Language/Swedish/Culture/Commenting-on-Appearance-in-Sweden
What is considered acceptable to remark on when it comes to someone's appearance varies greatly from culture to culture. This is partly to do with the fact that what's considered as attractive in one culture might be considered less attractive in another culture. In Sweden, as in many other western countries, being slim for women or fit for men is usually considered as something positive. This in turn means that it's usually okay to make a positive remark on someone's weight if they're slim, but it would be a deadly sin to say something along the lines of, "Oh, what wonderful round hips you have." If you want to be on the safe side, I would of course recommend that you don't make any remarks that have to do with someone's weight because you never know how people will take it. If you want to give someone a compliment, you can always say something positive about their clothes, makeup, hair, jewelry, or their appearance in general.
With the completion of this lesson, consider investigating these related pages: Swedish Culture: Traditional Dishes and Dining Customs., Personal Hygiene, Getting to School in Sweden & Romance in Sweden.
Other Lessons[edit | edit source]
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- Allowance
- Religon
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- Postcards
- Gossip
- Fast Food
- Family Time
- Personal Hygiene
- Telling Swedes What you Really Think
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- Expressing Emotions
- Fika
- Personality Traits
- Sweden History