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Easy Swedish reader: first introductions

A beginner Swedish reading text with audio and English translation. Three people introduce themselves, then two strangers meet. A1 level.

A short reading in two scenes. First, three different people each give the same kind of self-introduction. Then a brief dialogue between two strangers meeting for the first time. Everything uses the very first phrases of Swedish: how to say your name, where you're from, and where you live. The only new items are a few country names and question patterns, listed in the passage vocabulary at the end.

Read each passage, tap any word you don't know, and play the audio line by line until you can follow it with your eyes closed.

Three self-introductions

Three different people, each giving their own version of the basic introduction. Each one is its own short passage.

Swedish

Hej! Jag heter Sara. Jag är från Tyskland. Jag bor i Stockholm.

Hej, jag heter Lukas. Jag är från Polen. Jag bor i Malmö.

Hej! Jag heter Aisha. Jag är från Somalia. Jag bor i Göteborg.

English

Hi! I'm Sara. I'm from Germany. I live in Stockholm.

Hi, I'm Lukas. I'm from Poland. I live in Malmö.

Hi! I'm Aisha. I'm from Somalia. I live in Gothenburg.

Erik meets Maria

A short conversation between two strangers. Each line is one speaker's turn; the dash at the start marks a new speaker, which is how Swedish books print dialogue. Erik speaks first, then Maria, then back and forth.

Swedish

— Hej! Jag heter Erik. Vad heter du?

— Hej, jag heter Maria. Trevligt att träffas.

— Var bor du?

— Jag bor i Uppsala. Och du?

— Jag bor i Stockholm.

English

Erik: Hi! I'm Erik. What's your name?

Maria: Hi, I'm Maria. Nice to meet you.

Erik: Where do you live?

Maria: I live in Uppsala. And you?

Erik: I live in Stockholm.

Passage vocabulary

A few items appear in the passages that go beyond the four basic introduction sentences. Add them to your mental list.

  • Tyskland: Germany
  • Polen: Poland
  • Somalia: Somalia (spelled the same)
  • Uppsala: a real Swedish city, about an hour north of Stockholm, known for its old university
  • Vad heter du?: What's your name? (literally: what are you called)
  • Var bor du?: Where do you live?
  • Och du?: And you? (used to bounce a question back, very common)