Swedish society and culture has some unspoken rules and quirks that may surprise you or be different from your own experience or culture. Here are a few hints on how to behave in Sweden. During your stay, you might realise that some of these 'rules' work differently in different contexts.

Be on time ⏰

Both at work and in their social lives, Swedes are usually very punctual. One exception to this rule is the so-called ‘academic quarter,’ which only exists at the university: for example, if a lecture is listed to start at 10:00, in fact it starts at 10:15. But not all lecturers adhere to this phenomenon, so please ask the teacher responsible for your class during your course introduction to be on the safe side!

Take your shoes off 👞

This may be a strange habit to some foreigners, or an unquestionable rule to others! When you visit somebody’s home, you should take off your outdoor shoes right at the entrance. It is quite normal to walk around in your socks or even bare feet only, even if you did not think so!

No smoking 🚭

Smoking is not allowed in public building and public areas outdoors, restaurants and bars. You are only allowed to smoke in designated areas. To be sure, it's a good rule always to ask before smoking and be mindful of the people around you.

Social life in Sweden 💃🕺

There is a stereotype that Swedes are reserved and difficult to get to know. This may be true (especially during the dark months), especially if you're coming from a country where it's more normal to be loud and talk to strangers. Student activities will hopefully give you the opportunity to make friends. Do not be afraid to seek contact with people and to take the initiative; it will be greatly appreciated. Many Swedes are very social, just a bit shy, so it can take some time to enter their social circles. Swedes also tend to be very polite and avoidant of direct confrontation, which can make them hard to read for some—it can be hard to tell if someone is being friendly or only polite, or even if they are upset with you!

Social distancing…even outside of covid! 🧍‍♀️___🧍‍♂️

Swedes tend to be private and enjoy their personal space, even in a busy city. You will notice that people spread out at a bus stop when waiting for a bus, standing near each other only when absolutely necessary, and do the same once they're on public transport. Many times, they'll opt to stand rather than taking an empty seat next to a stranger, or wait for another elevator rather than share it with a neighbor. If you smile at or greet an unknown Swede, they might be surprised, but usually respond politely. Don't take their distance personally!

Paying the bill 💳

After grabbing a beer with your friends or having a wonderful dinner with the person of your dreams, you will realise that picking up the tab is an unknown phenomenon in Sweden. The bill is usually split according to how much you ate and drank. You are welcome to give an extra tip if you feel the service was exceptional, but tipping is not standard in Sweden.

Answering the phone 📞

What do you say when you pick up the receiver? Just ‘Hello?’ In Sweden this is considered as impolite. Commonly Swedes answer directly with their name or phone number, so do not be surprised.

Queues/lines 🎫

Besides punctuality, Swedes are known to be law abiding and very fond of forming queues. Whenever you are waiting for something, at the cinema, to pay in a shop, etc., you are supposed to wait in a proper queue. Almost no excuse is good enough to push your way forward in the queue, and cutting ahead in line is considered extremely rude. A modern version of line-forming is a system with queue tickets (a little piece of paper with a number indicating when it is your turn). This gives you the liberty to move around freely while you are waiting. So if there is a queue ticket machine, do not forget to take a ticket and look for a number display!

Laundry times 🧺

In Sweden, few things are more sacred than your laundry time when you share a laundry room in an apartment building. Like sitting in the same spot in class every day, most Swedish households have a specific laundry time that they book every single week, be it Tuesdays at 10:00 or Saturdays at 16:00. While anyone can sign up for any time, people usually honor their own and their neighbor's chosen times and do not deviate from it. For student housing it isn't as big of a rule, but if you take a neighbor's laundry time in a smaller apartment building, you could find yourself facing a passive-aggressive sticky note chastising you for it!