Ways to say it
| Swedish | IPA | Note |
|---|---|---|
| pengar | /ˈpɛŋːar/ | plural |
| valuta | common gender | |
| kontanter | plural |
In Swedish, the general concept of money is expressed using pengar. Common phrases include Tjäna pengar (earn money), Spendera pengar (spend money), Förlora pengar (lose money) and Ta ut pengar (withdraw money). If you need to exchange money, you would say Växla pengar. Other related financial terms include Lön (salary), Räkning (bill) and Sparande (savings).
Which one should you use?
While pengar is the standard word for money, you should use kontanter specifically when referring to physical cash. If you are discussing money in the context of official or foreign exchange, use the term valuta (currency).
How does it change in a sentence?
In Swedish, the word for money is always used in its plural form. Note that valuta is a common-gender noun, while both pengar and kontanter are plural.
How do you pronounce it?
/ˈpɛŋːar/
What mistakes should you avoid?
English speakers sometimes mistakenly try to use a singular form like en peng to mean money. However, pengar is the standard way to express the concept.
Did you know?
- Sweden is one of the most cashless societies in the world, and some shops and cafes now exclusively use 'digital' pengar and refuse kontanter entirely.
- The Swedish word pengar is a distant relative of the word 'penny'. Both likely trace back to the Latin word 'denarius'.
- While pengar is used for money, the word for 'penny' in Swedish is öre. The öre was officially removed from circulation in 2002, though it still exists in digital accounting.
Examples in context
- Var är era pengar?Where is your money?This sentence is useful for asking about the location of pengar.Tatoeba #11284472 by Pineapple, translation #3652055 by karloelkebekio
- Ge mig mina pengar.Give me my money.This sentence is useful for requesting one's own pengar.Tatoeba #4339971 by richke, translation #3151511 by CK
- Ge mig lite pengar.Give me some money.This sentence is useful for asking for an amount of pengar.Tatoeba #4339975 by richke, translation #3151503 by CK
- Vi måste tänka på pengarna.We need to think about the money.
- Hon är bra med pengar.She is good with money.
- Företaget förlorade mycket pengar.The company lost a lot of money.
- 183 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Emma and Lucas are planning a weekend trip.
- EmmaHar du några pengar kvar i plånboken?Do you have any money left in your wallet?
- LucasNej, jag har slut på pengar.No, I am out of money.
- EmmaDet är tråkigt, Lucas.That's too bad, Lucas.
- LucasJag ska försöka hitta lite pengar imorgon.I will try to find some money tomorrow.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “money” translations and entries pengar, valuta, kontanter, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
