Learn Hardcore Swedish: Min kusin vill ha en enkel stil: svart kjol, vit skjorta och inga starka färger. - My cousin wants a simple style: black skirt, white shirt and no strong colors.

en enkel stil – a simple style
ett enkelt rum – a simple room (here rum is an ett-word, so the adjective becomes enkelt)
enkla stilar – simple styles (plural, adjective becomes enkla)

So:

Noun decides en/ett
Noun’s gender and number decide the adjective ending.

Why is there no article before svart kjol and vit skjorta?

Here, svart kjol, vit skjorta are examples in a list, almost like items in a catalog. In Swedish, when you list typical items or characteristics in a general way, you often drop the article:

svart kjol, vit skjorta, bekväma skor – black skirt, white shirt, comfortable shoes
långt hår, blåa ögon – long hair, blue eyes

If you were talking about a specific item, you would include the article:

en svart kjol – a black skirt
den svarta kjolen – the black skirt

In your sentence, it’s about her style in general, not one particular skirt or shirt, so Swedish normally leaves out the article there.

Why do adjectives come before the noun, like svart kjol and vit skjorta?

In Swedish, as in English, descriptive adjectives usually come before the noun:

svart kjol – black skirt
vit skjorta – white shirt
enkel stil – simple style

This is the normal pattern with adjectives that simply describe a property of the noun.
(There is also a predicative position: Kjolen är svart. – The skirt is black. But when the adjective is directly in front of the noun, it normally stays in this attributive position: svart kjol.)

What does inga starka färger literally mean, and why inga and starka?

Literally, inga starka färger means no strong colors.

There are two agreement points:

inga = plural of ingen/inget/inga
- ingen – no / not any (with en-words, singular)
- inget – no / not any (with ett-words, singular)
- inga – no / not any (with plural nouns)
färger is plural (färg → färger), so we use inga.
starka is the plural form of the adjective stark.
In plural (and in definite form), adjectives normally take -a:
- stark färg – strong color (singular, indefinite)
- starka färger – strong colors (plural)

So:

inga starka färger = no strong colors (at all).

What is the difference between inte and ingen/inget/inga?

They both express negation, but they are used differently.

inte = not
- Negates verbs, adjectives, whole sentences
- Jag vill inte gå. – I do not want to go.
- Det är inte dyrt. – It is not expensive.
ingen / inget / inga = no / not any
- Negates a noun (no + noun)
- Jag har ingen bil. – I have no car / I don’t have a car.
- Hon har inget jobb. – She has no job.
- De har inga problem. – They have no problems.

In the sentence:

inga starka färger = no strong colors (negating the noun färger, so we use inga, not inte).

Why is it vit skjorta and not vita skjorta or vitt skjorta?

You need to match the adjective with the noun:

skjorta is an en-word: en skjorta (a shirt).
For en-words, singular, indefinite, the basic adjective form is used:
- vit skjorta – white shirt
- vit bok – white book

Compare:

ett vitt hus – a white house (hus is an ett-word, so vitt)
vita skjortor – white shirts (plural, so vita)

So: vit skjorta is the correct combination for singular, indefinite en skjorta.

Can I say Min kusin vill ha enkel stil without en?

That would sound unnatural in Swedish in this context.

With a countable noun like stil, you normally use an article in the singular indefinite:

en stil – a style
en enkel stil – a simple style

Leaving out the article (vilja ha enkel stil) is not idiomatic here. You need en:

Min kusin vill ha en enkel stil. ✔

Why is there a colon (:) before svart kjol, vit skjorta och inga starka färger?

In Swedish, a colon is used very similarly to English. Here it introduces a list or explanation of what en enkel stil means:

Min kusin vill ha en enkel stil: svart kjol, vit skjorta och inga starka färger.

You can think of it as:

My cousin wants a simple style, namely: black skirt, white shirt and no bright colors.

So the colon is just signaling: “Now I will explain / list what that style consists of.”

How do you pronounce kjol and skjorta? Is kj like English sh?

Both kj in kjol and skj in skjorta are pronounced with the Swedish “sj-sound”, which:

Does not exist exactly in English
Is often described as a kind of voiceless, hollow “sh/h” sound, produced further back in the mouth or throat

Approximate guides:

kjol ≈ something like “shoohl”, but with the sound further back
skjorta ≈ something like “shoor-ta”, again with that special Swedish sj sound

In many dialects, kj, skj, and stj all merge into this same sj-sound. For learners, being close to “sh” is usually understandable, even if it’s not perfect.

What exactly does stil mean here? Is it only “style” in the fashion sense?

In this sentence, stil refers to clothing style / fashion style:

en enkel stil – a simple style (of dressing)

But stil is a broader word in Swedish, similar to English style:

skrivstil – writing style, handwriting
livsstil – lifestyle
musikalisk stil – musical style

So context decides what kind of style is meant. Here, because of svart kjol, vit skjorta och inga starka färger, it clearly refers to how she dresses.