Gender neutral language in Swedish

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    Gender neutral language

    The Swedish language has two grammatical genders, common and neuter. Gender-neutral (or gender-inclusive) language is thus easier in Swedish than in many other languages where words have feminine or masculine forms.

    Gender-neutral/inclusive language is a way of communicating that avoids gender stereotypes and includes all genders. This means using words and expressions that don't specify gender, such as "vuxen" instead of "kvinna" or "man", "hen" instead of "hon" or "han," and using titles such as "brandbekämpare" instead of "brandman", or "sjukskötare" instead of "sjuksköterska", as to not reinstate the idea that certain professions/roles are supposed to be for specific genders.

    The goal is to create a language that is more equal and inclusive for all individuals, regardless of gender, which also reduces the risk of misgendering which can cause gender dysphoria for some people. Gender-neutral/inclusive language is both useful and necessary both grammatically and socially in situations where gender is variated/queer, mixed/diverse in a group, irrelevant/unwanted, secret or unknown.

    See the main article on gender neutral language for general reasons to use neutral language, common problems in using it, and its use for gender-variated people.

    Pronouns

    Gender-neutral third-person singular

    Swedish’s official gender-neutral pronoun is hen/hen/hens. The Swedish common-inanimate pronoun den/den/dens (equivalent to it/it/its) is also used for gender-neutral language and by some nonbinary people, singular de/dem/deras (they/them/their) is also used. Singular de/dem/deras can often be used as a gender-neutral pronoun without it sounding weird, even though it is not recognized or documented for being able to do so, if de/dem/deras is used in singular, the numeral conjugations of other words could be in singular as well. Some nonbinary people have also opted for neopronouns such as hin/hin/hins, which is actually not a new pronoun but an obsolete pronoun (archaeopronoun) that means something alike “that one”, but is in modern times pretty much only used in the set phrase “hin håle” (the hard one, the devil).

    Hen Standard gender-neutral third-person pronoun
    hen Subject form
    hen/henom Object form is generaly just "hen", but some use "henom". It is very individual.
    hens Possessive form
    Den Gender-neutral/common-inanimate "it"
    den Subject/object form
    dens/dess Possessive form
    De Singular "they"
    de Subject form is sometimes written "dom"
    dem Object form is sometimes written "dom"
    deras Possessive form
    Hin Neopronoun/obsolete pronoun "hin"
    hin Subject/object form
    hins Possessive form

    Generic pronoun

    To refer to people in general in Swedish, the pronouns "man/en/en" (one/one/one’s) or "en/en/ens" (one/one/one’s) can be used. Swedish’s generic pronoun man/en/ens has been discussed for being male-generalizing, and some people have opted to use en/en/ens instead to make it gender inclusive. The word "man" may have the meaning of "human" in addition to the meaning "male person", but this word is still more associated with male people. Using "en" instead of "man" is not only more gender-inclusivity through being non-male-generalizing, but it is also frequently practiced in some of Sweden's regions, so it is a natural grammatical dialect variation in the Swedish language. [1]

    Referring to God

    While God is normally referred to with masculine pronouns even in Swedish, some might opt for using non-gendered words instead as to not apply human concepts to God. To do that one can instead just say "Gud" (God) instead of a pronoun, or the pronoun "de" (typically plural they, is sometimes used as singular they, but using it as plural might seem fitting for a trinity) or "hen" (gender-neutral singular they). The latter (*two, but especially the latter hen) might be controversial depending on who one asks.

    Gender-inclusive formulations

    Inclusive formulations

    Instead of specifying gender with "she and/or he" when talking about someone in general, one can use the following wording to make it more inclusive or non-specific:

    1. Hen: En kirurg bör inte operera personer som hen är släkt med.

    2. Den: En kirurg bör inte operera personer som den är släkt med.

    3. Det: En kirurg bör inte operera personer när det är en släkting.

    4. Du: Som kirurg bör du inte operera personer som du är släkt med.

    5. En: Som kirurg bör en inte operera personer som en är släkt med.

    6. De (singular/unspecific): En kirurg bör inte operera personer som de är släkt med.

    7. En-som: En kirurg som är släkt med patienten bör inte operera.

    8. Den-som: Den som är släkt med patienten bör inte operera.

    9. Någon-som: Någon som är släkt med patienten bör inte operera.

    10. Vederbörande: En kirurg bör inte operera personer som vederbörande är släkt med.

    11. Pluralisera (Make plural): Kirurger bör inte operera släktingar.

    12. Återanvänd substantiv (Reuse noun): En kirurg bör inte operera personer som kirurgen är släkt med.

