I min inkorg ligger ett mejl från en avsändare som jag inte känner, så jag väntar med att öppna det.

I min inkorg means in my inbox.

Swedish often starts a sentence with the place or context if that is what the speaker wants to highlight. So instead of starting with ett mejl (an email), the sentence starts with where the email is.

Also, i is natural here because an inbox is treated like something you are in, just like:

• i väskan = in the bag
• i rummet = in the room
• i min inkorg = in my inbox

So this opening sets the scene first: In my inbox, there is...

This is because of the Swedish V2 rule: in a main clause, the finite verb usually comes in second position.

Here, the first element is:

• I min inkorg

So the verb must come next:

• ligger

And then the subject comes after that:

• ett mejl

So:

• I min inkorg ligger ett mejl ...

If the sentence started with the subject, then you would get:

• Ett mejl ligger i min inkorg.

Both are grammatical, but the word order changes because Swedish wants the finite verb in second position.

In Swedish, ligga is very commonly used for something that is located somewhere, especially if it is seen as resting there.

So I min inkorg ligger ett mejl is a natural way to say that an email is sitting in the inbox.

This is similar to other Swedish examples:

• Det ligger en bok på bordet. = There is a book on the table.
• Det ligger ett brev i lådan. = There is a letter in the box.

For digital things, Swedish often still uses this kind of physical-location language. So even though an email is not physically lying down, ligger sounds normal.

Because mejl is a neuter noun in Swedish, so it takes ett in the indefinite singular.

• ett mejl = an email
• mejlet = the email

Swedish nouns belong to two common grammatical genders:

• en-words
• ett-words

You simply have to learn which one each noun takes. Mejl is an ett-word.

Avsändare means sender.

In this sentence:

• från en avsändare = from a sender

It is formed from the verb avsända, which means to send off / dispatch, though in modern everyday Swedish, learners are more likely to meet the noun avsändare than the verb itself.

In practical use, avsändare is very common in contexts like:

• letters
• parcels
• emails
• forms

So here it refers to the person or source who sent the email.

Swedish has two important verbs that often both translate as to know:

• känna = to know someone / be familiar with someone or something
• veta = to know a fact or piece of information

Here the sentence is talking about a person/sender, so Swedish uses känna:

• jag känner honom inte = I do not know him
• jag känner inte den personen = I do not know that person

You would use veta for facts:

• Jag vet inte vem det är. = I do not know who it is.
• Jag vet inte svaret. = I do not know the answer.

So en avsändare som jag inte känner means a sender whom I do not know.

This is a relative clause. It describes en avsändare.

• en avsändare = a sender
• som jag inte känner = whom I do not know

So the full phrase means:

• a sender that/who I do not know

A few useful points:

1. som is the common relative word for who/that/which.
2. Inside the relative clause, Swedish uses normal clause order:
   • jag inte känner
3. The inte comes before the main verb känner in this subordinate clause.

Compare:

• Main clause: Jag känner honom inte.
• Subordinate clause: ... som jag inte känner.

That word-order difference is very important in Swedish.

Because this part is a subordinate clause.

In Swedish, sentence adverbs like inte usually come:

• after the finite verb in a main clause
• before the finite verb in a subordinate clause

Compare:

• Jag känner honom inte.
  main clause → inte comes after the verb

• ... som jag inte känner
  subordinate clause → inte comes before the verb

This is one of the most important Swedish word-order patterns for learners.

Here så means so or therefore.

It connects the two parts of the sentence:

• There is an email from someone I do not know,
• so I wait before opening it.

So the logic is:

unknown sender → therefore I do not open it immediately

In everyday Swedish, så is very common for this kind of consequence.

It means something like:

• I wait before opening it
• I hold off on opening it
• I postpone opening it

The expression vänta med att + infinitive means to delay doing something.

Examples:

• Jag väntar med att svara. = I’m waiting before answering / I’m holding off on answering.
• Hon väntar med att köpa bil. = She is postponing buying a car.

So in your sentence:

• jag väntar med att öppna det = I wait with opening it / I hold off on opening it

In natural English, I hold off on opening it or I wait before opening it often sounds best.

Because vänta med is a fixed expression in Swedish when you mean postpone or hold off on doing something.

So:

• vänta med att öppna det = wait before opening it / postpone opening it

If you only say vänta att, that usually does not mean the same thing.

Compare:

• Jag väntar på bussen. = I am waiting for the bus.
• Jag väntar med att ringa. = I am waiting before calling / putting off calling.

So med att is part of the pattern here.

Det refers back to ett mejl.

Since mejl is an ett-word, the pronoun used to refer to it is det:

• ett mejl → det

Compare:

• en bok → den
• ett mejl → det

So:

• öppna det = open it

You could also say öppna mejlet (open the email), but det is perfectly natural because the email has just been mentioned.

Yes. Öppna is the standard verb for opening an email, message, file, letter, box, app, and many other things.

Examples:

• öppna ett mejl = open an email
• öppna ett brev = open a letter
• öppna filen = open the file

So att öppna det is completely natural Swedish here.

Yes, several alternatives would be possible. For example:

• Det ligger ett mejl i min inkorg från en avsändare som jag inte känner, så jag väntar med att öppna det.
• Jag har fått ett mejl från en avsändare som jag inte känner, så jag väntar med att öppna det.
• I min inkorg finns ett mejl från en avsändare som jag inte känner, så jag väntar med att öppna det.

These versions shift the focus slightly:

• ligger emphasizes location
• har fått emphasizes receiving it
• finns emphasizes existence

But the original sentence is natural and idiomatic.