In English, "yes" answers both positive and negative questions. Swedish makes a crucial distinction: while ja agrees with positive statements, jo specifically contradicts negative ones.
| yes (in response to a negative) | jo |
When someone asks a negative question (using inte) or makes a negative assumption, use jo instead of ja to say "Yes, I do" or "Yes, it is."
| Do you not like the coffee? – Yes, but I am drinking the tea instead. | Tycker du inte om kaffet? – Jo, men jag dricker teet istället. |
Firm contradictions
To politely but firmly stand your ground, pair jo with emphasizing adverbs like visst (certainly) or absolut (absolutely).
| You are not angry, are you? – Yes, I certainly am angry! | Du är väl inte arg? – Jo, jag är visst arg! |
| I thought that you do not live here. – Yes, I absolutely live here. | Jag trodde att du inte bor här. – Jo, jag bor absolut här. |
Clearing up misunderstandings
If someone has the facts wrong, you can soften your contradiction by adding faktiskt (actually), or highlight the contrast by using tvärtom (on the contrary).
| He doesn't work in the morning. – Yes, he actually does. | Han jobbar inte på morgonen. – Jo, det gör han faktiskt. |
| The message isn't unclear. – Yes, on the contrary, it is very unclear. | Meddelandet är inte otydligt. – Jo, det är tvärtom mycket otydligt. |
Subtle negatives
Adverbs like knappast (hardly) make a statement negative on their own, even without inte. Because the original statement is negative, you still use jo to disagree with it.
You can add further points to your argument using connectors like dessutom (furthermore).
| The car is hardly cheap. – Yes, and furthermore it is fast. | Bilen är knappast billig. – Jo, och dessutom är den snabb. |