    13. Substantivera (Nounify): En kirurg bör inte behandla släktingar i operationer.

    14. Passivera (Make passive): En kirurg bör inte behandla släktingar när operationer genomförs.

    Formality

    In older Swedish, titles/phrases based on one's gender have been used to mention/adress someone with politeness/formality i.e. fru, fröken, dam, herr, mister etc. This has also been used in front of profession titles, e.g. fru/herr Minister. This is rather an obsolete practice and is only used in a few select cases. In modern Swedish, to mention or adress someone more formally, one should instead use both first name and last name or only last name without any title.

    An innovative option could be to use only the first name's initial and then the last name.

    Another innovative option would be to use formal plural forms with a capital letter, e.g. ”Tack Ni minister!” (Thank You minister!), ”Hej! Ni Andersson.” (Hi! You Andersson.), ”Låt De minister tala till punkt.” (Let They minister speak.), ”De Andersson har godkänt begäran.” (They Andersson have accepted the request.), "Jag vill tacka Er för Er hjälp med projektet." (I want to thank You for Your help with the project). In addition, you can use words such as "sällskapet" (the company) if you want to be formal regarding a person's companion.

    Example sentences:

    Ursäkta, vad vill Ni ha?

    En kycklingsallad ville De ha, inte en tonfisksallad.

    Tack, Ni minister!

    Tack, Ni talledare! (talman)

    Tack, Ni domare!

    Hen gick och introducerade sig för Dem Andersson.

    Hej Ni Andersson!

    Vi ser fram emot att träffa Er på mötet imorgon.

    … och vad vill sällskapet ha att äta?

    Adjective conjugations: E-form → A-form

    The adjective conjugation for things in the singular definite form has historically had two versions in Swedish, the a-form (Feminine: den glada flickan. Neuter: det glada barnet) and the e-form (Masculine: den glade pojken). The e-form is not frequently used today, but it is still worth mentioning that the a-form is the standard in modern Swedish as the masculine and feminine grammatical genders are no longer separated, and by using only the a-form, the language becomes more gender-neutral and consistent.

    Terms for ethnic groups

    When it comes to naming people who belong to a specific ethnic group, there may be gendered specification in the form of adding gender-specific endings such as ”norrman”/“norrmän” or ”norska”/“norskor” to make it masculine and feminine respectively. To make it gender-inclusive or gender-vague, one can instead refer to someone as e.g. en norsk/norsk person/norskar/norska personer, en svensk/svensk person/svenskar/svenska personer, en polsk/polsk person/polska personer, en japan/japansk person/japaner/japanska personer, en engelsk/engelsk person/engelska personer, en fransk/fransk personer/franska personer, en brasilian/brasiliansk person/brasilianare/brasilianska personer, en nederländare/nederländsk person/nederländare/nederländska personer etc.

    Family and relationship words

    Parents

    • Förälder. Neutral, formal, standard. Means parent.
    • The first name of a person may be preferred instead of using a specific parental word.
    • Päron. Neutral, slang/standard. Means “one's folk(s)” in plural and in singular.
    • Älder. Neutral, formal, nonstandard. An abbreviation of förälder.
    • Förre. Neutral, informal, nonstandard. Förre is a simplification of the word förälder. It provides a parental alternative that can be used to refer to a parent completely gender-neutral.
    • Föffe. Neutral, informal, nonstandard. Föffe is a simplification of the word förälder. It provides a parental alternative that can be used to refer to a parent completely gender-neutral. Föffe is also a good alternativ to the words matte (female pet-owner) and husse (male pet-owner).
    • Mappa. Neutral, informal, nonstandard. Mappa is a combination of mamma (mom) and pappa (dad). This provides and alternative that is both similar to and retain the comfortable factor that children otherwise associate with the parental words mamma and pappa.
    • Pamma. Neutral, informal, nonstandard. Pamma is a combination of mamma (mom) and pappa (dad). This provides and alternative that is both similar to and retain the comfortable factor that children otherwise associate with the parental words mamma and pappa.
    • Wawa. Neutral, informal, nonstandard. Wawa is pronounced with "English w:s". Wawa is similar to mamma (mom) and pappa (dad) in that it consists of repetitive phonemes that are physically easy for smaller children to pronounce. Wawa is a good addition among the Swedish parental words as it provides a completely gender-neutral alternative with similarities of mamma and pappa that do not have an origin in the gender binary.
    • Other alternatives include: mapa, pama, mappi/mapi, babba/baba, babbi/babi, dada, momma, momo. The neutrality of these words might vary because of what the words generally are associated with and what oneself percieves them as.
    • Vårdnadshavare. Neutral, formal, standard, means caregiver.
    • Medföräldern. Neutral, formal, standard. Means co-parent. This term can be used gender-inclusively, but it's a matter of preference for each individual. Some people do not want to be gendered, some do, what the person sees as most appropriate should be respected.
    • Gravida, gravida personer. Neutral, formal, standard. Means pregnant people. These terms can be used instead of "pregnant women" as a gender-inclusive alternative, but it's a matter of preference for each individual. Some people do not want to be gendered, some do, what the person sees as most appropriate should be respected.
    • Födande föräldern/gravida föräldern. Neutral, formal, standard. Means "birthing parent/pregnant parent". This term can be used instead of "the mother" as a gender-inclusive alternative but also without designating a parental status for surrogates, but it's a matter of preference for each individual. Some people do not want to be gendered, some do, what the person sees as most appropriate should be respected.
    • Den vuxna/De vuxna. Neutral, means the adult/adults, can be used to refer to the responsible people in the home of a child where there isn't specifically a parent.

