When talking about retirement and a relaxed lifestyle, you will often discuss acquiring things for your own comfort. First, some vocabulary for discussing your later years:
| Everyone deserves a peaceful old age. | Var och en förtjänar en lugn ålderdom. |
Doing Things for Yourself
Just like in English ("I bought myself a car"), Swedish uses reflexive pronouns (mig, dig, sig, oss, er, sig) as indirect objects to show an action is done for the subject's own benefit. This is called a benefactive reflexive.
Subject + Verb + Reflexive Pronoun + Direct Object
This is very common with verbs like köpa (to buy) and skaffa (to get/obtain):
| The pensioner wanted a carefree existence. Therefore, he bought himself a country house. | Pensionären ville ha en bekymmersfri tillvaro. Därför köpte han sig ett lantställe. |
| Many plan to get themselves a motorhome after retirement. | Många planerar att skaffa sig en husbil efter pensionen. |
Treating Yourself
Some verbs naturally pair with this structure. The verb unna (to treat/allow) is almost always used with a reflexive pronoun to talk about rewarding yourself.
| You have worked hard and deserve to treat yourself to a long vacation. | Du har arbetat hårt och förtjänar att unna dig en lång semester. |
Everyday Actions
You can attach a reflexive indirect object to ordinary verbs like hyra (to rent) or bygga (to build) to add a cozy, personal emphasis. Remember to match the pronoun to the subject (e.g., vi takes oss).
| We rented ourselves a cottage to enjoy country life on the porch. | Vi hyrde oss en stuga för att njuta av lantlivet på verandan. |
Combining with "Det gäller att"
The phrase det gäller att means "it is crucial to," "it is important to," or "it is a matter of." You will frequently see it combined with benefactive reflexives when giving lifestyle advice.
| If you want a carefree existence, it is crucial to get yourself good habits. | Om du vill ha en bekymmersfri tillvaro gäller det att skaffa dig goda vanor. |
