# Swedish: danskjävlar



## JoJoFe

The main character in the "Riget" TV mini-series is a very surly Swede working in Denmark.

Every episode he retreats to somewhere he can be alone, goes into a tantrum, and utters insults at Denmark and the Danish people, always including the expression "Danske jävlar!", which is invariably translated as "Danish scum!". It's one of the funniest scenes, every episode. Sometimes he speaks the expression in a low voice more like a "light" insult, others he screams it at the sky really angry.

I checked that "jävlar" is an interjection that can be combined to mean different things in different expressions, so the translation to "scum" is not a direct one, right?

How would you have translated it to English?
As far as using it to insult a nationality/group of persons, is it more of a "light" insult, or a really strong one?


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## Typiskt

Jävlar is a curse word and I think i'd translate it to "fuck". Saying "danskjävlar" is kinda like saying "Danish fucks"


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## Yuujen

Typiskt said:


> Jävlar is a curse word and I think i'd translate it to "fuck". Saying "danskjävlar" is kinda like saying "Danish fucks"


I'm fairly certain that he's referring to the plural of "jävel". Wouldn't that be "Danish devils" or "Danish bastards"?


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## Havfruen

jävlar: bastards, fuckers, motherfuckers, devils, pigs

In AE, *scum* is a common insult for an entire ethnic group. However it is not vulgar.
I've not seen Riget with subtitles. Is it always translated as scum? I think if I were translating, I would not always use the same word as there's so many possibilities.


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## Tjahzi

I'd say _Danish scums _is a quite fitting translation. The expression as such could be considered a somewhat "standard" insult towards Danes. While it's true that _jävel_ literally means _devil_, it's found in my compounds and expressions and as such, and most importantly, the fact that it's an interjection after all, I'd say _scum_ is the English word that corresponds most closely.


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## e2efour

In British English one would be likely to say "Bloody Danes!".


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## JoJoFe

Thanks for the answers.

I saw the series with Portuguese subtitles some years ago, and they probably followed up on the translation from English, going with the Portuguese word "escumalha" (direct translation of scum) everytime, just as they did on the English subs. For the 8 episodes, "danske jävlar" is mentioned 9-10 times.


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## Typiskt

Tjahzi said:


> I'd say _Danish scums _is a quite fitting translation. The expression as such could be considered a somewhat "standard" insult towards Danes. While it's true that _jävel_ literally means _devil_, it's found in my compounds and expressions and as such, and most importantly, the fact that it's an interjection after all, I'd say _scum_ is the English word that corresponds most closely.



Yes, in this sentence "scum" is probably the best word to use, but the most common use of "jävlar" is when cursing ("fuck" or "damn it").



Yuujen said:


> I'm fairly certain that he's referring to the  plural of "jävel". Wouldn't that be "Danish devils" or "Danish  bastards"?


Using jävlar as devils is probably the least common use, even though that's what it litereally means.


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## hanne

A question from the mod: Should the thread title be changed to danskjävlar? At least I think that's what he says, if I remember correctly.


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## Typiskt

hanne said:


> A question from the mod: Should the thread title be changed to danskjävlar? At least I think that's what he says, if I remember correctly.



Haven't seen the show, but yes, danskjävlar would be the correct way to say it in Swedish.


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