    Children

    • Barn. Neutral, standard. Means child(ren)/kid.
    • Bebis. Neutral, standard. Means baby.
    • Småbarn. Neutral, standard. Means toddler.
    • Tonåring. Neutral, standard. Means teenager.
    • Ungdom. Neutral, standard. Means youth/youngster.
    • Telning, ättling, avkomma/avkomling. Neutral, would sound weird in conversation. "Telning" is an uncommon word that basically means progeny (or more directly the botanical term "scion" or "shoot"), "ättling" and "avkomma/avkomling" are standard words that mean "descendant" and "offspring" respectively. They can be used as alternatives to refer to someone in relation to them being one's child, but not necesserily a young child agewise.
    • Äldsta/förstfödda, mellan-/andra-/trejde-/fjärde-/... födda, yngsta/sistfödda. Neutral. Means oldest/first-born, middle-/second-/third-/fourth-/...-born and youngest/last-born. They can be used as alternatives to refer to someone in relation to them being one's child in a gender-neutral way but also as to not necesserily specify them being a young child agewise.

    Grandparents

    • Förförälder. Neutral, nonstandard but will be understood. Means grandparent. Förförälder can be used both as a collective word for grandparents, but also to refer to a parent's parent gender-neutrally. Förföräldrar also serves as an alternative gender-inclusive word to förfäder (forefathers). Förförälder is not included in modern dictionaries, but "förföräldrar" is mentioned in SAOB (The Swedish Academy's dictionary).[2]
    • Förrförr/Förför. Neutral, nonstandard. Means grandy/grandma/grandpa. Förrförr/förför, (förför ought to be pronounced with "short ö:s" to not confuse it with the word "förför" which means "seduce", which is pronounced with a short first ö and long second ö). Förrförr/förför is an alternative that fits well together in the pattern of mormor (maternal mother, standard), farmor (paternal mother, standard), morfar (maternal father, standard) and farfar (paternal father, standard).
    • Morför. Partially neutral, nonstandard. Means maternal grandparent.
    • Farför. Partially neutral, nonstandard. Means paternal grandparent.
    • Förmor. Partially neutral, nonstandard. Means grandma/parent’s mother.
    • Förfar. Partially neutral, nonstandard. Means grandpa/parent’s father.

    Siblings and related family

    • Syskon. Neutral, standard. Means sibling(s).
    • Lillasyskon/Storasyskon. Neutral, standard. Means little sibling(s)/big sibling(s).
    • Yngre syskon/Äldre syskon. Neutral, standard. Means younger sibling(s)/older sibling(s).
    • Föräldrasyskon/försyskon. Neutral, nonstandard. Means pibling(s)/parent’s sibling(s). Föräldrasyskon and försyskon can be used both as a collective word for one's parents' sibling(s) and to refer to a parent's sibling(s) gender-neutrally. Försyskon is an alternative that fits well together in the pattern of moster (maternal sister, standard), faster (paternal sister, standard), morbror (maternal brother, standard) and farbror (paternal brother, standard).
    • Morssyskon. Partially neutral, nonstandard. Means mother’s sibling(s).
    • Farssyskon. Partially neutral, nonstandard. Means father’s sibling(s).
    • Föster/Försyster. Partially neutral, nonstandard. Means aunt/parent’s sister.
    • Förbror. Partially neutral, nonstandard. Means uncle/parent’s brother.
    • Syskonbarn. Neutral, standard. Means nibling/niece/nephew.
    • Systerbarn. Partially neutral, standard. Means sister’s child(ren).
    • Brorsbarn. Partially neutral, standard. Means brother’s child(ren).
    • Syskondotter. Partially neutral, standard. Means niece/sibling’s sister.
    • Syskonson. Partially neutral, standard. Means nephew/sibling’s son.
    • Kusin. Neutral, standard. Means cousin.
    • Förkusin/Föräldrakusin. Neutral, nonstandard. Means parent's cousin.
    • Syssling. Neutral, standard but “tremänning” is more common. Means second-cousin.
    • Brylling. Neutral, standard but “fyrmänning” is more common. Means third-cousin.
    • Pyssling. Neutral, standard but “femmänning” is more common. Means fourth-cousin.

