Ways to say it
| Swedish | Note |
|---|---|
| lugna ner sig | |
| chilla | slang |
The phrase lugna ner sig is the standard way to express the act of becoming less excited. It can be used as a slightly stronger version of ta det lugnt, which roughly translates to 'calm yourself down'.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase lugna ner sig is composed of lugna (calm/quiet), ner (down) and sig (oneself).
Which one should you use?
Lugna ner sig is the standard expression for calming down. In contrast, chilla is much more informal and often implies the act of relaxing or hanging out.
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
Lugna ner sig is the standard form. Chilla is a slang term similar to the English 'to chill', used to mean calming down or relaxing. Among friends, you might also use coola ner to jokingly tell someone to cool down or Roa ner dig to mean 'chill out'.
How does it change in a sentence?
In the present tense, the phrase becomes lugnar ner sig (calms down) and in the past tense, it is lugnade ner sig (calmed down). When you are commanding someone directly to calm down, you change the reflexive pronoun sig to dig to create lugna ner dig.
Did you know?
- The phrase Roa ner dig is a bit of a linguistic quirk, as 'roa' typically means to row a boat, but here it functions as 'to soothe' or 'to calm'.
- While chilla is a loanword from English, it is used as a fully conjugated Swedish verb. You can say jag chillade to mean 'I chilled' or vi chillar for 'we are chilling'.
- The word lugn is also used to describe a 'calm' sea, showing how the concept of emotional stillness is tied to the physical environment in Swedish.
Examples in context
- Yanni behöver lugna ner sig lite.Yanni needs to calm down a bit.This sentence shows how to use lugna ner sig to describe someone needing to calm down a bit.Tatoeba #10691671 by Pineapple, translation #9125260 by Amastan
- Han försökte lugna ner sig efteråt.He tried to calm down afterwards.
Example conversation
Erik and Alice are talking about a stressful situation at work.
- ErikHan blev så väldigt arg.He became so very angry.
- AliceJa, han behöver verkligen lugna ner sig.Yes, he really needs to calm down.
- ErikJag hoppas att han mår bättre imorgon.I hope he feels better tomorrow.
- AliceDet gör han säkert.I am sure he will.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “calm down” translations and entries chilla, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
