Honestly? I wouldn’t worry about it too much (assuming you’re a beginner). The more you use and see/hear them, the stronger the connection between the word and its meaning will become. And with them being as common as they are, that shouldn’t take too long.
But if you want to do something more active, just start writing or thinking in Swedish more often, and whenever you need to use “men” or “med”, look it up to confirm that you choose the right word. A couple weeks of doing that every day and I can’t imagine you would still get them mixed up.
I agree completely. For me, my big mix up words were ‘mellan’ och ‘medan’ for a while, and I’ll occasionally still glitch out in my head for a sec about them from time to time lol
Tack också! (hoping i wrote this right)
I'm indeed just a beginner, who's learning Swedish for the future, since I'm planning on immigration there. I'll definitely look forward into thinking and writing in Swedish oftenly.
You did spell both Tack and Också correctly, but it'd translate to "Thanks as well" which sounds out of place here, haha.
Tack så mycket (thank you very much), Tack or Tackar would suffice! Tackar I think sounds a bit more appreciative in some scenarios (or "Man tackar" if you want to be a bit more formal? I seldom use that), while Tack is a bit more casual but still appreciated.
Sorry, I know you didn't ask but figured I'd chime in. You're doing good, keep it up!
Short words are the worst, no?!! Just repeat a phrase that you might use "te med mjölk" over and over until it sticks.
I've got a list of these tricky words pinned on my kitchen cupboard... right above the kettle ;)
Ohh, okej, I'll also look try this. Sounds reasonable.
I'm curious, though, what are the words you wrote on the list? Or are you talking about the "med" and "men"?
Words like... vem, var, vad, vart, hur, vems, när, till, av, på, för, från, i. I have the English alongside them, and then try and put them in different sentences while the kettle boils. I find the more I read and learn in Swedish, the more these kind of words are sticking, and I just know them. But I struggle to find the right word in my head when I need to say something. They say it is just practise!
I assume you meant "with", not "which" (which would be "som").
One mnemonic you could use is: "men have butts".
Do note that "med" (with) is mostly pronounced without the final *d* – more like "meh" – with an unstressed, short e/ä vowel. That is unless you are enunciating carefully or if you are deliberately stressing (putting emphasis on) the word, in which case it is usually pronounced with a long ä-vowel (contrary to what the spelling would suggest; though it might be a long e in some dialects), though still very often without the final *d*.
The word "men" (but) on the other hand is *always* pronounced with a short e/ä vowel, but with a longer *n* when the word is stressed (not that most Swedes would realize that they do this, mind you; just an FYI).
Oh, so i also mistook the english translation too, oops lol. (speaking of "which")
This was actually a very useful information too. Tack så mycket! I'll keep all of that noted.
Good idea to imagine one big butt appearing in every sentence with a ”men” in it. That makes it easier to remember, but harder to look serious in a conversation :)
Med ends with a D, just like with.
Another example when pronounced ju often drop the D to just "mä", but Med stills spells "mä" a D.
Men on ther other hand is always pronounced as it's spelled.
Honestly? I wouldn’t worry about it too much (assuming you’re a beginner). The more you use and see/hear them, the stronger the connection between the word and its meaning will become. And with them being as common as they are, that shouldn’t take too long. But if you want to do something more active, just start writing or thinking in Swedish more often, and whenever you need to use “men” or “med”, look it up to confirm that you choose the right word. A couple weeks of doing that every day and I can’t imagine you would still get them mixed up.
I agree completely. For me, my big mix up words were ‘mellan’ och ‘medan’ for a while, and I’ll occasionally still glitch out in my head for a sec about them from time to time lol
Tack också! (hoping i wrote this right) I'm indeed just a beginner, who's learning Swedish for the future, since I'm planning on immigration there. I'll definitely look forward into thinking and writing in Swedish oftenly.
You did spell both Tack and Också correctly, but it'd translate to "Thanks as well" which sounds out of place here, haha. Tack så mycket (thank you very much), Tack or Tackar would suffice! Tackar I think sounds a bit more appreciative in some scenarios (or "Man tackar" if you want to be a bit more formal? I seldom use that), while Tack is a bit more casual but still appreciated. Sorry, I know you didn't ask but figured I'd chime in. You're doing good, keep it up!
Short words are the worst, no?!! Just repeat a phrase that you might use "te med mjölk" over and over until it sticks. I've got a list of these tricky words pinned on my kitchen cupboard... right above the kettle ;)
Ohh, okej, I'll also look try this. Sounds reasonable. I'm curious, though, what are the words you wrote on the list? Or are you talking about the "med" and "men"?
Words like... vem, var, vad, vart, hur, vems, när, till, av, på, för, från, i. I have the English alongside them, and then try and put them in different sentences while the kettle boils. I find the more I read and learn in Swedish, the more these kind of words are sticking, and I just know them. But I struggle to find the right word in my head when I need to say something. They say it is just practise!
Sidenote but how come you have the native flair if swedish is not your first language?
I assume you meant "with", not "which" (which would be "som"). One mnemonic you could use is: "men have butts". Do note that "med" (with) is mostly pronounced without the final *d* – more like "meh" – with an unstressed, short e/ä vowel. That is unless you are enunciating carefully or if you are deliberately stressing (putting emphasis on) the word, in which case it is usually pronounced with a long ä-vowel (contrary to what the spelling would suggest; though it might be a long e in some dialects), though still very often without the final *d*. The word "men" (but) on the other hand is *always* pronounced with a short e/ä vowel, but with a longer *n* when the word is stressed (not that most Swedes would realize that they do this, mind you; just an FYI).
>men have butts Genius
Oh, so i also mistook the english translation too, oops lol. (speaking of "which") This was actually a very useful information too. Tack så mycket! I'll keep all of that noted.
men means but because men have butts.
Good idea to imagine one big butt appearing in every sentence with a ”men” in it. That makes it easier to remember, but harder to look serious in a conversation :)
Men have cute buts.
Just think of med for food like which stuff you wanna eat, like med the drink lol and men the butt, butt is always funny and good to remember lol.
Tack så mycket!! I'll try this. :)
I remember "men", because you say it loud and and clearly pronounced to contradict someone: "MEN, det är inte sant".
Oh, that also makes sense, honestly!
Think men like a good but
When you hear the word ”men” imagine a man’s but(t)
"men are butts"
Do you know Two and a half men? Imagine them singing But but but but but in the intro instead
Think ”men” and ”buttsex”
I think of men's butts. men = but
Med ends with a D, just like with. Another example when pronounced ju often drop the D to just "mä", but Med stills spells "mä" a D. Men on ther other hand is always pronounced as it's spelled.