Min cykel står vid cykelstället bakom huset.

In Swedish, stå often means more than just stand in the literal English sense. Swedish commonly uses special position verbs for where things are located:

• stå = stand
• ligga = lie
• sitta = sit

So instead of saying My bike is by the bike rack, Swedish often says My bike stands by the bike rack.

A bike is typically thought of as something that stands upright, so står sounds natural here.

• Min cykel står vid cykelstället = My bike is/stands by the bike rack

Using är would usually sound less natural if you are simply describing where the bike is.

Vid usually means by, at, or next to, depending on context.

In this sentence:

• vid cykelstället = by the bike rack
• It suggests the bike is close to or at the bike rack.

It does not mean the bike is inside something or on top of something. It is a general location word.

Compare:

• vid huset = by the house
• vid dörren = by the door
• vid stationen = at the station

Cykelstället is a compound noun, which is very common in Swedish.

It is made from:

• cykel = bike / bicycle
• ställ = stand / rack

So:

• cykelställ = bike rack / bicycle stand
• cykelstället = the bike rack

The ending -et is the definite article for this neuter noun, attached to the end of the word.

This is normal in Swedish: instead of putting the before the noun, Swedish usually adds definiteness to the noun itself.

Swedish usually puts the at the end of the noun.

So:

• hus = house
• huset = the house

In bakom huset:

• bakom = behind
• huset = the house

So the whole phrase means behind the house.

English uses a separate word (the house), but Swedish often uses a suffix instead (huset).

Because in Swedish, a possessive word like min already makes the noun definite in meaning.

So you say:

• min cykel = my bike
• din cykel = your bike
• hans cykel = his bike

You normally do not add the definite ending as well.

So:

• min cykel = correct
• min cykeln = usually incorrect

This is similar to English: we say my bike, not my the bike.

Min is the possessive form used with common gender nouns.

Swedish nouns have grammatical gender, mainly:

• en-words (common gender)
• ett-words (neuter)

Cykel is an en-word:

• en cykel = a bike

So the correct possessive is:

• min cykel = my bike

Compare:

• min bok = my book
• mitt hus = my house
• mina cyklar = my bikes

So mitt would be wrong here because cykel is not an ett-word.

Yes, this phrase can be understood a little broadly in English.

The sentence is:

• Min cykel står vid cykelstället bakom huset.

Most naturally, bakom huset describes cykelstället:

• My bike is by the bike rack behind the house.

That is usually how a listener would understand it.

In other words, the bike is standing by a bike rack, and that bike rack is located behind the house.

The basic word order is:

• Min cykel = subject
• står = verb
• vid cykelstället bakom huset = location phrase

So it follows the normal Swedish pattern:

• Subject + verb + other information

This is the standard order for a simple statement.

Swedish also has the verb-second rule, which means the finite verb is usually in the second position. In this sentence, that happens naturally:

• Min cykel | står | vid cykelstället bakom huset

If you moved the location to the front, the verb would still stay second:

• Bakom huset står min cykel vid cykelstället.

That sounds more marked, but it is grammatically possible.

It is singular definite.

Here are the forms:

• ett cykelställ = a bike rack
• cykelstället = the bike rack
• cykelställ = bike racks
• cykelställen = the bike racks

So in the sentence, cykelstället means the bike rack, not the bike racks.

A few pronunciation points are especially useful for English speakers:

• cykel has a Swedish y, which is not like normal English y
• The k before e is pronounced like a sh sound

So cykel sounds roughly like:

• SY-kel, but with a rounded Swedish vowel in the first syllable

And cykelstället is roughly:

• SY-kel-stel-let, again with Swedish vowel sounds

A more detailed guide:

• cy: the y is a tight, rounded vowel, somewhat unfamiliar to English speakers
• kel: the k before e becomes a soft sound, close to sh
• ställ: starts with st pronounced quite close to English st, and has a short ä
• -et: the definite ending, usually unstressed

If you want, a good first approximation is to remember:

• cykel does not sound like English cycle
• k before e, i, y, ä, ö is often soft in Swedish

Not completely word-for-word, because Swedish and English express location a bit differently.

A very literal version would be:

• My bike stands by the bike rack behind the house.

That is understandable in English, but the most natural English translation is often:

• My bike is by the bike rack behind the house.

The biggest difference is står. Swedish prefers stand/lie/sit more often than English does when talking about where objects are.