Body Parts and Clothing: The Definite Article
In English, we say "my head," "his jacket," or "your feet." In Swedish, when the owner is obvious from context—which is almost always the case for your body parts and the clothes you are wearing—you simply use the definite form (the head, the jacket) instead of a possessive pronoun.
| You must put on your beanie. | Du måste ta på dig mössan. |
| You do not need to button your jacket. | Du behöver inte knäppa jackan. |
| The child loses his mitten in the snow. | Barnet tappar vanten i snön. |
Being Cold: "Frysa om"
When a specific body part is cold, Swedish uses the verb frysa (to freeze/be cold) followed by the preposition om (around/in) and the body part in its definite form.
| Otherwise your head will be cold. | Annars kommer du att frysa om huvudet. |
| Are your hands cold? | Fryser du om händerna? |
Bundling Up
Notice how these sentences seamlessly combine definite clothes and definite body parts to describe gearing up against the winter weather.
| He warms his neck with his scarf. | Han värmer halsen med halsduken. |
| He buttons his jacket up to his chin. | Han knäpper jackan upp till hakan. |
| My feet are cold even though I am wearing my base layer. | Jag fryser om fötterna även om jag har understället på mig. |
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