Meaning
Spending money carelessly.
Cultural Background
The 'Spara och Slösa' characters are a national cultural touchstone. They represent the struggle between the traditional Swedish virtue of thrift and modern consumerism. The TV show 'Lyxfällan' has made 'slösa med pengar' a topic of national conversation, often focusing on 'lyxkonsumtion' (luxury consumption) on credit. Jantelagen (The Law of Jante) subtly discourages 'slösa' because flamboyant spending is seen as a way of setting oneself above others. The rise of 'Buy Now, Pay Later' services like Klarna is often linked to the modern increase in 'slösa med pengar' among young Swedes.
Use 'med'
Even though 'slösa pengar' is understood, using 'med' makes you sound much more like a native speaker.
Don't be too harsh
Calling someone a 'slösare' can be quite critical in Swedish culture due to the value of 'lagom'.
Meaning
Spending money carelessly.
Use 'med'
Even though 'slösa pengar' is understood, using 'med' makes you sound much more like a native speaker.
Don't be too harsh
Calling someone a 'slösare' can be quite critical in Swedish culture due to the value of 'lagom'.
The Spara/Slösa dynamic
If you mention 'Spara och Slösa' to a Swede, they will immediately know you understand their culture.
Test Yourself
Fill in the missing preposition.
Han slösar alltid ______ pengar på onödiga saker.
The standard collocation is 'slösa med pengar'.
Which sentence is correct?
A: Det är ett slösa med pengar. B: Det är ett slöseri med pengar.
You must use the noun 'slöseri' after 'Det är ett...'.
Complete the dialogue with the correct form of 'slösa'.
- Varför köpte du den där? - Jag vet inte, jag bara ______ bort mina pengar.
The past tense is needed because the purchase already happened.
Match the phrase to the situation.
Situation: A politician uses tax money for a private party.
This is the standard way to describe misuse of public funds.
🎉 Score: /4
Visual Learning Aids
Spara vs. Slösa
Common things people 'slösar' on
Lifestyle
- • Kläder
- • Smink
- • Prenumerationer
Food
- • Utemat
- • Godis
- • Kaffe
Practice Bank
4 exercisesHan slösar alltid ______ pengar på onödiga saker.
The standard collocation is 'slösa med pengar'.
A: Det är ett slösa med pengar. B: Det är ett slöseri med pengar.
You must use the noun 'slöseri' after 'Det är ett...'.
- Varför köpte du den där? - Jag vet inte, jag bara ______ bort mina pengar.
The past tense is needed because the purchase already happened.
Situation: A politician uses tax money for a private party.
This is the standard way to describe misuse of public funds.
🎉 Score: /4
Frequently Asked Questions
10 questionsYes, it almost always implies that the spending was unwise or unnecessary.
Yes! 'Slösa med tid' or 'slösa tid' means to waste time. It works exactly like money.
'Slösa' is general waste. 'Vaska' is a specific, extreme slang for wasting expensive drinks to show off.
Use 'med' for the resource (money) and 'på' for the object (shoes, candy). Example: 'Slösa med pengar på skor'.
Use the noun: 'Ett slöseri med pengar'.
Yes, but it's often used as a criticism of bad management or failed projects.
Yes, 'slösa med mat' means to waste food, which is also a big cultural 'no-no' in Sweden.
It's an adjective describing someone who has a habit of wasting money.
Not usually. 'Spendera' is neutral. If you want to be negative, you must switch to 'slösa'.
It's a stylistic feature of Swedish where certain verbs take 'med' to indicate the instrument or resource being used/misused.
Related Phrases
slöseri
specialized forma waste
slösa bort
similarto waste away
spendera
contrastto spend
spara
contrastto save
vaska
specialized formto pour out champagne
