# Swedish: en kalas; en fest; en festen



## AlbertoForin

Difference between these words for party. "en kalas" "en fest" and "en festen"?



Thanks


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## MattiasNYC

It's actually "*ett* kalas" and "*en* fest". Also, "en fest", "den fest*en*".

Not sure if there's a difference. Although I think the Nobel ceremony would be called Nobelfest and not Nobelkalas. We also say födelsedagskalas more often than födelsedagsfest if I recall correctly.


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## Geffen

*Ett kalas* is generally associated with children (except in some cases where it's also used to refer to ceremonial or more conservative festivities as in *50-årskalas, Nobelkalas*, as Mattias pointed out) whereas *en fest *is usually associated with teenagers and adults (alcohol and loud music usually being the key words - in my experience anyway).  I remember getting very embarrassed once when I was around 14 or 15 and my mother asked me in front of some friends if I was still going to *kalaset* on the weekend.  The word *kalas *makes me think of goody bags and clowns.


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## Ben Jamin

Geffen said:


> *Ett kalas* is generally associated with children (except in some cases where it's also used to refer to ceremonial or more conservative festivities as in *50-årskalas, Nobelkalas*, as Mattias pointed out) whereas *en fest *is usually associated with teenagers and adults (alcohol and loud music usually being the key words - in my experience anyway).  I remember getting very embarrassed once when I was around 14 or 15 and my mother asked me in front of some friends if I was still going to *kalaset* on the weekend.  The word *kalas *makes me think of goody bags and clowns.


Is it correct to say that "kalas" is more informal?


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## DerFrosch

Ben Jamin said:


> Is it correct to say that "kalas" is more informal?


Yes, that would be fair to say. 

In a news article for example, _kalas _would be used if the context is a children's party, but otherwise most likely not; _fest _would be preferred instead. 

As I see it, a _fest_ could be a very informal party with no dress code whatsoever, no hot food served and, as has been mentioned by Geffen, lots of alcohol and loud music (in this case the word _fest _itself is rather formal, not just what it describes), *but *it could also be used to describe something far more formal, where the meal plays an essential part - _Nobelfesten _is an excellent example of this. In this letter sense of the word, _party _wouldn't be the correct translation, I would instead suggest banquet (as in the Nobel _banquet_) or feast.

Lastly, I'm not sure what Geffen means when he discusses the use of _kalas _for "conservative festivities". The words _kalas _and _conservative _don't go well together, in my opinion. _Nobelkalas _sounds just wrong to me, I've never seen it before - the Nobel banquet is definitely not a _kalas_.


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## MattiasNYC

I agree with DerFrosch.


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## Pauline Meryle

And how does "en hippa" fit into the spectrum of words for party? More/less informal than kalas?


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## DerFrosch

_Hippa _is a word that seems to have been in fashion during parts of the 20th century, with a degree of formality comparable to that of _kalas_. In modern Swedish, however, it's practically never used, with the important exception of the compound _möhippa _(_mö_=maid, maiden) which has established itself as the standard Swedish equivalent of what is known in English as "hen party" or "bachelorette party".


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## Pauline Meryle

Thanks, DerFrosch, "möhippa" was the first use I heard.


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