Breakdown of Vilket irriterande ljud!
vilket
which (ett) / what a (ett-word, exclamatory)
ljudet
the sound
irriterande
annoying
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Questions & Answers about Vilket irriterande ljud!
Why doesn't irriterande get a -t at the end to match the ett-word ljud?
Because irriterande is a present participle (an "-ing" word acting as an adjective), it always ends in -ande or -ende. Unlike regular adjectives, these words are invariable, meaning they never change to match en-words, ett-words, or plurals.
Why do we use vilket here instead of vad for "what"?
When saying "What a..." followed by a noun, Swedish uses vilken, vilket, or vilka. Since ljud (sound) is an ett-word, we must use vilket. If you just wanted to say "How annoying!", you would use vad without a noun: Vad irriterande!
Why is there no word for "a" or "an" in the Swedish sentence?
English uses "What an..." for exclamations, but Swedish drops the indefinite article (en or ett) after vilken or vilket. The literal translation of this sentence is simply "What annoying sound!".
Can I use irriterande to say that I am annoyed?
No, irriterande means "annoying" (the thing causing the irritation). If you want to say that you feel annoyed, you would use the past participle adjective irriterad instead.