Vid säkerhetskontrollen
Going through airport security · a free Swedish immersion capsule
Useful sentences · 10
Phrases you'll actually use today. Tap Explain for the why behind each one.
Visa ditt pass och boardingkort, tack.
Show your passport and boarding pass, please.
Literal Show your passport and boarding-card, thanks.
A polite imperative used by security staff. 'Tack' softens the command and is very common in Swedish service contexts.
- 'Visa' is the imperative of 'visa' (to show) — formed from the verb stem
- 'ditt' is the neuter possessive 'your', matching 'pass' (neuter) and 'boardingkort' (neuter)
Ta av dig skorna och lägg dem i korgen.
Take off your shoes and put them in the basket.
Literal Take off yourself the-shoes and lay them in the-basket.
Two imperatives chained with 'och'. 'Ta av' is a separable phrasal verb; 'dig' is the reflexive pronoun used with clothing removal.
- 'Ta av dig' = take off (reflexive: 'dig' refers back to the subject)
- 'skorna' = shoes + definite plural suffix '-na'
- 'korgen' = korg (basket) + definite suffix '-en'
Lägg din bärbara dator i en separat korg.
Put your laptop in a separate basket.
Literal Lay your portable computer in a separate basket.
Standard security instruction. 'Bärbar dator' (portable computer) is the everyday Swedish word for laptop.
- 'Lägg' is the imperative of 'lägga' (to place/put)
- 'din' is possessive 'your' for common-gender nouns
- Adjective 'bärbar' inflects to 'bärbara' in definite form after 'din'
Har du något metallföremål i fickorna?
Do you have any metal objects in your pockets?
Literal Have you any metal-object in the-pockets?
A yes/no question with inverted word order. Swedish questions swap the subject and verb — 'har du' instead of 'du har'.
- Subject-verb inversion for yes/no questions: 'Har du...?' not 'Du har...?'
- 'något' = any/some (neuter indefinite pronoun)
- 'fickorna' = fickorna (the pockets), definite plural
Nej, mina fickor är tomma.
No, my pockets are empty.
Literal No, my pockets are empty.
A short, clear response to the security officer's question. Simple and natural.
- 'mina' is the plural possessive form of 'min' (my)
- 'tomma' is the plural adjective form of 'tom' (empty) — adjectives agree with plural nouns
Vad är det i din väska?
What is that in your bag?
Literal What is it in your bag?
'Vad är det?' (What is it/that?) is an extremely useful question pattern in Swedish — memorize it.
- 'Vad är det?' = What is it/that? — versatile question with 'det' as placeholder subject
- 'din' = your (common gender singular), matching 'väska' (common gender)
Det är min bärbara dator och min laddare.
It's my laptop and my charger.
Literal It is my portable computer and my charger.
Identifying possessions with 'Det är min...' — the key pattern for explaining what something is. 'Det är' works even for common-gender nouns as a subject placeholder.
- 'Det är' = It is — used as a subject placeholder regardless of the noun's gender
- 'min' = my (common gender singular), used with 'laddare' and 'dator'
Stå still och lyft armarna, tack.
Stand still and raise your arms, please.
Literal Stand still and lift the-arms, thanks.
Two imperatives joined with 'och'. Used at the body scanner. 'Armarna' uses the definite plural — Swedish often uses 'the arms' where English says 'your arms'.
- 'Stå still' = stand still — stative command
- 'lyft' is the imperative of 'lyfta' (to lift/raise)
- 'armarna' = the arms (definite plural); Swedish uses definite where English uses possessive
Allt ser bra ut — du kan gå igenom.
Everything looks fine — you can go through.
Literal All looks good out — you can go through.
'Ser ut' is a phrasal verb meaning 'to look/appear'. 'Kan' is a modal verb meaning 'can', followed by a bare infinitive.
- 'ser bra ut' = looks good — phrasal verb 'se ut' (to look/appear), particle 'ut' moves to end
- 'kan + infinitive' = can — modal verb followed by bare infinitive 'gå'
Glöm inte att ta med dig alla dina saker.
Don't forget to take all your things with you.
Literal Forget not to take with yourself all your things.
A common parting reminder at security. 'Glöm inte' is a negated imperative; 'att + infinitive' forms an object clause.
- Negated imperative: verb + 'inte' = don't + verb
- 'att ta med sig' = to take with one — reflexive infinitive phrase
- 'alla dina saker' = all your things — 'alla' triggers plural possessive 'dina'
New words · 10
Themed vocabulary, each with an example you can borrow.
pass
passport
Visa ditt pass, tack.
Show your passport, please.
Neuter noun; definite singular: 'passet'
boardingkort
boarding pass
Har du ditt boardingkort?
Do you have your boarding pass?
Borrowed from English; neuter gender; definite: 'boardingkortet'
korg
basket / security tray
Lägg skorna i korgen.
