I am always finding new ways to use and improve my Swedish. I am not the type to sit down and memorize 10 words every evening (though that helps a lot too when I do do it!) I prefer methods that don’t seem like studying.
Lately, my roommate, brother, and friends have all been having a stab at online dating. Apparently, that is the new thing, and why not?
Well, one reason that stopped me from trying online dating here in the U.S. is that I know I don’t want to stay here. I want to go to Sweden. So it seems pretty pointless to date out here.
But while I heard about my roommate’s success with making some great friends, I thought maybe I should give online dating a try.
The coolest thing about online dating is that distance doesn’t matter! So I started searching for a free Swedish dating site (sorry, but why would I pay if I could get it for free?)
After a deep search, I discovered Happy Pancake. As I dived into reading profiles and writing my own profile (in very bad Swedish, might I add), I realized that this is a great way to practice Swedish! I was writing back and forth to various Swedes, mostly in the Swedish language (when you start in Swedish, it usually stays in Swedish) and I could tell it was really helping me master the overall language.
I began to pick up new words and enjoyed having regular chats here and there. And soon, I was using Swedish every day again, and all while NOT living in Sweden. Hur kul!
Now, obviously, this only works if you are single, though you can sign up to Happy Pancake if you are in a relationship and are just looking for friendship. Rule of thumb with dating sites, especially in a population where there are more men than women, men may have more trouble finding a pen pal, friend, lover, or whatever you are looking for than a woman would.
But why not give it a go? Even just filling out your profile, writing an essay in Swedish, will provide great practice for using the language.
Just remember when dating online in Swedish, you are up against a lot of Swedes. That is a lot of beautiful people online. So take a shower, freshen up, and take a beautiful picture of yourself to join the Swedes in finding love online.
That’s a great idea! 🙂
Yesterday I wrote down some tips n tricks to improve your Swedish. Maybe you’ll like this too? 7 tips to learn the Swedish language and keep your knowledge up to date
Haha, I have registered there for the same reason 😀 And it does work!
Jag är singel 😉
that’s super great Hilary!!!
I also would like to suggest livemocha.com which gives lots of opportunities to meet people and write/speak svenska, but technically is not a “dating” site. 🙂
Livemocha.com is ok, I didn’t like that their flash card set had some errors in basic Swedish. And any site where two languages overlap (English & Swedish) you are going to find yourself speaking less Swedish.
Livemocha is good, but you won’t get the full experience of diving into full on Swedish head first!
This is a great idea! If you don’t live in Sweden, what did you enter for your area/city? There isn’t an option for “none” or “abroad”!
Hi Kara. I picked the area I wanted to live, Lulea, and then realized there aren’t many people in that region. So I switched to Stockholm 🙂
Jeg snakke Norsk, men ikke sa myre Svenska. Men jeg er ikke en ung man for mange Jente hvis laeste hva jeg skrivte her. Jeg er pa http://www.POF.com. Men navn pa det er: KarlOskarMN. Har det bra!
Hey, I have tried Happy pancakes in the past, and was dumb enough to use a profile pic on there that i usually use on my other social medias (live in the US), they found out and blocked me. Did you just take a picture and used only that picture for happy pancakes, and make all other social media accounts private? Just curious how people get through that part. I’m trying to get back out there and learn swedish again
Have you tried contacting Happy Pancake on that? I’m not sure why they would ban you if you can use it on US social media sites. It shouldn’t be original, but I haven’t been on there in forever. I’d recommend reaching out to them. Another great time to practice Swedish!
Its cool idea. Never think about that as of one of the toold to learn new language. Thanks for advice and I will definitely try it too!