Swedes are known for being reserved, understated, and cautious, at least when it comes to self-expression. But the curious newcomer can get a sense of what Swedes might be feeling eager or impatient about by listening for today's word: passa på.
Passa på is a phrasal verb, and it's one of those tricky ones that doesn't quite have a good English translation. It means to take the opportunity to do something, often an activity or task with relatively low stakes like getting outdoors while the sun is out, or buying good boots while they're on sale.
While the English phrase "take the opportunity" is moderately formal in register, passa på is a casual everyday idiom in Swedish. It can mean something similar to the Latin/English idiom carpe diem ("seize the day"), especially when Swedes are talking about getting outside on what they fear might be one of the only nice days of the season, but without the "inspirational" connotations.
Unlike carpe diem, which conjures images of try-hard whimsicality, passa på has a vibe of cheery practicality to it. If Mary Poppins was Swedish, she would definitely use passa på ("well then, spit-spot, it’s 18 degrees and sunny today, better go to the beach because this might be as good as it gets until next year").
Grammatically, passa på is bit odd. It's formed from the common verb att passa – which means to fit (e.g. "these shoes passar"), to "supervise", and "to pass" in the English senses of passing a ball or passing on your turn in a card game – and the even more common preposition på, which means "on," as well as many other English prepositions, depending on context. It's generally used with an auxiliary verb like måste ("must/need to") or borde ("should") and followed by att ("to/at") or och ("and"): e.g. "we should passa på and enjoy this beautiful evening."
Passa på can also mean "to monitor, watch," but if you hear it in conversation – or in a Black Friday ad – it's much more likely to mean 'no-nonsense carpe diem’.
Example sentences:
Det är så fint ute! Vi måste passa på att åka till stranden.
It's so nice outside! We should take the opportunity to go to the beach.
Vi borde passa på att köpa biljetterna när de är inte så dyra.
We should take the opportunity to buy the tickets when they are not so expensive.
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 Adlibris, Bokus, Amazon US, or Amazon UK.