    Partners

    • Partner. Neutral, standard. Means partner.
    • Sambo. Neutral, standard. Means cohabitation-partner.
    • Älskling. Neutral, standard. Means love.
    • Respektive. Neutral. Means respective.
    • Hjärtevän. Neutral, standard but not frequently used. Means heartfriend and can be used as a gender-neutral alternative to "flickvän" (girlfriend) and "pojkvän" (boyfriend).
    • Brudpartner. Neutral, nonstandard. Means marrier/spouse-to-be/nearly-wed.
    • Förlovade/Fästpartner/Fästperson. Neutral, standard/nonstandard. Means betrothed/fiance.
    • Gemål. Neutral, formal. Means wedded spouse.
    • Dejt. Neutral, standard. Means date.
    • Sällskap. Status-neutral and gender-neutral word for someone's accompanying person.
    • Henvän. Nonstandard, means "theyfriend" and can be used as a non-binary alternative to "flickvän" (girlfriend) and "pojkvän" (boyfriend).

    Specific family terms

    • Adoptivbarn. Neutral, standard. Means adoptive child(ren).
    • Adoptivförälder. Neutral, standard. Means adoptive parent.
    • Adoptivsyskon. Neutral, standard. Means adoptive sibling.
    • Biologiskt barn. Neutral, standard. Means biological child(ren).
    • Biologisk förälder. Neutral, standard. Means biological parent.
    • Biologiskt syskon. Neutral, standard. Means biological sibling(s).
    • Donationsbarn. Neutral, standard. Means donation child(ren).
    • Donationsförälder. Neutral, standard. Means donation parent.
    • Donationssyskon (relaterade/orelaterade). Neutral, standard. Means donation sibling(s) (related/unrelated).
    • Fosterbarn/(familjehems) placerat/placerade barn. Neutral, standard. Means foster-/(family-home-care) placed child(ren).
    • Fosterförälder/familjehemsförälder. Neutral, standard. Means foster-/family-home-care parent.
    • Fostersyskon/familjehemssyskon. Neutral, standard. Means foster-/family-home-care sibling(s).
    • Halvförälder. Neutral, standard. Means half-parent.
    • Halvsyskon. Neutral, standard. Means half-sibling(s).
    • Jourbarn. Neutral, standard. Means emergency home-care placed child(ren).
    • Jourförälder. Neutral, standard. Means parent for a emergency home-care placed child.
    • Joursyskon. Neutral, standard. Means sibling(s) in an emergency home-care.
    • Samförälder. Neutral, standard. Means co-parent.
    • Styvbarn/Bonusbarn. Neutral, standard. Means step-child(ren)/bonus-child(ren).
    • Styvförälder/Bonusförälder. Neutral, standard. Means step-parent/bonus-parent.
    • Styvsyskon/Bonussyskon. Neutral, standard. Means step-sibling(s)/bonus-sibling(s).
    • Surrogat/Surrogatförälder. Neutral, standard. Means surrogate/surrogate parent and can be used as gender-inclusive terms in place of surrogate mother.
    • Svärbarn. Neutral, standard. Means child(ren)-in-law.
    • Svärförälder. Neutral, standard. Means parent-in-law.
    • Svärsyskon. Neutral, standard. Means sibling(s)-in-law.

    Wedding words

    • Gifta/Livspartners. Neutral, standard. Means spouses/maritial partners.
    • Brudfölje. Neutral, standard. Means bridesmaids, groomsmen and possibly others (like the flower person), the bridalpair's entourages.
    • Respektive fästfölje. Neutral, nonstandard. Means the respective entourages of a marrying couple, bridesmaids and groomsmen.
    • Fästföljare. Neutral, nonstandard. Used to refer to one person in the bridalpair's entourage.
    • Hedersperson/Hedersvän. Can naturally be used as a gender-neutral stand-in for a maid of honor or a best man.

