· 7 min read
Learn Swedish for Free: What Still Works
By Language Lab editorial team
Learn Swedish for free in 2026: the official Hej svenska app, pronunciation videos, news in easy Swedish and free SFI classes. The old SI course has closed.
One thing to know first: Learning Swedish, the Swedish Institute's well-known free online course for beginners, was closed down at the end of December 2022, and the Institute says it will not open again. The official free option now is Hej svenska, a language app offered through Informationsverige.se, the site run by Sweden's County Administrative Boards. It is free of charge, has four levels from beginner upwards with 10 themes at each level, and works on a phone or a computer. The same site offers pronunciation videos, links to news in easy Swedish and dictionaries. If you live in Sweden, Swedish for Immigrants, SFI, is a free programme run by your municipality. Swedish is also quick for English speakers: the US State Department lists it at 24 weeks of classes.
The free resources at a glance
| Resource | Who makes it | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| Hej svenska | Published on Informationsverige.se, the County Administrative Boards' site | A free app with four levels; reading, writing and listening exercises |
| Pronunciation videos | Karlskoga municipality, Adult Learning; published on Informationsverige.se | Videos on Swedish letters and sounds, word and sentence stress, and intonation |
| News in easy Swedish | Swedish Radio's Klartext and Radio Sweden; 8sidor.se | News to read and listen to in simple Swedish |
| Swedish for Immigrants (SFI) | Your municipality in Sweden | A free programme in basic Swedish, full-time or part-time |
| Learning Swedish | Swedish Institute | Closed at the end of December 2022 |
Hej svenska, the official app
Informationsverige.se is run by Sweden's County Administrative Boards and describes its Learn Swedish pages as being for anyone who wants to learn Swedish. Its main tool is Hej svenska.
- Cost: the app is free of charge.
- Levels: four, numbered 1 to 4. Level 1 is for beginners, and the exercises get harder at each level.
- Content: each level has 10 themes, with several exercises on each. You learn new words and phrases and practise grammar through reading, writing and listening exercises.
- Devices: download it from the App Store or Google Play, or open it in a browser on a computer. It needs an internet connection either way.
- How it works: a Listen button plays the exercise, OK marks your answer green or red, and a Help button flashes the correct answer for a few seconds. You can repeat any exercise as often as you like.
Sounds: the pronunciation videos
The same site hosts videos for practising how Swedish letters sound, produced by Karlskoga municipality's adult education service. They cover vowels and consonants, including the letters Å, Ä and Ö and the sounds listed as SJE and TJE, and there are separate videos on word and sentence stress and on intonation. Watch them early, and repeat them as often as you need.
Listening: news in easy Swedish
- Klartext: news from Swedish Radio in easy Swedish.
- Radio Sweden in easy Swedish: news on Swedish Radio for people newly arrived in Sweden.
- 8sidor.se: news items in simple Swedish to read and to listen to.
If you live in Sweden: SFI
Swedish for Immigrants is a programme that teaches basic Swedish to people who do not have Swedish as their native language. You learn to speak, read and write basic Swedish and learn about Swedish society, and the programme is free of charge.
- Who: you are entitled to study SFI from 1 July of the year you turn 16 if you lack basic knowledge of Swedish and are, or will be, registered in the Swedish Population Register.
- How: full-time or part-time, so it can be combined with a job. It is arranged by the municipality where you are registered.
- Time limit: under rules in force from 1 January 2026, you have three years to complete the programme from the date you are registered in it. People registered before that date must finish by 31 December 2028. An extension can be requested in certain circumstances.
First phrases
| Swedish | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Hej! | Hello. |
| Hej då! | Goodbye. |
| Tack! | Thank you. |
| Ja. | Yes. |
| Nej. | No. |
| Jag heter ... | My name is ... |
| Talar du engelska? | Do you speak English? |
These come from the BBC's archived list of essential Swedish phrases.
A free weekly plan
- Five days a week, 20 minutes: Hej svenska, level 1, one theme at a time.
- Twice a week, 10 minutes: one pronunciation video, repeated aloud.
- Every day, 5 minutes: the phrases above, aloud.
- From level 2: one item of news in easy Swedish a day, listened to first and read second.
- Each week: repeat last week's exercises before starting a new theme.
The plan relies on practice testing and distributed practice, the two techniques a 2013 review of learning research rated as high utility. Rereading and highlighting were rated low.
How far free takes you
The US State Department lists Swedish in Category I, languages close to English, at 24 weeks of classes for English speakers, so steady free study goes a long way. The app gives you reading, writing and listening. Speaking needs a partner. Language Lab's Swedish course is built around voiced real-life scenarios with an AI tutor, which supplies spoken practice.
Frequently asked
Can I learn Swedish for free?
Yes. Hej svenska, published on the County Administrative Boards' Informationsverige site, is free of charge and has four levels. In Sweden, the SFI programme is also free.
Is the Swedish Institute's Learning Swedish course still available?
No. The Swedish Institute states that the online beginners' course Learning Swedish was closed down at the end of December 2022 and will not open again.
What is Hej svenska?
A free language learning app with four levels of difficulty and 10 themes per level, with reading, writing and listening exercises. It works on a smartphone or in a browser.
Who can study SFI?
People who lack basic knowledge of Swedish and are, or will be, registered in the Swedish Population Register, from 1 July of the year they turn 16.
How long do I have to finish SFI?
Three years from the date you are registered in an SFI programme, under rules that apply from 1 January 2026.
Is Swedish easy for English speakers?
The US State Department places it in Category I, languages close to English, at 24 weeks of classes.
Sources: Informationsverige.se (County Administrative Boards), Learn Swedish, Practise your Swedish with Hej svenska, Practise pronunciation, News in easy Swedish and Swedish courses; Swedish Institute, Learning Swedish; BBC Languages, Quick Fix essential Swedish phrases (archived); US Department of State, National Foreign Affairs Training Center, Foreign Language Training; Dunlosky et al., Psychological Science in the Public Interest, 2013. Checked on 13 October 2026. Photo: Aerial view of Gamla stan, Stockholm, Blondinrikard Fröberg / CC BY 2.0 (Wikimedia Commons).
