Jag tycker att hon är snygg.

I think that she is good-looking.

Breakdown of Jag tycker att hon är snygg.

• jag: I
• vara: to be
• hon: she
• tycka: to think
• att: that
• snygg: stylish

Questions & Answers about Jag tycker att hon är snygg.

Does Jag tycker att hon är snygg mean I like her or I think she is pretty?

It corresponds to I think (that) she is pretty – it expresses your opinion about her appearance.

It does not automatically mean you like her as a person. For that, Swedish would normally use:

• Jag gillar henne. – I like her.
• Jag tycker om henne. – I like her. (literally “I think about her”, but idiomatically “I like her”.)

Jag tycker att hon är snygg is specifically about finding her good‑looking.

What exactly does tycker mean here, and how is it different from tycker om or gillar?

In this sentence, tycker means to think / to be of the opinion.

• tycker + att‑clause

  • Jag tycker att hon är snygg.
    → I think (that) she is pretty.

• tycker om + noun/pronoun

  • Jag tycker om henne.
    → I like her.
  • Used for liking people, things, activities: Jag tycker om kaffe.

• gillar + noun/pronoun/verb

  • Jag gillar henne. / Jag gillar kaffe.
  • Also “to like”, a bit more direct and very common.

So:

• tycker att … → opinion about a whole statement.
• tycker om … / gillar … → you like someone/something.

Why do we need att in this sentence, and can we leave it out?

att here is a conjunction meaning that, introducing a subordinate clause:

• Jag tycker att hon är snygg.
  = I think that she is pretty.

In spoken Swedish, people often leave it out:

• Jag tycker hon är snygg.

This is very common and natural in conversation.
In writing (especially in anything formal), it is safer and more standard to include att:

• Spoken: Jag tycker (att) hon är snygg.
• Formal/neutral written: Jag tycker att hon är snygg.

Why is the word order hon är snygg and not something like hon snygg är?

In the subordinate clause after att, Swedish uses normal subject–verb–rest order:

• att hon är snygg
  subject (hon) – verb (är) – complement (snygg).

hon snygg är is not normal Swedish word order; it would sound poetic or simply wrong in everyday speech.

Compare:

• Main clause (verb in 2nd position):
  Jag tycker (V2)
• Subordinate clause (no V2, just normal S–V order):
  att hon är snygg

If you wrote att är hon snygg, that would sound like a question: Är hon snygg? = Is she pretty? – so you keep hon before är inside the att‑clause.

What is the nuance of snygg? Is it more like pretty, beautiful, or hot?

snygg is quite flexible; its closest neutral translation is good‑looking or attractive.

For people:

• Often like good‑looking, pretty, sometimes hot, depending on tone/context.
• It’s everyday, fairly informal/neutral.

Compared to some related words:

• vacker – beautiful (more poetic / formal, often stronger).
• söt – cute, sweet‑looking.
• fin – nice, fine, can be about clothes, style, etc.
• sexig – sexy (more explicitly sexual than snygg).

So Jag tycker att hon är snygg is usually a straightforward, everyday way to say you find her attractive.

Can snygg be used for men as well, or only for women?

Yes, snygg is unisex. You can use it for men, women, and even for things:

• Hon är snygg. – She is good‑looking.
• Han är snygg. – He is good‑looking.
• En snygg bil. – A nice‑looking car.

For men, you might also hear:

• stilig – stylish, handsome.
  But snygg for a man is completely normal and very common.

What is the difference between hon and henne?

Both correspond to English she/her, but they are used in different positions:

• hon – subject form (nominative) = she

  • Hon är snygg. – She is pretty.
  • Hon ser mig. – She sees me.

• henne – object form (object / after prepositions) = her

  • Jag ser henne. – I see her.
  • Jag tycker om henne. – I like her.
  • med henne – with her.

So in Jag tycker att hon är snygg, hon is the subject of the inner clause, so you must use hon, not henne.

(There is also a gender‑neutral pronoun hen, which you may encounter.)

How would I say the same idea in the past or future, like I thought she was pretty?

The pattern is the same; you mainly change the verb tycker and possibly är:

• Present:
  Jag tycker att hon är snygg.
  – I think she is pretty (now).

• Simple past (preterite):
  Jag tyckte att hon var snygg.
  – I thought she was pretty.
  (Can mean either “back then I found her pretty” or “at some point I formed that opinion”.)

• Present perfect:
  Jag har alltid tyckt att hon är snygg.
  – I have always thought she is pretty.

If you want a clear “she used to be pretty, but not anymore”, you normally add a time reference:

• Jag tyckte att hon var snygg då. – I thought she was pretty then.

For the future, you usually talk about your future opinion with tror or kommer (att):

• Jag tror att jag kommer att tycka att hon är snygg.
  – I think I will find her pretty. (a bit contrived, but grammatically correct)

How are jag, tycker, att, hon, and snygg pronounced?

Approximate standard pronunciations (IPA + a rough English hint):

• jag – /jɑːg/ or often /jɑː/

  • j like English y in yes
  • a like in British father
  • final g is often very weak or silent in everyday speech.

• tycker – /ˈtʏkːɛr/

  • stress on the first syllable: TYC‑ker
  • y = Swedish /ʏ/, like German ü in müssen (no exact English equivalent; a fronted “oo”)
  • ck gives a long k sound.
  • er a short eh‑r.

• att – /at/

  • short a, like a in cat but a bit more open.
  • double tt makes the vowel short.

• hon – /hʊn/

  • hoon but with a short oo, like in book.

• snygg – /snʏɡː/

  • sn‑ as in English snow
  • the same y sound as in tycker
  • gg is a long hard g (like in big guy said together).

Also note är (in the full sentence): är – /ɛːr/, similar to English air but with a longer, purer vowel.

Why is Jag written with a capital J? Is Swedish jag always capitalised like English I?

No. In Swedish, jag is not normally capitalised in the middle of a sentence.

The rules are:

• First word of a sentence is capitalised:
  Jag tycker att hon är snygg.

• In the middle of a sentence, jag is lowercase:
  Hon sa att jag tycker att hon är snygg.

So unlike English I, the pronoun jag is only capitalised when it happens to be the first word of the sentence or part of a title.