Put the shoes in the basket.
Common gender; definite: 'korgen'; used for the trays at security
ficka
Mina fickor är tomma.
My pockets are empty.
Plural: 'fickor'; definite plural: 'fickorna'
bärbar dator
laptop
Lägg din bärbara dator i en separat korg.
Put your laptop in a separate basket.
Lit. 'portable computer'; most common Swedish term for laptop
väska
bag
Vad är det i din väska?
What is that in your bag?
Common gender; definite: 'väskan'; covers handbag, backpack, and carry-on
metallföremål
metal object
Har du något metallföremål i fickorna?
Do you have any metal objects in your pockets?
Compound: metall + föremål (object); neuter; unchanged in plural
säkerhetskontroll
security checkpoint
Vi närmade oss säkerhetskontrollen.
We approached the security checkpoint.
Common gender; definite: 'säkerhetskontrollen'; long compound but very useful
ta av
to take off (clothing or items)
Ta av dig skorna.
Take off your shoes.
Separable phrasal verb; use reflexive 'dig' when removing clothing from yourself
laddare
charger
Det är min laddare.
It's my charger.
From 'ladda' (to charge); common gender; definite: 'laddaren'
Short reading
A tiny story stitched from today's words. Translation is hidden, tap to peek.
En resande närmade sig säkerhetskontrollen med passet och boardingkortet i handen. Vakten sa lugnt: 'Ta av dig skorna och lägg alla metallföremål i korgen.' Resenären lade den bärbara datorn i en separat korg och gick sedan igenom metalldetektorn utan problem. 'Allt ser bra ut,' sa vakten med ett leende. 'Glöm inte att ta med dig alla dina saker. Ha en trevlig resa!'
Sentence by sentence
En resande närmade sig säkerhetskontrollen
A traveler approached the security checkpoint
'Närmade sig' is past tense of 'närma sig' (to approach, reflexive). 'Säkerhetskontrollen' is the long compound noun in its definite form.
med passet och boardingkortet i handen
with the passport and boarding pass in hand
'Passet' and 'boardingkortet' are definite neuter forms (stem + -et). 'I handen' (in hand) is an idiomatic prepositional phrase.
Ta av dig skorna och lägg alla metallföremål i korgen
Take off your shoes and put all metal objects in the basket
Two chained imperatives. 'Ta av dig skorna' uses the reflexive pronoun 'dig' to show the listener removes their own shoes, consistent with the lesson's entry for 'ta av sig'. 'Alla metallföremål' is the correct plural determiner for countable objects. 'I korgen' is 'in the basket' (definite form of 'korg').
gick sedan igenom metalldetektorn utan problem
then walked through the metal detector without any problem
'Gick igenom' = walked through (past tense of gå igenom). 'Sedan' = then/afterwards. 'Utan problem' = without a problem.
Glöm inte att ta med dig alla dina saker
Don't forget to take all your things with you
Negated imperative ('glöm inte') + 'att' + infinitive phrase. 'Ta med dig' = take with you. 'Alla dina saker' = all your things.
Pattern of the day
One grammar move, explained once, that unlocks dozens of sentences.
Swedish Imperatives: Giving and Following Instructions
The imperative form in Swedish is the bare verb stem, but the rule differs by verb group. Group 1 verbs (present tense ends in -ar, e.g., 'visar') keep the -a: 'visa' → 'visa'. Group 2 and most other verbs (present tense ends in -er, e.g., 'lägger') drop the -a: 'lägga' → 'lägg'. Two imperatives can be chained with 'och' (and). To negate, place 'inte' directly after the imperative: 'glöm inte' (don't forget). Swedish imperatives work for giving instructions and, when softened with 'tack', for polite requests.
[Verb stem] (+ complement) | Negated: [Verb stem] + inte + (att + infinitive)
Visa ditt pass.
Show your passport.
Ta av dig skorna.
Take off your shoes.
Lägg datorn i korgen.
Put the laptop in the basket.
Glöm inte att ta med dig din väska.
Don't forget to take your bag with you.
Mini practice · 5
Low-pressure, never graded. Just enough to make it stick.
Translate to Swedish: "Show your passport and boarding pass, please."
Hint Use the imperative form of 'visa' (to show).
Ta av dig skorna och lägg dem i ___.
Hint The definite form of 'korg' (basket/bin).
Translate to English: "Har du något metallföremål i fickorna?"
Hint 'Fickor' is the plural of 'ficka'.
The security officer says you can proceed. Which Swedish phrase means "You can go through"?
Rewrite as a polite imperative instruction: "Du ska lägga din bärbara dator i en separat korg." (You should put your laptop in a separate bin.)
Hint Drop the subject and auxiliary verb — use just the verb stem.
That’s today’s phraseberry.
Nice work, you understood something real today. Come back tomorrow for a fresh one.
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