du med
/dʉː meː(d)/word by word
In Swedish, "you too" is said as du med.
du med is a response used to return a wish or greeting to another person.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase is composed of the pronoun du (you) and the preposition med (with/also).
Which one should you use?
While du också is a grammatically correct way to say "you also", du med is the more common and idiomatic way to say "you too" in casual conversation when returning a wish.
How does it change in a sentence?
If you are responding to a group of people or using the formal "you", you should use ni med instead of du med.
How do you pronounce it?
/dʉː meː(d)/
Did you know?
- In Swedish, using du with a stranger was once considered a social faux pas, but the 'du-reform' of the 1960s made this casual form the standard for almost everyone.
- The pronoun du shares the same ancient Proto-Indo-European roots as the archaic English word 'thou'.
- When returning a wish like 'have a nice day', a Swede might simply say lika så instead of du med to mean 'equally so'.
Examples in context
- Ha en trevlig dag! Du också!Have a nice day! You too!
- Lycka till med din presentation! Tack, detsamma!Good luck with your presentation! Thanks, you too!
- Hoppas du får en fantastisk semester! Tack, du med!Hope you have a fantastic vacation! Thanks, you too!
- Njut av filmen! Tack, samma till dig!Enjoy the movie! Thanks, same to you!
Example conversation
Erik and Maja are leaving a cafe.
- ErikHa en trevlig helg!Have a nice weekend!
- MajaTack, du med!Thanks, you too!
- ErikTack, vi hörs snart.Thanks, we will talk soon.
- MajaHej då!Bye!
Sources
- IPA marked “word by word” joins the Wiktionary pronunciations of each word (du, med) and can differ in connected speech.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries du, med, CC BY-SA 4.0.
