How to Say “You” in Swedish

Ways to say it

The word serves as a subject pronoun to address the person or people being spoken to. du is the most common way to say 'you' in Swedish and is used for a single person in almost all informal or standard social situations. ni can be used to address a group of people or to address a single person in a formal manner.

Which one should you use?

du is the standard singular 'you' used in most social situations, whereas ni is used when addressing a group (plural) or when addressing a single person formally.

Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?

In modern Swedish, du is the standard and is used in almost all informal or standard social contexts. ni is the formal form used to show respect in formal contexts. Note that ni can also be used to address a group of people.

Related words

The individual or group spoken/written to (det): du, ni, Du.

To address using the more formal second-person pronoun (verb): nia.

How do you pronounce it?

/dʉː/

What mistakes should you avoid?

English speakers may over-use ni to try to be polite, but in modern Swedish, using ni toward a single person can sometimes feel unnecessarily distant or even condescending, unless you are in very specific service contexts.

When do people say it?

Swedish culture is highly egalitarian. It is standard practice to use du with almost everyone, including teachers, bosses and strangers, which differs from many other languages that maintain strict formal and informal distinctions. While ni can be used to show respect in formal contexts, du is the societal norm.