Numbers and Time in Swedish

Overview

Numbers and time expressions are among the most practical things you can learn at the A1 level. You need them for shopping, making appointments, understanding schedules, talking about dates, and handling everyday transactions. Swedish numbers follow a logical system that is closely related to English and other Germanic languages, making them relatively easy to pick up.

Telling time in Swedish uses the 24-hour clock more commonly than in English-speaking countries, especially in writing and formal contexts. However, the 12-hour system is also used in casual speech, along with some distinctive Swedish expressions for half hours that differ from what you might expect.

This topic also covers days of the week, months, and seasons — the basic temporal vocabulary that frames everyday conversation. Swedish does not capitalize days and months (unlike English), which is a small but important detail to remember when writing.

How It Works

Cardinal Numbers 0-20

Number	Swedish	Number	Swedish
0	noll	11	elva
1	en/ett	12	tolv
2	två	13	tretton
3	tre	14	fjorton
4	fyra	15	femton
5	fem	16	sexton
6	sex	17	sjutton
7	sju	18	arton
8	åtta	19	nitton
9	nio	20	tjugo
10	tio

Note: En is used with en-words, ett with ett-words: en bil (one car), ett hus (one house).

Numbers 21-100

Numbers 21-29 are compound words. From 21 onward, Swedish builds numbers logically:

Number	Swedish	Number	Swedish
21	tjugoen/tjugoett	60	sextio
22	tjugotvå	70	sjuttio
30	trettio	80	åttio
40	fyrtio	90	nittio
50	femtio	100	hundra

Ordinal Numbers

Cardinal	Ordinal	Swedish ordinal
1	1st	första
2	2nd	andra
3	3rd	tredje
4	4th	fjärde
5	5th	femte
6	6th	sjätte
7	7th	sjunde
8	8th	åttonde
9	9th	nionde
10	10th	tionde
11	11th	elfte
12	12th	tolfte

Telling Time

Swedish	English	Notes
Klockan är tre.	It's three o'clock.	"Klockan" = the clock
Klockan är halv fyra.	It's half past three.	Literally "half four" — halfway TO four
Klockan är kvart över tre.	It's quarter past three.
Klockan är kvart i fyra.	It's quarter to four.	"i" means "to" here
Klockan är fem över tre.	It's five past three.
Klockan är tio i fyra.	It's ten to four.
Klockan är 15:30.	It's 15:30.	24-hour clock in writing

Important: Swedish halv fyra means 3:30 (half past three), NOT 4:30. It means "halfway to four." This is the opposite of what many English speakers expect.

Days of the Week

Swedish	English	Note
måndag	Monday	Not capitalized
tisdag	Tuesday
onsdag	Wednesday
torsdag	Thursday
fredag	Friday
lördag	Saturday
söndag	Sunday

Use på with days: på måndag (on Monday), på fredagar (on Fridays).

Months

Swedish	English	Swedish	English
januari	January	juli	July
februari	February	augusti	August
mars	March	september	September
april	April	oktober	October
maj	May	november	November
juni	June	december	December

Use i with months: i januari (in January), i maj (in May).

Seasons

Swedish	English
våren	spring
sommaren	summer
hösten	autumn/fall
vintern	winter

Use på with seasons: på sommaren (in the summer), på vintern (in the winter).

Examples in Context

Swedish	English	Note
Klockan är tre.	It's three o'clock.	Basic time
Det är den första maj.	It's the first of May.	Ordinal + month
på måndag	on Monday	Day preposition
tjugoen kronor	twenty-one kronor	Counting currency
Jag har två katter.	I have two cats.	Cardinal number
Vi ses klockan halv sex.	See you at 5:30.	Half six = 5:30
Hon fyller trettio år.	She turns thirty.	Age
Det är den tjugofjärde december.	It's the 24th of December.	Christmas Eve date
Butiken öppnar klockan nio.	The store opens at nine.	Time with klockan
Vi bor på tredje våningen.	We live on the third floor.	Ordinal for floor
Det är minus fem grader.	It's minus five degrees.	Temperature
Filmen börjar om tio minuter.	The movie starts in ten minutes.	Future time expression

Common Mistakes

Misunderstanding "halv"

• Wrong: Thinking halv fyra means 4:30
• Right: Halv fyra = 3:30
• Why: Swedish halv + number means "halfway to" that number. Halv fyra is halfway to four, which is 3:30. This catches almost every English speaker off guard.

Capitalizing days and months

• Wrong: Måndag, Januari
• Right: måndag, januari
• Why: Swedish does not capitalize days of the week or months of the year. Only proper nouns and the first word of a sentence are capitalized.

Forgetting en/ett distinction for "one"

• Wrong: en hus, ett bil
• Right: ett hus, en bil
• Why: The number "one" follows the same en/ett gender system as the articles. En with common gender nouns, ett with neuter nouns.

Using wrong preposition with time

• Wrong: i måndag (on Monday), på januari (in January)
• Right: på måndag, i januari
• Why: Days use på, months use i, and seasons use på. These must be memorized as fixed patterns.

Usage Notes

The 24-hour clock is standard in Swedish for schedules, written communication, and formal contexts. In casual speech, the 12-hour system is common, and context makes the meaning clear. You might hear klockan tre for either 3:00 or 15:00 depending on context.

Swedish uses a period or colon for time notation: 15.30 or 15:30 (not 3:30 PM). The AM/PM system is not used in Swedish.

For dates, Swedish uses the format day-month-year: den 24 december 2025 or 2025-12-24 in numerical form (ISO format is standard in Sweden).

Phone numbers are typically grouped in pairs: 070-123 45 67 and read as paired digits.

Practice Tips

• Drill the "halv" times until they are automatic. Practice: halv två = 1:30, halv tre = 2:30, halv fyra = 3:30... This is the single most confusing time expression for English speakers, and getting it wrong can cause real-world problems.

• Count out loud in Swedish. Count from 1 to 100, then practice random numbers. Count things around you: tre böcker, fem stolar, åtta pennor.

• Practice telling the current time. Every time you check the clock, say the time in Swedish. Include "halv," "kvart över," and "kvart i" practice.

Related Concepts

• Next steps: Ordinal Numbers — deeper exploration of ordinal forms and usage
• Next steps: Temporal Expressions — more complex time expressions and duration