    Other family, relationship and people words

    • Gamling. Neutral, standard. Means elderly person.
    • Gemene folk/personer/människor. Neutral, will be understood. Means "people/persons/humans in general" and can be used as non-male-generalizing alternatives for "gemene man" (common man).
    • Gentleperson. Neutral word for gentleman/gentlekvinna (from english's gentleman/gentlewoman).
    • Gudbarn. Neutral, standard. Means godchild(ren).
    • Gudförälder. Neutral, standard. Means godparent.
    • Hemmapartner, hemmaförälder. Neutral, standard. Means housepartner/housespouse and stay-at-home parent.
    • Juridiska kvinnor/män, registrerade kvinnor/män. More correct way to refer to the gender of people within statistics that is based off of binary legal/registered gender, both to emphasize that some can be non-binary or intersex, or that someone is trans but hasn't yet legally transitioned.
    • Lekperson/Lekfolk. Neutral, standard. Means layperson/laypeople and can be used as a non-male-generalizing alternative for "lekman/lekmän" (layman/laymen).
    • Ni!/Hörrni!/Folk!. Neutral, standard. Means “you” and “folk(s)”, can be used when calling multiple people instead of saying girls and/or guys.
    • Vuxen. Neutral, standard. Means adult.
    • Vännen. Neutral, standard. Means "the friend" but can be used as a gender-neutral alternativ to gumman respektive gubben, which are juvenile terms alike English's buddy/kid. (While gumman and gubben can be used in a juvenile way, they also mean "the old-woman" and "the old-man" respectively)
    • Änkeperson. Neutral, standard. Means widowed person.
    • Ärade/kära/goda publik/gäster/vänner/(gott) folk. Neutral, standard. Gender-inclusive way of saying “ladies & gentlemen”.
    • Person/personer med vagina (slida)/vulva/äggstockar/äggceller/livmoder (uterus)/mens/bröst/testiklar/pung/prostata/penis/sädesceller (spermier), barnbärande/barnhavande, ammande, graviditetsbara, målbrottspåverkade, ansiktsbehårade etc.

    ...Means person/people with vagina-vulva/ovaries/egg cells-ova/womb-uterus/periods/breasts/testicles/scrotum/prostate/penis/sperm cells-sperm, childbearing/pregnant people, chestfeeding people, people of childbearing potential, voice change/voice break affected, people with facial hair...

    ...These terms are more clinical terms for people with these things, this is for the inclusion of those who are gender diverse or have other variations i.e. both women and men with varied functions, and both trans and intersex people.

