Short answer
Göteborgska is the dialect spoken in Gothenburg, Sweden. Some of its most typical words are gôtt (good, nice), la (a softener, roughly "surely"), tjôta (to talk, to nag), knô (to push in), käck (cleverly done) and the intensifier gôr-, as in gôrbra (really good). The letter ô is used in writing to show the Gothenburg pronunciation. The dialect grew up among the many people who moved to the city during industrialisation around 1900.
What is Göteborgska?
Göteborgska is the dialect spoken in Gothenburg. According to the Swedish Institute for Language and Folklore, Isof, it developed among the many people who moved to the city in the wake of industrialisation in the late 1800s and early 1900s. It is known for its sing-song tone, its puns and for pronouncing many words differently from standard Swedish.
In writing, the letter ô is often used to show the Gothenburg pronunciation, as in gôtt and Feskekôrka.
20 Gothenburg words
| Word | Means | Example (in English) |
|---|---|---|
| gôtt | good, nice | This pick-and-mix is gôtt. |
| gôr- | really, very (intensifier) | The coffee was gôrbra, really good. |
| la | surely, softens what you say | We'll la take one more bag. |
| tjôta | to talk, to nag; also a brush-off | Stop tjôta-ing now. |
| dô | you, when calling someone | Hey dô, what time is it? |
| gubbe | man, whatever his age | He's a nice gubbe. |
| go | both an idiot and a lovely person, depending on tone | You're a real go. |
| käck | cleverly solved, neatly fixed | That was käckt done. |
| knô | to push in, squeeze on | Knô yourself onto the tram. |
| åpen | greedy, taking too big a portion | Don't be so åpen with the candy bag. |
| möla | to wolf food down | He mölade the whole bag. |
| bamba | the school canteen | We ate in the bamba. |
| kombarris | a very big stone | The kids climbed a kombarris. |
| feppla | to be clumsy, drop things | I fepplade my keys. |
| tetig | strange, odd | That was a tetig story. |
| abrovinsch | an improvised solution | It became an abrovinsch with tape. |
| bôsig | a bit worn, but dignified | The jacket is bôsig but fine. |
| svale | stairwell | See you in the svale. |
| halledônare | a powerful but clumsy long shot in football | What a halledônare! |
| Feskekôrka | the fish church, Gothenburg's fish market hall | We bought prawns at Feskekôrka. |
Feskekôrka: the fish market that looks like a church
Feskekôrka is Gothenburg dialect for "the fish church". The fish market hall opened in 1874 and got its name because it looks like a church, with pointed arched windows and one large room without pillars. It stands by the Rosenlund canal, a short walk from Kungsgatan.
And gotter?
Gotter is an old everyday Swedish word for candy and sweets, used all over Sweden, not just in Gothenburg. But it fits here: everything good is gôtt in Gothenburg. That's why we're called Kungs Gotter, the candy on Kungsgatan. Read our guide to Swedish candy.
Tips for sounding like a local
- Sprinkle in a la. "Det är la gôtt" is softer than "it's good".
- Use gôr- sparingly. Gôrbra and gôrgôtt go a long way.
- Smile when you say it. Göteborgska goes hand in hand with humour and puns, and locals appreciate it when visitors give it a try.
Where to hear Göteborgska
Everywhere in town, but the pedestrian street Kungsgatan is a good place to start. Come in to Kungs Gotter at Kungsgatan 26, tell us the candy looks gôrgôtt and see what happens. We have souvenirs from Gothenburg and Sweden and a whole wall of pick-and-mix.