What is Swedish fika?

Let’s start off with the semantics. Grammatically, fika is both a verb and noun. Therefore, you can just as well say that you are currently “fiking” or “taking a fika” in Swedish. But etymologically is where it gets really exciting. The word is enveloped in several myths regarding its’ origin, of which one is that it’s an anagram for “coffee” (“kaffe” in Swedish). It’s also said that it comes from the nowadays not very used adjective “fiken”, which means to have a craving or be in the mood for something.

Let’s get down to business and define the word. When Swedes talk about fika, what they generally mean is a coffee break. The coffee can be switched out for tea or even lemonade, but some kind of non-alcoholic and preferably hot beverage is always a part of the deal. More arbitrary is the presence of a sweet treat or a snack, such as cake or a sandwich. 

As you’ve probably gathered by now, there’s a fika plays an important part of Swedish culture. You might even call it a national institution. Nevertheless, while the concept of having fika is very hands-on, it can be quite an abstract thing to describe since it comes in many forms and variations.

Just like your regular coffee break, fika can be an excuse to stop doing something laborious for a while. Some people are of the idea that a person working in Sweden doesn’t actually start working before he or she has had the first fika of the day. So if you need a pause from work, school our touristing, this four-letter word can save the day, even if it means ten minutes of binge drinking java or one hour of happy procrastination.

But fika is not only a sidekick activity; it can also be the main event of your day. Haven’t called your mom for a while? Invite her to have fika at your place. Long time no see the buddies? Go for a fika at the new hot spot café in town together. Want to discuss something with a potential business partner? Fika! You get the picture. The fika phenomenon is everything you want it to be.