Learn Swedish: Hallå, hör du mig? - Hello, can you hear me?

In English, we often say "can you hear" or "can you see", but Swedish usually just uses the simple present tense of the verb. So hör du mig literally means "hear you me?", which translates to "can you hear me?" in natural English. Adding kan (kan du höra mig?) is possible but sounds less natural here.

How is the word mig pronounced?

Even though it is spelled mig, it is almost always pronounced like the English word "may". You will sometimes even see it spelled mej in casual text messages. The same rule applies to dig (pronounced "day") and sig (pronounced "say").

Why does the sentence start with the verb hör instead of du?

In Swedish, you create a yes/no question by putting the verb first. The normal statement du hör mig (you hear me) simply swaps the subject (du) and the verb (hör) to become the question hör du mig? (can you hear me?).

When should I use hallå instead of hej?

While hej is your everyday word for "hi" or "hello", hallå is mostly used for answering the phone, checking if someone is still on the line, or trying to get someone's attention from a distance.