    Other words/

    • Allesrätt. Neutral, nonstandard. Neutral non-male-generalizing alternative for "allemansrätt" ("all-man's-right", right of public access)
    • Amningsmjölk. Neutral. Means breast-/chestfeeding milk, can be used as an alternative to "bröstmjölk" (breast milk) and "modersmjölk" (mother's milk).
    • Anskepp, anfarkost. Neutral non-standard alternatives to mothership.
    • Arbetsstyrka/Arbetskraft, teamstyrka/lagstyrka, personalstyrka. Means workforce, team/staff/crew strength/force/power and can be used as non-male-generalizing alternatives for "manstyrka" (man power).
    • Besättning/Personal/Rekrytering-Personalbesättning. Neutral, standard-nonstandard. Means staff/crew/recuitment and can be used as non-male-generalizing alternatives for bemanning ("manning").
    • B’nei mitzvah/B’nai mitzvah (plural)/B mitzvah. Neutral, nonstandard. Gender-neutral alternative to bat mitzvah and bar mitzvah.
    • Elvaspelsplan. Neutral, standard. Means eleven-payers-field and can be used as a non-male-generalizing alternative for "elvamannaplan" (eleven-man's-field).
    • Enpersonsjobb. Neutral, will be understood. Means one-person's-job and can be used as a non-male-generalizing alternative for "enmansjobb" (one-man's-job).
    • Förtrollare/Trollkonstnär/Förhäxare/Häxkonstnär/Magiker. Neutral. Means enchanter/enchantment artist/bewitcher/witchcrafter/witchcraft artist/magician and can be used as non-male-generalizing alternatives for "trollkarl" (magic/enchanter-man, warlock/wizard). They can also be used to avoid the feminine connotations to "häxa" (witch).
    • Föräldraskap/Släktskap, barnbärande föräldraskap. Neutral, standard. Means parenthood, kinship and childbearing parenthood, they can be used as a gender-neutral alternatives to motherhood and fatherhood.
    • Grottbo. Neutral word for caveman/cavewoman.
    • Gudom/Gud. Neutral, standard. Means deity/god and can be used as gender-neutral terms instead of separating gud (god) and gudinna (godess).
    • Du/Hörru/Sörru/Ni/Hörrni/Sörruni/Folk/Vännen/Vän(ner)/Kamrat/Älskling (sarkastiskt)/Homie/Bestie/Pal/Kiddo/Yo/Ey/Sib/Comrade/Baby (sarkastiskt)/Human/Person/Fam/Peeps/Y'all. Gender-neutral alternatives for informal/playful words and phrases like bror (bro), mannen (the man), girl(s), gal(s), sis, miss, man, dude(s), lad(s), mate(s), bro(s), guy(s)/my guy(s), buddie(s)/bud.
    • Hemspråk, familjespråk, förstaspråk, källspråk, ursprungspråk. Neutral alternatives to mother tongue.
    • Huskost/Hushållskost. Neutral, will be understood. Means house/household-diet/cuisine (traditional home cooked food) and can be used as a non-male-generalizing alternative for "husmanskost" (house-man's-diet/cuisine).
    • Huvudkort, systemkort. Neutral standard alternatives to motherboard.
    • Härskarvälde. Neutral, standard. Means reign/rulerreign/rulership and can be use as a non-male-centric alternative to "herravälde" ("male-"lordreign).
    • Javisst, jajavisst, absolut, naturligtvis, sannerligen, självklart. Neutral, standard. "Javisst" means "oh yes"/"sure thing"/"you bet", "absolut" mean "absolutely", "naturligtvis" means "naturally", "sannerligen" means "truly" and "självklart" means "of course". These can be used instead of the phrases "jajamän" and "jajemänsan" that means the same as "javisst" but its origin meaning is "yes holy man/men". Directly dividing and translating the word "jajamän" gives the phrase "yes-yes men". "Jajavisst" is an innovative phrase that means the same as "javisst", but it is more adapted to be used instead of "jajamän"/"jajamänsan".
    • J. Doe, Jay Doe. Gender-neutral alternative to Jane Doe and John Doe.
    • Karaktär. Neutral, standard. Means character/game-character and can be used as non-male-generalizing alternatives for "spelgubbe/gubbe" (game-man/man).
    • Latinamerikan/Latine/Latinx. Neutralt alternative to latina and latino. Latinamerikan means latinamerican. Latine is more in line with the grammar in Spanish and Portugese, but latinx is used much more frequently.
    • LEGO-figur/LEGO-minifigur. Neutral, standard. Means LEGO-figure/LEGO-minifigure and can be used as a non-male-generalizing alternative for "LEGO-gubbe" (LEGO-man).
    • Parentonym. Neutral, nonstandard. This can be used as a hypernym of matronym and patronym, but also to refer to such names in a gender-neutral sense.
    • Parriarkat. Neutral, nonstandard. This refers to matriarchal and/or patriarchal social systems. See the English parriarch with the prefix parr- (kin).
    • Placenta. Neutral alternative to "moderkaka" which translates to "mother-cookie".
    • Polttare. Neutral, semi-standard loanword from Finnish. Means bach party and can be used as a gender-neutral alternative to möhippa (bachelorette party) and svensexa (bachelor party).
    • Prin, kronprin. Neutral, nonstandard. Means princess/prince and crownprincess/crownprince. Prin provides a completely gender-neutral alternative to princess and prince. It can be used to refer to a royal person's child or consort/spouse gender-neutrally. The married partner of a prin is called pringemål. Kronprin is used to refer to a royal heir gender-neutrally. Another alternative to refer to a royal person's child is "rojalt ättlingsbarn" (royal lineage-child), and another alternative for a royal person's consort is "(ingift) rojal gemål" ("married/in-law" royal consort/spouse).
    • Regent/Monark/Majestät. Neutral, standard. Means regnant, monarch, majesty, queen/king.
    • Regentgemål. Neutral, standard. Means regnant consort.
    • Rike. Neutral. Means realm/crownland, can be used as a gender-neutral alternative to "kungarike" (kingdom) or "drottningrike" (queendom).
    • Rojal. Neutral, will be understood. Means royal and can be used as a non-male-generalizing alternative for "kunglig" (meaning royal but is formed like "kingly").
    • Snöfigur/Snövän/Snöperson. Neutral, will be understood. Means snowfigure/snowfriend/snowperson and can be used as non-male-generalizing alternatives for "snögubbe" (snowman).
    • Starkast på täppan, högst på täppan. Neutral, will be understood. Means Strongest/Highest on the Hill and can be used as gender-inclusive alternatives to refer to the game commonly called "Herren på Täppan/Herreman på Täppan" (Lord/Lordman on the Hill).
    • Strukhuvudsknöl/Larynxknöl. Neutral alternative to "Adam's apple".
    • Surrogatskap/Surrogatföräldraskap. Neutral, will be understood. Means surrogacy/surrogate parenthood, works as gender-neutral alternatives to the standard "surrogatmödraskap" (surrogate motherhood).
    • Syskonskap/Kamratskap/Gemenskap/Samfund. Neutral, standard. Means siblinghood/camaraderie/community and can be used as a gender-neutral alternative to brotherhood and sisterhood.
    • Tronföljare. Neutral, standard. Means crown-successor.
    • Uterus. Neutral alternative to "livmoder" which translates to "life-mother".
    • Vuxendom/Vuxenskap/Vuxenliv, ålderdom/ålderskap. Neutral, standard. Means adulthood/adult-life and elderhood, they can be used as gender-neutral alternatives to womandhood and manhood.
    • Ättlingspråk, anspråk. Neutral alternatives to daughter language and mother language regarding language history.

