/ sound) + short “e” as in bed
  • m as in man
  • tar = ta with a short “a” plus a light r at the end

• fikat ≈ “fee-kat”

  • fi = “fee”
  • ka = “kah” (short “a”)
  • t as in top

The key tricky part for English speakers is the skä sound:

• It’s not like English “sk” in sky.
• Before front vowels (e, i, ä, ö, y), sk is usually pronounced like a voiceless “sh” sound.