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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.

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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."

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### Firm contradictions

To politely but firmly stand your ground, pair *jo* with emphasizing adverbs like *visst* (certainly) or *absolut* (absolutely). 

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### 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).

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### 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).

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Contradicting negatives (jo)

adjective

adverb

conjunction

determiner

interjection

noun

numeral

particle

preposition

pronoun

sentence

verb

The definite ending (barnet, hunden)

Indefinite articles and -ar verbs (en, ett)

Basic word order

Singular adjectives (stor, stort)

Plural adjectives (-a)

Sentence negation (inte)

Yes/No questions

Basic question words (vad, vem, var)

Regular Group 2 verbs (-er)

Short verbs and irregulars (har, gör)

The infinitive marker (att)

Modal verbs (kan, vill, måste, får)

Future intention (ska)

Time adverbs (imorgon, igår)

Word order inversion

Adverbs of frequency (ibland, aldrig)

Everyday things (dörren, stolen, tåget)

Definite suffix spelling changes

Plural nouns Group 1 and 2 (-or, -ar)

Plural nouns Group 3 (-er, -r)

Neuter indefinite plurals

Definite plural suffixes (-na, -a, -en)

Object pronouns (mig, dig, oss)

Reflexive pronouns (sig)

Expanded question words (när, varför)

Which and what (vilken, vilket, vilka)

Coordinating conjunctions (men, eller, för)

Prepositions of place (i, på, till, från)

Quantifiers (mycket, många)

Indefinite pronouns (någon, något, några)

First and second person possessives (min, din, vår, er)

Third person possessives (hans, hennes, dess, deras)

Reflexive possessives (sin, sitt, sina)

The genitive (-s)

Adjectives before singular nouns

Adjectives before plural nouns (-a)

Double definiteness (den, det, de)

Demonstratives (den här, det här, de här)

The imperative mood

Past tense of vara and ha (var, hade)

Possessives for names (-s)

Definite plural adjectives (de ... -a)

Genitive case for names (-s)

Numbers 1 to 10 (en, två, tre...)

Numbers 11 to 20 (elva till tjugo)

Counting by tens to 100 (trettio, fyrtio...)

Days of the week (måndag, tisdag...)

Months of the year (januari, februari...)

Ordinal numbers 1st to 10th (första, andra...)

Greetings and politeness (hej, tack, förlåt)

Particle verbs of direction (gå ut, komma in)

Simple past: Group 1 (-ade)

Simple past: Group 2a (-de)

Simple past: Group 2b (-te)

Simple past: Group 3 (-dde)

Simple past: Group 4

Present perfect: Groups 1 and 2 (har)

Present perfect: Groups 3 and 4

Past perfect (hade)

Future predictions (kommer att)

Future with present tense

The adjective small (liten, litet, små)

Demonstratives of distance (den där, det där, de där)

Negative pronouns (ingen, inget, inga)

Universal pronouns (all, allt, alla)

The generic pronoun (man, en)

Possessive generic pronoun (ens)

Reciprocal pronoun (varandra)

Qualitative pronouns (sådan, sådant, sådana)

Habitual time expressions (på)

Specific past time expressions (i)

Past time expressions (för ... sedan)

Future time expressions (om)

Location and motion adverbs (här/hit, där/dit)

Consequences (så)

Correlative conjunctions (både ... och)

Either and neither (antingen ... eller, varken ... eller)

Verbs of opinion and belief (tycker, tror, tänker)

Subordinate clauses (att, om)

Time clauses (när, innan, medan)

Clauses of cause (eftersom, därför att)

Negation in subordinate clauses (inte)

V2 word order inversion

Relative clauses as subjects (som)

Relative clauses as objects (som)

Relative clauses for places (där)

Adverbs from adjectives (-t)

Adjective comparative and superlative (-are, -ast)

Question	Answer
yes (in response to a negative)	jo
certainly	visst
You are not angry, are you? – Yes, I certainly am angry!	Du är väl inte arg? – Jo, jag är visst arg!
to misunderstand	missförstå
We have no problem. – Yes, you are misunderstanding the situation.	Vi har inget problem. – Jo, du missförstår situationen.
absolutely	absolut
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.
unclear	otydlig
on the contrary	tvärtom
The message isn't unclear. – Yes, on the contrary, it is very unclear.	Meddelandet är inte otydligt. – Jo, det är tvärtom mycket otydligt.
He doesn't work in the morning. – Yes, he actually does.	Han jobbar inte på morgonen. – Jo, det gör han faktiskt.
instead	istället
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.
hardly	knappast
furthermore	dessutom
The car is hardly cheap. – Yes, and furthermore it is fast.	Bilen är knappast billig. – Jo, och dessutom är den snabb.
She is not coming tomorrow. – Yes, she certainly is coming!	Hon kommer inte imorgon. – Jo, hon kommer visst!
I am not misunderstanding you. – Yes, you actually misunderstand everything.	Jag missförstår dig inte. – Jo, du missförstår faktiskt allt.
The teacher isn't unclear. – Yes, he certainly is!	Läraren är inte otydlig. – Jo, det är han visst!
Are you not eating the bread? – Yes, but I want the butter too.	Äter du inte brödet? – Jo, men jag vill ha smöret också.
Yes, I absolutely want to go instead.	Jo, jag vill absolut åka istället.
Yes, on the contrary he is generous, and besides he is rich.	Jo, han är tvärtom generös, och dessutom rik.
anyway / only (in wishes: 'if only')	ändå
Yes, I am coming anyway.	Jo, jag kommer ändå.
He can hardly win anyway.	Han kan knappast vinna ändå.