Jaha!

pronounced YAH-HAW

Every culture has its own unique expressions that people say, I just happen to find Sweden’s quite hilarious. In my 3 weeks being here I presume I have heard this phrase at least 500 times. I swear the Swedes are not even aware they are saying it because they use it so frequently! The word basically means like “I see” or “yes” or “okay” even. It is rather hard to translate because in Swedish culture it is acceptable to say it after every sentence apparently. For example, if I were to say “School today sucked” a reply may be “Jaha! Why was that?” or if I said “School today was cancelled!” the reply would be “Jaha!”.

My willpower is strong and I have yet to utter my first “Jaha!”, but I fear it is only a matter of time till I succumb to the pressure. Only time will tell, but for now it is off to bed. Godnatt!