Arg, sur, irriterad and förbannad: the Swedish mood scale

Swedish has several ways to say that someone is in a bad mood.

You can be a little irriterad because someone is chewing too loudly. Sur because the coffee has run out. Arg because the train has been cancelled. And förbannad when the train has been cancelled, the coffee has run out and someone is still chewing too loudly.

The words are related, but they do not feel the same. They sit at different points on the mood scale, from a slight crease between the eyebrows to the sensation that your entire body has become an angry complaint to customer services.

Let us look at four common words: irriterad, sur, arg and förbannad.

Irriterad: when small things start to grate

Irriterad is often the mildest of the four.

You are not necessarily properly angry. Something is simply bothering you. A little. Or quite a lot, but in a controlled and reasonably civilised manner.

“Jag blir irriterad när folk inte svarar på mejl.” (“I get annoyed when people don’t reply to emails.”)

“Hon var irriterad på sin granne.” (“She was annoyed with her neighbour.”)

“Det är irriterande att bussen alltid är sen.” (“It’s annoying that the bus is always late.”)

Irritation often comes from small things that keep happening. A beeping noise. A slow computer. Someone who says “jag kommer om fem minuter” (“I’ll be there in five minutes”) and turns up 35 minutes later.

You might become irriterad when something does not work or when someone repeats the same irritating habit again and again.

“Jag blev irriterad när appen kraschade igen.” (“I got annoyed when the app crashed again.”)

“Han såg irriterad ut när telefonen ringde för tredje gången.” (“He looked annoyed when the phone rang for the third time.”)

Irriterad is often a feeling that still has its shoes on and is trying to behave itself.

Sur: bad mood, tight lips

Sur usually means that someone is in a bad mood, displeased or mildly angry.

“Varför är du så sur?” (“Why are you in such a bad mood?”)

“Han blev sur när vi började utan honom.” (“He got annoyed when we started without him.”)

“Hon är sur på mig.” (“She’s cross with me.”)

Being sur may be more visible than being irriterad. You might give short answers, sigh, avoid eye contact or shut a cupboard slightly harder than necessary.

The question “Är du sur på mig?” (“Are you cross with me?”) often means something like:

Have I done something?

Is something wrong?

Should I apologise now, or pretend to be busy in the kitchen?

You can also say that someone looks sur:

“Han ser sur ut i dag.” (“He looks grumpy today.”)

That does not necessarily mean the person is actually angry. Some people simply look as though they have just received a terrible quote from a builder, even when they are thinking about lunch.

Sur is also used to describe taste:

“Citronen är sur.” (“The lemon is sour.”)

So Swedish has both sur people and sur lemons. The difference is that a lemon rarely says “det är inget” (“it’s nothing”) when it is very clearly something.

Arg: clear, straightforward anger

Arg is the most common and neutral Swedish word for anger.

“Hon blev arg när hon hörde vad som hade hänt.” (“She became angry when she heard what had happened.”)

“Jag är arg på dig.” (“I’m angry with you.”)

“Pappa var arg för att vi kom hem sent.” (“Dad was angry because we came home late.”)

When someone is arg, the feeling is clearer than when they are irriterad or sur. Something has crossed a line.

Arg does not necessarily mean shouting or throwing things. You can be quietly arg, coldly arg or that special kind of arg where you say “det är lugnt” (“it’s fine”) in a voice that makes it perfectly clear that nothing is fine.

The word works in both small and serious situations:

“Jag blev arg när han tog min plats.” (“I got angry when he took my seat.”)

“De är arga över de nya reglerna.” (“They are angry about the new rules.”)

Arg is Swedish’s standard all-purpose word for anger. Solid, clear and useful.

Förbannad: now it has gone too far

Förbannad is stronger and more informal than arg.

“Jag blev så förbannad när de avbokade i sista minuten.” (“I was absolutely furious when they cancelled at the last minute.”)

“Hon är förbannad på sin hyresvärd.” (“She’s furious with her landlord.”)

“Han var riktigt förbannad.” (“He was really angry.”)

At this point, irritation has left the waiting room.

Förbannad expresses strong anger and can sound quite forceful. It works best in informal situations.

At work, you might say:

“Jag är mycket missnöjd med beslutet.” (“I’m very dissatisfied with the decision.”)

At home in the kitchen, you might say:

“Jag är förbannad.” (“I’m furious.”)

Same feeling, different outfit.

The word comes from förbanna, “to curse”, but today förbannad is usually used simply as a strong word for angry.

It can also be used for emphasis:

“Den där förbannade skrivaren fungerar aldrig.” (“That bloody printer never works.”)

The printer is not necessarily angry. The person who has tried to print the same document nine times and has now begun negotiating with the machine is.

Förbannad is common, but it is also strong. It will not suit every situation, particularly when you are trying to sound formal or diplomatic.

How strong are the words?

There is no perfectly exact scale, because tone of voice and context matter a great deal. But roughly speaking:

Irriterad: something is bothering me.

Sur: I am in a bad mood, possibly because of you.

Arg: I am clearly angry.

Förbannad: I am very angry, and I would quite like everyone to understand that immediately.

The same situation can be described differently depending on how strongly you feel:

“Jag blev lite irriterad när han kom sent.” (“I was a little annoyed when he arrived late.”)

“Jag blev sur när han kom sent.” (“I got cross when he arrived late.”)

“Jag blev arg när han kom sent.” (“I got angry when he arrived late.”)

“Jag blev förbannad när han kom en timme sent och inte hörde av sig.” (“I was furious when he arrived an hour late without letting me know.”)

The longer the delay, the stronger the Swedish becomes.

The words also show what the anger looks like

These four words do not just describe the strength of the feeling. They also create different pictures.

Irriterad: someone taps a pen against the table.

Sur: someone says “jaha” (“right”) and looks away.

Arg: someone clearly explains what is wrong.

Förbannad: someone has abandoned short answers and moved on to a raised voice and very definite opinions.

Of course, people show emotions in different ways. One person may be loudly irriterad. Another may be silently förbannad and wash the dishes with unusual precision.

That is why context and tone of voice matter.

“Jag är inte arg.” (“I’m not angry.”)

That sentence may mean that the person is not angry.

It may also mean that this is an extremely poor moment to ask again.

A small thunderstorm of words

Swedish has plenty of other words on the same theme.

You can be less, grinig, frustrerad, ursinnig or rasande.

Less usually means that you are fed up with something:

“Jag är less på det här vädret.” (“I’m fed up with this weather.”)

Grinig means grumpy, irritable or easily annoyed:

“Barnet är trött och grinigt.” (“The child is tired and grumpy.”)

Frustrerad often means that you are trying to make progress but keep being blocked:

“Jag är frustrerad över att inget fungerar.” (“I’m frustrated that nothing works.”)

Ursinnig and rasande are both very strong:

“Hon blev rasande när hon upptäckte felet.” (“She was furious when she discovered the mistake.”)

By then, we are well beyond mild irritation. The mood scale has called in the emergency services.

Finding the right word for the mood

The useful thing about irriterad, sur, arg and förbannad is that they allow you to be fairly precise.

Not all bad moods are the same.

Sometimes you are merely irriterad by a noise.

Sometimes you are sur with a friend.

Sometimes you are arg about something unfair.

And sometimes you are förbannad with the printer, the train, the weather and the person who took the last piece of cake without asking.

Language helps us choose the right level.

Because feelings are rarely simply on or off. They are more like a Swedish weather forecast: a bit grey at first, then increasing winds and, before long, a warning for strong language.