Coming To Scandinavia

I play a game with one of the cashiers at the local grocery store known as Hemkop here in Helsingborg. She rings up my groceries and then without looking at the amount on the register, I try to guess how much I owe simply by listening to her.

Then, I try to repeat the numbers to her. Inevitably, however, the digits always include what is for me and many other non-Swedes one of the most difficult numbers to pronounce: seven.

For the foreign tongue, saying seven is simply too much of a mouthful. It’s true that most foreigners have no trouble pronouncing the number six, which is “sex.” But the number seven, sju, sounds like little more than exhaling air, impossible for the non-native Swede to pronounce properly. So that I never have to say sju, I make it a point not to accept seven of anything. Seven tomatoes? No, I’ll take sex instead.

Today, as I loaded my groceries on the conveyor, I joked that we would know doubt have a seven to contend with. When the cashier hit the total button, she burst out laughing: double sevens or sjuttiosju. Take my word for it: Don’t even try to pronounce it unless you’re a Swede.