In Sweden, keeping track of dates is important not just for birthdays and anniversaries, but also for traditional name days. Let's look at how to express dates and plan your next celebration.
Formatting dates
To say a specific date in Swedish, use the word den (the), followed by an ordinal number and the month.
Here are the ordinal numbers from the 1st to the 12th:
| Number | Ordinal | Number | Ordinal |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | första | 7th | sjunde |
| 2nd | andra | 8th | åttonde |
| 3rd | tredje | 9th | nionde |
| 4th | fjärde | 10th | tionde |
| 5th | femte | 11th | elfte |
| 6th | sjätte | 12th | tolfte |
| Is the meeting on the eleventh or the twelfth of June? | Är mötet den elfte eller den tolfte juni? |
Birthdays and name days
Swedes love to celebrate their födelsedag (birthday) as well as their namnsdag (name day)—a tradition where specific names are assigned to each day of the year.
| My birthday is on the eleventh of March. | Min födelsedag är den elfte mars. |
| Anna has her name day on the twelfth of April. | Anna har namnsdag den tolfte april. |
When asking about someone's birthday or stating how old they are turning, Swedish uses the verb fylla (literally "to fill"). To ask "When is her birthday?", you actually ask "When does she fill years?" (När fyller hon år?).
| When is her birthday? | När fyller hon år? |
| He turns nineteen in May. | Han fyller nitton år i maj. |
Planning the celebration
Whether it is a party (kalas) or an anniversary (årsdag), you will need to planera (plan) and perhaps send out an inbjudan (invitation).
| We must plan the party before the weekend. | Vi måste planera kalaset innan helgen. |
| Do you have an invitation to the party? | Har du en inbjudan till kalaset? |
When the special day arrives, the verb you will use for "to celebrate" is fira.
| I bought a gift when we celebrated the anniversary on the second of July. | Jag köpte en present när vi firade årsdagen den andra juli. |
| This anniversary is important to us. | Den här årsdagen är viktig för oss. |