hej!
In Swedish, the phrase for "hi" can be expressed in several ways, with hej! being the most common. Wiktionary also lists hallå and hejsan.
Meaning: friendly, informal greeting (intj)
Ways to say it
| Swedish | IPA |
|---|---|
| hej! | |
| hallå | /haˈloː/ |
| hejsan | |
| tja | /ɕa/ (Sweden) /t͡ɕɑ/ (Finland) |
| tjena | /ˈɕeːna/ (Sweden) /ˈt͡ɕeːnɑ/ (Finland) |
The primary way to say hello is hej!, which is the most versatile and common greeting in the language. Other options include hallå, hejsan, tja and tjena.
Which one should you use?
While hej! is the standard greeting, hallå is more commonly used when answering the phone or when you are trying to get someone's attention. hejsan serves as a slightly more playful or friendly variation of hej!
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
For casual situations, you can use hallå, hejsan, tjena or the very informal, slangy tja, which is often used among close friends or young people. For more formal greetings, you might use Goddag (good day), God morgon (good morning) or God kväll (good evening).
Did you know?
- In Sweden, the greeting hej! is so common that it is often doubled to hej hej! when saying goodbye.
- The slang greeting tja is a shortened version of tjena, which itself is a clipping of tjenare, meaning 'servant'.
- Swedish speakers often avoid using the formal Goddag in daily life, as hej! is acceptable even when speaking to bosses or officials.
Examples in context
- Hej!Hi!This is a simple way to say hej!Tatoeba #11526274 by ull, translation #2742244 by MTC
- Hej! Hur mår du?Hi! How are you?This example shows how to use hej! to ask how someone is doing.Tatoeba #427049 by Cilyan, translation #30316 by Zifre
- Hej! Vad gör du?Hi! What are you doing?
- 1 more sentence on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Emma and Lucas meet on the street.
- EmmaHej! Lucas!Hi! Lucas!
- LucasHej, Emma! Hur är läget?Hi, Emma! How is it going?
- EmmaDet är bra, tack.It is good, thanks.
- LucasVad kul att se dig!How nice to see you!
Sources
- Wiktionary, “hi” translations and entries hallå, hejsan, tja, tjena, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries hallå, hejsan, tja, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
