Mormor säger att citron passar bättre än socker i te, men farmor vill ha honung.

Swedish has specific everyday words for each grandmother:

• mormor = your mother’s mother
• farmor = your father’s mother

English usually just says grandmother or grandma, so this is often one of the first things English speakers notice in Swedish.

Att means that.

So:

• Mormor säger att ... = Grandma says that ...

Just like in English, that can sometimes be left out in informal speech, and Swedish can also sometimes omit att. But in a clear written sentence like this, att is very natural.

In Swedish subordinate clauses, the subject normally comes before the verb.

So here:

• att citron passar bättre än socker i te

has the normal order:

• subject: citron
• verb: passar

That is why citron passar is correct.

Passar comes from passa, which often means fit, suit, or go well with, depending on context.

In this sentence:

• citron passar bättre än socker i te

it means something like:

• lemon goes better than sugar in tea
• lemon suits tea better than sugar does

So it is not about physical size or fitting into something. It is about what is a better match.

Yes. Bättre is the comparative form of bra.

• bra = good
• bättre = better

And än means than.

So:

• bättre än socker = better than sugar

This is an irregular comparison, just like English good → better.

Because these nouns are being used in a general sense, not to mean one specific item.

Compare:

• citron passar bättre än socker i te = lemon is better than sugar in tea
• farmor vill ha honung = grandma wants honey

This is similar to English when we talk about substances or things in general:

• Sugar is bad for your teeth
• Honey tastes nice

If you wanted to mean a specific lemon or the honey, Swedish could use forms like en citron or honungen, depending on the meaning.

Because te here means tea as a drink in general, not a tea or the tea.

So:

• i te = in tea

This is very natural in Swedish when talking generally about food and drink.

Compare:

• socker i kaffe = sugar in coffee
• mjölk i te = milk in tea

If you were talking about a specific cup of tea, then a more specific form might be possible in another context.

Yes, literally it is want have, but that is the normal Swedish way to say want when you mean want to have/get something.

So:

• farmor vill ha honung = grandma wants honey

Very common pattern:

• Jag vill ha kaffe. = I want coffee.
• Hon vill ha en bok. = She wants a book.

After vill, Swedish uses the infinitive ha without att.

Because Swedish modal verbs usually take the infinitive without att.

Here:

• vill ha = want to have / want

Other common examples:

• kan simma = can swim
• ska gå = will/is going to go
• måste läsa = must read

So vill ha is the normal structure.

Yes. Säger is the present tense of säga (to say).

• säga = infinitive
• säger = present tense

Swedish verbs do not change according to the person:

• jag säger = I say
• du säger = you say
• hon säger = she says

So unlike English, there is no special extra ending just for he/she beyond the normal present-tense form.

Sometimes in spoken or informal Swedish, att can be omitted after verbs like säga.

So you may hear:

• Mormor säger citron passar bättre än socker i te.

But in standard written Swedish, att is usually preferred here because it makes the structure clearer.

Yes, in a sentence like this, men works just like but:

• ..., men farmor vill ha honung.
• ..., but grandma wants honey.

It connects two contrasting ideas: one grandmother prefers lemon in tea, while the other wants honey.