Swedish word of the day: lov
May we introduce you to this short but useful Swedish word?
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Lov is related to the English noun "leave" in the sense of being given leave, or being granted permission to do something.
A child may for example ask their parents if they får lov ("may") to take some ice cream from the freezer.
It has been used to mean "permission to be absent from school" or "school break" for at least 400 years, and you'll see it in reference to the main school holidays: sommarlov (summer break), påsklov (Easter break), jullov (Christmas break), sportlov (sports break, used to refer to the late winter holiday, also referred to as februarilov or February break) and läslov or höstlov (reading break or autumn break).
Sweden's school year is split into two semesters and the summer holiday usually lasts about two months. Note that the word "semester" is a false friend, as it means "holiday" in Swedish, so you may hear it used in a similar context to lov. Semester can either refer to the four weeks off most adults have from work during the summer, or the act of travelling somewhere for a vacation, whereas lov refers to school breaks.
And in case you're wondering, the Swedish word for "semester" is termin.
Don't miss any of our Swedish words and expressions of the day by downloading The Local's app (available on Apple and Android) and then selecting the Swedish Word of the Day in your Notification options via the User button
Lov can also mean very enthusiastic praise, for example att sjunga någons lov (to sing somebody's praises) or lovprisa (to praise).
In all the above instances, the "o" in lov is pronounced similarly to the vowel in the English word "oar". If you instead pronounce it more like something that would rhyme with the sound a cow makes, moo, it can refer to a sailboat changing direction to head against the wind.
In that sense, it's also often used in the expression att slå en lov runt något (to walk around something).
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Example sentences:
Hade du ett trevligt påsklov?
Did you have a nice Easter break?
Be pappa om lov innan du sätter på ugnen.
Ask dad for permission before you turn on the oven.
Villa, Volvo, Vovve: The Local's Word Guide to Swedish Life, written by The Local's journalists, is available to order. Head to lysforlag.com/vvv to read more about it. It is also possible to buy your copy from Amazon US, Amazon UK, Bokus or Adlibris.
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