    Example sentences

    The following words are example sentences for different nonstandard words mentioned above:

    • Hen är rojal.
    • Sveriges rojala familj är av ätten Bernadotte.
    • Sverige, formellt Riket Sverige, är ett land som ligger i Nordeuropa.
    • Hens förlovade/fästpartner har åkt i väg på sin polttare.
    • Ena brudpartnern väntar vid altaret.
    • Brudföljet består av brudparets ”respektive fästfölje”, dessa kallas för fästföljare. Utav dessa så har brudpartnerna varsin hedersperson/hedersvän.
    • Min gemål har redan åkt iväg.
    • Efter sin gemåls/livspartners bortgång så försökte de att navigera livet som änkeperson.
    • Jag och mina barn omtalar mig som deras förälder och tilltalar mig med mitt förnamn.
    • Mitt barn tycker om att läsa.
    • Mitt barn ska gifta sig.
    • Jag och mitt syskon ska åka på konsert.
    • Mitt yngre syskon/lillasyskon har börjat spela fotboll.
    • Mitt äldre syskon/storasyskon spelar piano.
    • Jag har ett yngre syskon och ett äldre syskon.
    • Jag träffade mitt syskonbarn på BB igår.
    • Jag hälsade på min svärförälder och mitt svärsyskon förra helgen.
    • Jag är glad att mitt svärbarn är så omtänksam.
    • Jag och hen är faktiskt släkt, vi är sysslingar.
    • Hen och hens förälder/föffe/förre ska gå på restaurang.
    • Hens förälder/förre/föffe ska hämta hen.
    • Min föffe/förre har en röd bil.
    • Jag ska fråga förre om hen kan swisha mig.
    • Hen är dagföffe åt en golden retriever.
    • Kattens föffe brukar leka utomhus med den.
    • Hen har två wawor/mappor/pammor som föräldrar.
    • Hen och hens wawa/mappa/pamma ska gå på restaurang.  
    • Hens wawa/mappa/pamma ska hämta hen.
    • De har blivit wawa/mappa/pamma!
    • Min wawa/mappa/pamma har en röd bil.
    • Mina wawor/mappor/pammor/föräldrar heter Charlie och Kim.
    • Jag ska fråga min wawa/mappa/pamma om hen kan swisha mig.
    • Mina förföräldrar kommer från Finland.
    • Min förför har en ny bil.
    • Min förför har skaffat en katt.
    • Grattis! Du har blivit förför.
    • Min morför/farför/förmor/förfar kommer från Finland.
    • Min morför/farför/förmor/förfar har en ny bil.
    • Min morför/farför/förmor/förfar har skaffat en katt.
    • Grattis! Du har blivit morför/farför/förmor/förfar.
    • Jag har bara ett föräldrasyskon.
    • Alla mina föräldrasyskon är yngre än mina föräldrar.
    • Har du några försyskon?
    • Jag ska sova hos mitt försyskon.
    • Mitt försyskon har ett eget företag.
    • Mina morssyskon är roliga.
    • Hens morssyskon har klippt hens hår.
    • Mina farssyskon är roliga.
    • Hens farssyskon har klippt hens hår.
    • Föster Anna/Förbror Erik gav mig den här jackan.
    • Jag har fem föstrar/förbröder.
    • Hans föster/förbror har en döv katt.
    • Hens föster/förbror älskar lakrits.
    • Hennes föster/förbror äger ett bageri.
    • Igår föddes en ny prin i Sveriges rojala familj.
    • Hens pringemål har öppnat upp om händelsen.
    • Sveriges regent Carl XVI Gustaf och hans regentgemål Silvia har tre barn: prin Carl Philip, prin Madeleine och kronprinen Victoria.  
    • Sveriges nya kronprin är före detta prin Estelle.

    Professions & roles

    Italic words are innovative nonstandard words.

