sjö

From Old Norse sjau, from Proto-Germanic *sebun, from earlier *sebunt, from Proto-Indo-European *septḿ̥.

• IPA^(key): [sjœː]

sjö (indeclinable)

1. seven

• sjöa (noun)

From Old Swedish siœr, from Old Norse sær, from Proto-Germanic *saiwiz. Cognate with Dutch zee, English sea, German See.

• IPA^(key): /ɧøː/, (Central Sweden) [-øə̯]
  • (Southern, common in Central Sweden) IPA^(key): [ˈx̞ʷ-]
  • (common in North Sweden, variant in Central Sweden) IPA^(key): [ˈʂ-]

    • Audio; [ˈʃøə̯]:

      (file)

• Rhymes: -øː

sjö c

2. a lake

   Synonym: insjö

   en sjö vid en stuga

   a lake by a cottage

   Vi ska gå och bada i sjön

   We are going for a swim in the lake

   Jason Voorhees är fastkedjad på botten av sjön

   Jason Voorhees is chained to the bottom of the lake

4. (uncountable, especially in the definite and in "på sjön" (on the sjö)) the sea and lakes collectively (sometimes also including watercourses, etc., by extension), especially the sea; sea, water, lake, etc.

   Synonyms: (at sea, in a broad sense) till sjöss, (at sea) på havet, (at sea) till havs

   saker att tänka på när du är ute på sjön

   things to keep in mind when you're out on the water [implying the sea (and perhaps also large lakes, etc.)] / at sea / [unlikely in this example, unless clear from context] on the lake [Note that the lake case could also be interpreted as (sense 1)]

   segla ut på sjön

   sail out on the water [implying the sea] / to sea [unless context makes it clear that it refers to a lake]

   hoppa i sjön

   jump into the water [whether the sea or a lake, etc.]

   kasta pengar i sjön

   throw money down the drain ["throw money into the water" – idiomatic]

   • 1891, “Betlehems stjärna (Gläns över sjö och strand) [Star of Bethlehem (Shine over sea [most likely in this context, though unusual in the sense of "sea" outside of the definite] and shore [Maybe to be understood as "land and sea/water"])]”, Viktor Rydberg (lyrics), Alice Tegnér (music)‎^[1]:

     Gläns över sjö och strand, stjärna ur fjärran. Du som i Österland tändes av Herran.

     Shine over sea and shore, star from [out of] afar. You who in the East ["East-land" – the Orient] were lit by the Lord.

5. a big wave

   En stor sjö slog sönder styrhyttens fönster

   A large wave broke the windows of the wheelhouse

6. synonym of sjögång

   grov sjö

   rough seas

   hög sjö

   high seas

   krabb sjö

   choppy seas

   Sjön går hög

   There are high waves

7. (obsolete and in some names) a sea

   Synonym: hav

   Östersjön

   the Baltic Sea [the East Sea]

• Refers to the sea in various expressions and often also in compounds (or to seas and lakes collectively, possibly also watercourses, etc.). Some examples include sjöfart, sjöman, sjöresa, and sjösäker.
• "På sjön" can have connotations closer to "on the water" compared to "till havs (“at sea”)" and the like, and so sounds more natural when close to shore or in a coastal archipelago or the like. "On the water" works as a generic translation, though the default intuition is the sea.

• bölja
• fjärd
• göl (very small body of water)
• tjärn
• hav (“sea”)
• ocean (very large body of water, such as the Atlantic)

• sjö in Svensk ordbok (SO)
• sjö in Svenska Akademiens ordlista (SAOL)
• sjö in Svenska Akademiens ordbok (SAOB)
• [2] in Elof Hellquist, Svensk etymologisk ordbok (1st ed., 1922)
• Douglas Harper (2001–2025) “sea”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.