    • Abbot, Abbedissa → Abbist
    • Affärsman → Affärsperson, affärsidkare, näringsidkare, företagare, entreprenör
    • Bankman → Bankperson, bankpersonal
    • Barnmorska → Jordevårdare
    • Borgensman → Borgensperson, borgensförtrodd
    • Brandman → Brandbekämpare
    • Byggherre → Byggaktör
    • Drag queen, drag king → Drag artist/drag majestät/drag monark (drag ⇄ dressed as a gender)
    • Fackman → Fackperson
    • Flygvärd, Flygvärdinna → Kabinpersonal, kabinbiträde, flygpersonal, flygbiträde
    • Frisör, Frisörska → Frissa, friserare, hårstylist
    • Fröken/Dagisfröken → Förskollärare
    • Förman → Förchef
    • Förtroendeman → Förtroendeombud
    • God man → God person/God förtrodd
    • Grevinna → Greve
    • Gudsman → Profet, predikare, präst, pastor, gudsperson
    • Gärningsman → Gärningsperson
    • Husfar, husmor → Husförälder
    • Husfru, husherre → Husbiträde, restauranghusbiträde, hotellhusbiträde
    • Huvudman → Fullmaktsgivare, huvudansvarig myndighet
    • Idrottsman → Idrottare, idrottsperson
    • Jungman → Jungist
    • Justeringsman → Justerare
    • Kameraman → Kameraoperatör, kameraarbetare, kameraperson, filmare, fotograf
    • Kassör, kassörska → Kassabiträde, kassapersonal, kassaförvaltare
    • Krigsman → Krigare
    • Köpman, handelsman → Köpesperson, handelsperson
    • Lärarinna → Lärare
    • Massör, Massös → Masserare, massageterapeut
    • Mattant → Bespisningspersonal, matpersonal, måltidspersonal, måltidsbiträde, bespisare
    • Mattant/Städerska (på skola) → Skolmåltidsbiträde, skolbiträde
    • Målsman → Vårdnadshavare
    • Nunna, munk → Monastiker
    • Nämndeman → Nämndeperson, nämndaktör
    • Ombudsman → Ombud, ombudsperson
    • Polisman → Polis
    • Radioman → Radiopratare, radioprogramledare
    • Riksdagsman → Riksdagsledamot
    • Servitris, servitör → Serverare, serveringspersonal, kypare
    • Sopgubbe → Sopbilsförare, sopåkare, sophämtare, soppersonal
    • Sjukvårdsman → Sanitär
    • Sjöman → Flottist, sjösoldat, sjöfarare
    • Sjuksköterska/sköterska, akutsjuksköterska, ambulanssjuksköterska, anestesisjuksköterska, barnsjuksköterska, distriktsköterska, intensivvårdssjuksköterska, IVA-sjuksköterska, kirurgsjuksköterska, KOL-sjuksköterska, onkologisjuksköterska, operationssjuksköterska, psykiatrisjuksköterska, röntgensjuksköterska, sjuksköterska inom äldrevården, skolsköterska, specialistsjuksköterska, tandsköterska, undersköterska, ögonsjuksköterska → Sjukskötare, akutsjukskötare, ambulanssjukskötare, anestesisjukskötare, barnsjukskötare, distriktsjukskötare, intensivvårdssjukskötare, IVA-sjukskötare, kirurgsjukskötare, KOL-sjukskötare, onkologisjukskötare, operationssjukskötare, psykiatrisjukskötare, röntgensjukskötare, sjukskötare inom äldrevården, skolsjukskötare, specialistsjukskötare, tandskötare, underskötare, ögonsjukskötare
    • Skådespelerska, teaterman → Skådespelare
    • Springpojke → Springbud, skickebud, budbärare
    • Språkman → Språkperson, språkforskare, lingvist
    • Stridsman → Stridare
    • Studioman → Studioaktör
    • Stuntman → Stuntperson
    • Städerska → Städare, städpersonal, städbiträde, vaktmästare, lokalvårdare
    • Sångerska → Sångare
    • Sömmerska → Sömmare, sömist
    • Talesman → Talesperson
    • Talman → Talledare
    • Tidningsman → Tidningsperson, journalist
    • Tjänsteman → Tjänsteperson, handläggare
    • Upphovsman → Upphovsrättsinnehavare, upphovsperson, upphovsmakare
    • Yrkesman → Yrkesperson
    • Vaktman → Vakt, väktare
    • Vetenskapsman → Forskare
    • Våldsman → Våldsverkare
    • Ämbetsman → Ämbetsperson
    • Överman → Övermotståndare
    Retrieved from "https://nonbinary.wiki/index.php?title=Gender_neutral_language_in_Swedish&oldid=42373"